Interesting Hamano Shozui tsuba, theme of time

[terminus]

Thought I'd share an interesting tsuba from my personal collection. By Hamano Shozui aka Masayuki(1696-1769), founder of the great Hamano School of sword fitting makers and pupil of the legendary Nara Toshinaga. Tokubetsu Hozon papers from 2014. Size: 75.8mm x 70.4mm.

 

 

The omote side is an armillary sphere, an astronomical device for representing the great circles of the heavens(likely an import from Portugal to the Shogun while they were trading with Japan in 1605). It's carved with incredible skill of depth and perspective in Sukisagebori technique. The ura side is crashing waves among rocks. Both sides together I believe he is conveying a theme of time. The armillary sphere shows a movement of the sky while the ocean tides ebbs and flows weathering away the rocks. Shozui must have been inspired by 金家 (Kaneie) because this type of non-matching components on each side to express one hidden thing is definitely Kaneie’s style.

 

Shozui signed his mei on either ura/back or omote/front of tsubas. Usually when he signed on the back it indicated that this Tsuba was ordered by a higher rank authority than Shozui. Another note is this is signed “穐峰斎”(Kihousai), a very rare signature among the numerous signatures Shozui signed with. I've only seen one other Shozui tsuba signed this way and it's a masterpiece by him. 

[Tonkotsu]

Beautiful!

[John A Stuart]

Wonderful, I posit 'order and chaos' as what I envision. John

[Bugyotsuji]

The genius of Mankind and the genius of Nature.

(Following from John’s idea)

 

Western intellect and Eastern intuition, even.

 

A wonderful tsuba in execution, able to engender such thoughts!

 

(The theme reminds me of an old Netsuké I have with a dragon and clouds on the back and a scene of a ‘Western’ town on the front.)

[terminus]

34 minutes ago, Bugyotsuji said:

The genius of Mankind and the genius of Nature.

(Following from John’s idea)

 

Western intellect and Eastern intuition, even.

 

A wonderful tsuba in execution, able to engender such thoughts!

 

(The theme reminds me of an old Netsuké I have with a dragon and clouds on the back and a scene of a ‘Western’ town on the front.)

Completely agree! I love tsubas that inspire such thought. You hit the nail on the head on the other interpretations I was thinking too.

There was a Japanese blog that featured this exact tsuba and thought the theme might be exploration (using the skies to navigate and travel the seas). 

[Bugyotsuji]

The one side seems to be earth and waters, a waterfall meeting waves, perhaps the sea, half of this facet being rock or land.

 

Interestingly the curly tips to the waves are echoed in the wooden legs of the frame supporting the armillary.

[Curran]

Hi Tony,

   Recently I wrote someone saying that there hadn't been too many higher end pieces posted in the fittings section.

That statement got popped like a soap bubble.

 

I've seen this design be Shozui on 2 or 3 tsuba.

One is published in one of the collection books: Hartmann, Lundgren, Carlos Monziono?

Then I saw a great one behind glass at the 2014 DTI. Yours might be the one I saw then?

 

If I were to ever own another Shozui, I think this is the design I would want to own.

Well done.

[terminus]

Good catch Piers, the leg stands of the sphere might indeed be paralleled by the waves,  very similar especially the tips. I especially like the subtle carvings of the leg stands for some reason. 

-Oh this post is just the beginning Curran, stay tuned 😉. 
-I have seen some Umetada school tsubas use this armillary sphere design before. Usually the other side however is another instrument, like a compass or constellations, that is closely relatable with the armillary sphere.

-I'm not sure if this tsuba is published before but I definitely saw it on a Japanese tsuba blog before that premiers famous tosogu (Update, found it: https://blog.goo.ne.jp/tsuba_001/e/f91913757313bb6b04d35a8657f4b1f5). 

-It might actually be the one you saw at DTI since I acquired this one straight from Japan!

[lonely panet]

what a lovely captivating piece 

 

it just catches your eye and holds it.  is the theme of a early europian globe on one side and the ocean on the other?? say the world is your oyster maybe ??? hahhaha

[Ford Hallam]

A very popular design it seems. Navigation would appear to be the unifying thread. That and perhaps the infatuation with new scientific ideas and technologies.

[terminus]

Ford is that a Umetada tsuba? since for some strange reason other than my Shozui armillary sphere the only other people who I've seen do the armillarry sphere design are the Umetada school. 

As noted in the blog I linked above, usually the Umetada examples have compasses or constellations on the other side. 

[Bob M.]

