Bob M.

Item No. 256   Kozuka in copper with shakudo and gold

Subject of a snake winding in and out of a hole in a rock with a toad on the reverse, signed Haruaki Hogen with kao. 19th cent.

Superbly detailed piece with miniature , delicate kebori work of the toad surrounded by grasses . Signature on edge.

Could this have something to do with a Sansukumi ? There are normally three characters though, and we are missing the slug.

Another piece showing the skill and attention to detail that is the hallmark of Haruaki Hogen and his school.

Hi Mauro,

Thanks for your interest and message . This is one of a number of fittings that arrived into my collection without any background information . I asked George Miller if he would kindly take a quick look at some of these and my posting is based on information he has supplied , always assuming that I have interpreted it correctly .

It seems that the signature on this piece is a bit of a puzzle .

My understanding is that it is signed Kofu ju on the right ( agreed ) and on the left ' Seisai ' or ' Shosai ' with kao/kakihan on the left. Seisai is known as Masanari ( Haynes 04295 ) however several kao shown for him , although similar , do not match. Haynes refers to Wakayama , where the signature and kao for Masanari do match however , both Haynes and Wakayama say that Masanori always signed with the place that he worked , but none of these locations are Kofu.

Shosai , the other possibility , is from the Takigawa family and worked in Kofu in the first half of the 19th Cent., but it has not been possible to find any references to his mei.

This leads us to the puzzle that the mei and kao match Masanari but the location does not , however the location matches Shosai . The style of work possibly also points to a later piece rather than an earlier ( 1700's ) one which is when Masanari was extant.

I guess that one could choose either way - it would be interesting to see what a shinsa would make of it .

Thanks again for spending your time on this , it is great to have some feedback.

Best

Item No.  255   Iron Tsuba   7.75 cm x 7.33 cm x 0.50 cm

Subject of three yanone ( arrow heads )  signed Shosai ( first half 19th cent. )

Beautifully made piece with smooth , tactile finish and nicely depicted arrow heads.

Possibly alludes to the ' Three Arrows Lesson ' , still taught today to elementary school children in Japan.  The lesson shows that one arrow may easily be snapped , but bundle three together and they are far more difficult to break - in other words working together as a team is much stronger than working as an individual .

Again , thanks are due to George Miller for his assistance.

Hi Mauro,

Thanks for that - I have edited the posting .

Regards

Item No. 254   Tsuba in copper with gold, shibuichi, shakudo and silver    7.00 cm x 5.82 cm x 0.50 cm

Subject of thatched hut and sparrows   signed Masayoshi .

Can anyone attribute this to a school ? I wondered if the tree on the reverse pointed towards Hamano ?

Irrespective , a nicely produced piece, possibly dating back to the early 19th cent.  A lot of fine detailing and engraving on show.

Re Item No. 253   Additional views.

Second of the fittings featuring tigers !

Item No. 253   Set of copper fittings

Theme of tigers and bamboo signed Yurakusai Sekibun - 19th cent.

Set comprises fuchi-kashira , kuchigane , uragaware and kojiri , engraved in katakiri and kebori . In bespoke fitted box.

Bought at auction some nine years ago.

NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon.

Item No. 252   Iron Tsuba with gold and silver inlay   8.40 cm x 8.30 cm x 0.39 cm

Subject of Iris ? ( unlikely ), Lily ?, Orchid ? Any botanists out there ?

Signed Osawa Inaba chokoku kore , apparently the signature of Osawa Hokyo who was active in the latter part of the 18th cent.

In very good condition for a tsuba the best part of 250 years old . Deep lustrous dark brown patina with the inlay virtually intact.

One of my favourite themes , depictions of stately flowers and leaves .

Re Item No.  251

George Miller has been able to find the following - Suruga was used by later members of the Haruta family school after they had moved to the Suruga province. They were retainers of the Ikeda Daimyo. The third master is said to have only signed using Suruga.

Haynes 09041 , also Wakayama has several mei that match this one.

Thanks , George.

Also Silhouette view as promised.

Item No. 251   Iron Tsuba   7.10 cm x 6.90 cm x 0.45 cm

Subject of waves and stylised clouds. Inshu school, signed Inshu ju Suruga saku ,and dates to the 19th cent.

An old but unused tsuba from possibly 150 - 200 years ago. I cannot find any info. on the Inshu school - is there any information in Haynes of Wakayama ?

Great piercing - I will try to upload better silhouette pictures in the next day or so.

Quite unusual to see a tsuba like this awaiting its first blade.

Item No. 250   Tsuba in dark Shibuichi with shakudo , gold and enamels   8.40 cm x 8.15 cm x 0.43 cm

Subject of a cormorant fisherman at night signed by Hirata Harunari with kao . 19th cent.

The fisherman has three cormorants on lines whilst working in a boat with a blazing fire basket to attract the fish.

Red enamel really brings the fire basket to life , while the colours of the fisherman's clothes are nicely portrayed.

Item No. 249   Kozuka in copper with shakudo and silver

Subject of wasp set on a stippled background and with basketwork pattern. 

