This is a ceramic container for a sutra, or possibly the outer container that stored a sutra container. It rests on a lotus pedestal base, and the mouth and lid have protruding holes for inserting a cord. There is a bird in flight inscribed above the decorative lines carved around the circumference at the middle of the container, and a natural glaze coats the gray color of the fired clay. This is a production of the Sanage kilns in Aichi prefecture.
 
YOSHIZAWA SatoruEnglish by Mary Lewine 
Buddhist Art Paradise: Jewels of the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2021.7, p.346, no.67. 

This cylindrical ceramic outer case for sutra is to contain a sutra container. A lotus seat is attached to its bottom. The material is light gray clay which was furnaced hard. The lid and the upper part of the body is beautifully coated with a natural glaze. The kabusebuta-type lid is rimmed with a flat line, and a hōju (magic jewel)-shaped knob is attached at the lid center. Ear-shaped knobs with center holes are attached to four places along the circumferences of both the lid and the body, so that the lid can be tied to the body with strings. The central part of the body is slightly bulging out, and the mouth is shaped in such a way that the lid fits properly. Double lines are carved into the upper part and the bottom part of the body, along the circumference by using a pallet, and a set of three lines was carved into the central part of the body along the circumference. A design of a flying bird was carved with a pallet into the upper front side of the body.
There are many examples of sutra cases with a lotus seat which are made of either bronze, stone, or Chinese bluish-white porcelain, but a pottery sutra case such as the one introduced in this article is quite rare. It is conceivable that this case was furnaced at the Sanage kiln in Aichi prefecture in the early 12th century. 
Masterpieces of Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 1993, p.139, no.113.