Umetada it is...

 

Signed and dated - Joshu Nishijin ju , Umetada Tachibana Shigeyoshi , Keicho jusanaen ( 1608)

 

The tsuba is ex Henri Verver collection (possibly a good  fit as he was known to collect more unusual pieces)

 

Pictures posted by Ford are part way through cleaning , after removing many years ( centuries ? ) of dirt / crud.

[Ford Hallam]

As Bob's points out, and he should know, it's his tsuba ;-), it's signed and, more significantly, dated too. Is this the earliest version of the design perhaps?

 

And as an added point of speculation this may actually be a depiction of a Korean device rather than a new fangled European import.  Quoting the all knowing Wikipedia:

Quote

"Jang Yeong-sil, a Korean inventor, was ordered by King Sejong the Great of Joseon to build an armillary sphere. The sphere, built in 1433 was named Honcheonui (혼천의)."

 

[Curran]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sejong_the_Great#/media/File:Korean_celestial_globe.jpg

 

King Sejong.... like one of only two good kings Korea had during hundreds of years.

This isn't meant to be offensive, as much as "If it is a good thing, then probably it was King Sejong who ordered it...."

 

Ford is absolutely right. See the link above.

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Four fishes for legs, nice touch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armillary_sphere

[Brian]

Bob, any pics of it after the full clean, or is it still in progress? Great piece to own, congrats!

[Bob M.]

Couple of quick 'archive shots' taken earlier this year. 

As ever a balance has to be struck when cleaning , between clearing away dirt etc. that obscures detail but not leaving the piece looking new - it is after all, over 400 years old now.

Another sympathetic example from Ford.

Edited October 24, 2020 by Bob M.
add info

[JohnTo]

By coincidence I was reading a book on Tokugawa Ieyasu from the Royal Armouries, which shows a picture of an Armillary Sphere at the Nikko Toshogu Shrine.  It is made of bronze, silver and gold and was commissioned by Sakai Tadanao, Daimyo of Obama in Wakasa and dated 1675.  The date scales use the Chinese zodiacal system.  It is inscribed 'easy to use small celestial globe that was made by the gold, silver and copper artisan Tsuda Tomomasa.  So the design for this tsuba may not be based upon a European import.

 

best regards, John

[terminus]

Hmm... you might be right that's the sphere design is from an older Asian origin. Does it look like the same design as the Umetada and this Shozui armillary sphere? 

Btw, I found actually 2 Tsubas featuring the same Shūhōsai (穐蜂斎) mei. 

The example found in the MET: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/25776
This amazing example: https://kougetsudo.info/tousougu/hamano-syozui/

 

[JohnTo]

Hi Tony,

attached is a pic of the armillary sphere in the Nikko shrine from a Royal Armouries publication.

regards, John

[terminus]

Thanks John! Wow that's def a very nice Asian armilary sphere and resembles the design on the Shozui and Umetada examples above, even the curved legs! 

I added a photo of the Shozui tsuba from the side perspective to see the changes of thickness in the carving. I find the Sukisagebori carving technique really ingenious to give this armillary sphere the illusion of depth. The tsuba is incredibly thin near the seppa dai giving the center carvings a higher relief. 

[Geraint]

Dear All.

 

Late to the party but I have just come across this one.

 

 

Signed, Yamashiro no kuni Nishijin no ju Umetda Tachibana Shigeyoshi.  

 

Ex Behrens no. 2268

Ex Boyle.

 

In "Only Fittings", Sydney Moss, 1996

 

All the best.

 

 

 

 

[Peter D]

Hi! I see some years have passed again, but here is mine.

Another by Umetada Tachibana Shigeyoshi who seemed to have done the most of them.

 

Signature:

 

城州西陣住

Joshu Nishijin-jū

 

“Resident of Yamashiro Nishijin”

(An area in Kyoto)

 

埋忠橘重義

Umetada Tachibana Shigeyoshi

 

The 1608 dated example is a wonderful reference. It coincides with Markus Sesko's placing of Umetada Tachibana Shigeyoshi as the second generation after Umetada Myōju in "Genealogies of Tsuba Makers", which in turn was based on Fukushi Shigeo; "Tōsō-tōsōgu shogaku-kyōshitsu 179“, „Tōken-Bijutsu No. 634“, NBTHK.

 

[Spartancrest]

Peter, I see where you got your guard.   https://soryu.pl/pro...stellation-and-bagua

Christies had a nice one https://www.christie...m/en/lot/lot-4870253  By Umetada