Mumei probably late 1700s to early 1800s.

Just a pleasing composition , quiet but compelling. The way in which the basket weave pattern merges into the stippled background is well carved.

For easier comparison of the above....

Re. Item No. 248

Item No. 248   Fuchi kashira in copper with gold , silver, copper and shakudo inlays.

Subject of long life , good fortune and courage in battle. Signed ( 1st. Gen. ) Yasuchika .

Nicely shaped and sculpted set  with ground effect produced by use of a ' y ' shaped punch. The cat and butterfly is a commonly used theme in Japanese Art , although fairly rare on tosugu , as a symbol for long life ( meaning over eighty years old in Japanese word play ) . The spider brings blessings from heaven and the dragonfly never retreats .The cat is modelled in 3D with protruding tongue .

There are also removable ' fitting shims ' attached to the Fuchi and Kashira as shown in the second set of pictures - maybe these performed a function when mounting the sword or could be just decorative showing a nice shakudo border . There is a cut out exposing the signature on the fuchi to complete the effect.

NTK papered , acquired from Japan some ten years ago.

Thanks to George Miller for his help on this.

Thank you Morita -san - I will use this translation when I post the tsuba to the NMB some time later this year.

Best Regards

Bob

Item No. 247  Tsuba in shibuichi with gold , copper and shakudo   5.75 cm x 5.04 cm x 0.35 cm

Subject of persimmon fruit with bird signed Nomura Yuki ( his earlier art name was Nomura Masatada ) early 1700's.

A tanto sized tsuba from the third master of the Nomura school , finely crafted and restrained in execution.

Item No. 246   Iron tsuba with gold , copper and shakudo    8.28 cm x 7.64 cm x 0.52 cm

Subject of Raiden  , the thunder god  , striking his drum . By Ford Hallam , approx. 28 years ago.

Design in the style of Hokusai on front , with a ' shadow in the clouds ' on the rear.

This tsuba is one of Ford's earliest and he explains about its making in his video short - Stepping Stones 03- on his YouTube channel.

Re Item No 245 - this information received courtesy of George Miller - Thanks ,George !

Your most recently posted kozuka is actually very important from a historical perspective.  It depicts a dance/festival that was recently revived in the Kyoto Gion Festival circuit after being lost for more than a century.  Within the last few years, scholars used a painting to trying to recreate the dance/festival that is depicted on your kozuka!  

Shijō Kasa Boko 四条傘鉾 — An Umbrella and Children’s Dance

Recently Kyoto has revived a festival and dance to its Gion Festival Program that had been lost for over a century.   It is called Shijō Kasa Boko 四条傘鉾 — An Umbrella and Children’s Dance.   The modern Shijō Kasa Boko is not exactly the same as it was in the Muromachi Period (1337–1573) but much of the symbolism remains.  Originally the components were carried by hand and now many are on floats.  The highlight of the Shijō Kasa Boko is its children’s dance and music. With Ayagasa Boko (a large umbrella with beautiful embroidery around the edge and flowers/plants on top), it is unique in the Gion Festival Saki Matsuri‘s July 17th procession.  In the dance that accompanies the umbrella topped with flowers/plants , two boys wear costumes and red “bear wigs” in a lively dance, and other boys with golden hats accompany the dance with various percussion instruments like drums and bells.

Re Item No. 245 

Some more pics taken in different light and magnifications - the smaller of the children measures 12mm ( 1/2 inch ) high as carved.

Item No. 245   Kozuka in shibuichi with gold , copper and shakudo.

Subject of procession of street performers , with one holding a large umbrella while underneath another beats a drum and two children dance at his feet . 

Signed Ganshoshi Nagatsune with kao ( Ichinomiya School ) 19th cent.

Nicely modelled and with much finely detailed work.

Hi Piers ,

The tsuba is a bit of a conundrum in that it only shows the two pine trees and Mt Fuji - unless the hawks are hiding in the branches . 

Is it possible that the hawks are actually there , but represented by a sort of wordplay ? Maybe if we can find the exact meaning of the poem , it will help unlock the riddle.

I am also told that the words ' Nasu' and ' Hino Hikari ' are nicknames for the Nikko area of Japan , so there is maybe some connection ?

Thanks for your interest !

Regards

Steve ,

Thanks for looking at this I realise that it is not straight forward at all .

The other side of the tsuba has one mount fuji and two pine trees, which together with the three eggplant form a set of auspicious characters to dream about ( especially first dream of the new year ).

We can possibly see something about Mt Fuji in the sunlight ( __ Kawa__Ya__Fuji Toki Taru Hino Hikari )

This info. courtesy George Miller.

Regards

Item No. 244   Iron Tsuba with gold   8.05 cm x 7.95 cm x 0.55 cm

Subject of tiger and bamboo next to running water. Mumei.  Late 18th cent. ?

Nice composition of fiercely animated tiger - not one to meet at night ,not even in your nightmares.

This is the first of a number of Tiger pieces to be posted over the coming months.