Sano school

[Darcy]

I recently acquired a katana with mounts featuring the mei of Sano Naoyoshi, and it seems to be legitimate. I don't have access to much research material on fittings, Curran and Pete emailed me a couple of pages from books.

 

Does anyone have information about this maker or school they can post or email to me? He is considered quite good, and the quality of the fittings he's made are quite excellent so I'd like to be able to discuss him a bit on my website when the piece goes up.

[Curran]

Darcy,

 

If Peter couldn't direct you to a more detailed materia, I doubt that I can add much. Your best bet may be Harry's Nihon To Koza- Kodogu translation looking up the Sano Ke. It is just a verbal flowrecord of how the various late Edo schools formed. There is also further mention of Naoyoshi on page 398 (or so), when discussing the height/depth factor of quality in some of the better/best late Edo kinko workers.

 

I'll try finding something in the Haynes Catalogs later, as there he wrote many a paragraph on various kinko schools. It would be useful if someone cataloged all the names relative to volume & page, as I am surprised the Haynes Index did not refer back to this his own work. The Haynes having been commercial in nature are not infalable- but Mr. Haynes work is far and away some of the best stuff published in English.

 

Ah, if there were more time- I would gladly cross index the Catalogs. Anyone know of this already having been done? Some Volumes have an index in the back. Some don't.

[Pete Klein]

DB and Curran -- I am working on it but as work has been interfering with my play time (and I hate it when that happens) I need a bit more time. I'll try this evening. There is no single source so I'll go through 'the stacks' and find some relevent info.

Later.

[Darcy]

Thanks guys!

 

(It was either this or "GET TO WORK MY MINIONS!")

[Brian]

 

Brian

[Pete Klein]

OK -- limited information available in English:

from Haynes Index --

Naoyoshi, Sano also Yanagawa

worked in Edo, eighteenth century

student of Naonori, Konakamura

 

note: Haynes listing shows some inconsistency here as he lists Naonori as a student of Sano Naoyoshi and of Yanagawa Naomasa the founder of the Yanagawa school but there is a timeline problem as he lists Naoyoshi as dying in 1862 and Naomasa died in 1757. Okabe Kakuya (Japanese Sword Guards 1908) lists Naoyoshi as being a student of Naomasa so I believe the problem is with Naoyoshi's date of death as listed by Haynes.

cont.:

The founder of the Sano family school. He was still working beyond the age 66. Retainer of the Akimoto Daimyo of Tatebayashi in Kozuke Province.

Mei:

Wakayama -- Toso Kinko Meiji Taikei vol. I, page 100 - 103

Ken'ichi Kokubo -- Shinsen Kinko Meikan revised ed., page 264.

 

from 'Tosogu', Gemmell, Graham 1991

...'the predilection that the Sano School appears to have had for "single object" decoration, as opposed to landscape or genre scenes, and in particular for animals and other creatures. It also shows the enormous naturalism with which they were able to imbue their works...The Sano School, founded in the latter part of the eighteenth century by one Sano Naoyoshi, owes much of it's style to Naoyoshi's first master Yanagawa Naomasa. At one point in his career he moved way up north to become tsuba-ko to the Daimyo Akimoto Tajima no Kami Tsunetomo at the town of Yamagata in Dewa Province. Wakayama records only five direct pupils of Naoyoshi who took the Sano name although it is known that Naoyoshi also numbered amongst his followers several amateur workers of samurai rank. It is also said the Daimyo Akimoto was educated in the skills of metal working by his vassal.

 

Japanese Sword Mounts... Gunsaulus, Helen C. 1923 Chicago

corroborates the above information in general.

 

note: The Yanagawa School of Naomasa numbered amongst it's members Inagawa Naokatsu, Y. Naohisa, Y. Naomitsu, Y. Naoharu who's student Hogen Haruaki was and is highly regarded to this day.

[Darcy]

Cool stuff! Thanks Pete.

[Pete Klein]

Yanagawa Masatsugu, (1670-1721) student of the first Yokoya Soyo, was the founder of the Yanagawa school with Y. Naomasa being his second son the heir.