ID this pot

[SFLouis]

Hi all,

This homely little pot was a random find. I bought it from my friendly neighborhood Japanese antique store here in San Francisco last weekend for 25USD (cheap). In some of the photos you may notice a shiny sheen that reminds one of fake zhu ni. This was a glaze of some sort, possibly wax, which all came off when I submerged the pot in boiling water. The pot cleaned up reasonably well and makes good tea. I'm having a hard time determining whether the pot was wheel-thrown but I suspect... Maybe. The lid fit is no fit at all, as the pot leaks more than it pours. A side view confirms that the opening on top of the pot is neither round nor even. What do ppl think? Is this pot Japanese? Chao Zhou? Martian? Can anyone read the damaged kanji on the bottom?