Hoan Tsuba and Historical Context

[Winchester]

Greetings,

 

I am interested in learning about Hoan tsuba and historical context. 

 

Could someone share any resources or provide discussion/feedback? 

 

Where to start?

 

Thank you in advance--

[ROKUJURO]

Brian,

there is some material online available and on NMB:
 

HOAN TSUBA inherit their name from the founder of the Hoan school, SABUROEMON HOAN, who worked in OWARI province. It is believed that he died in 1614, and is buried at KOKUZANJI Temple.

After 1600 the school moved to KII province and became retainers to the ASANO clan. They received a stipend of ten KOKU of rice (which is very little).  Haynes lists eleven generations, ranging from early Edo to the beginning of the twentieth century.

 

The second generation was known as HISATSUGU, KANENOBU, and YOEMON.  Born in 1600, he was the son in law of the first generation HOAN. In 1619 he went with ASANO NAGAAKIRA (1619–1632) to HIROSHIMA.  He succeeded his father as head of the family in 1645.  He later worked for a branch of the TAKEDA DAIMYO family. Works signed HOAN KANENOBU are not rare, but they seem younger than the dates given to the second HOAN master

 

The third generation was HISATSUGU, as were the next nine generations. The fourth generation also worked for the ASANO DAIMYO, and received a stipend of 800 KOKU of rice.  Starting with the sixth generation, it appears they were no longer making sword fittings, but were ship builders.  It seems that the tenth generation did make some fittings in the HOAN style, but were primarily ship builders.

 

Steve Waszak on HOAN TSUBA   June 2024   NMB

Kawaguchi Saburoemon Noriyasu (Noriyasu can also be read "Hoan") was the Shodai of the Hoan group.  He died in 1614, as Jean notes.  He worked therefore in the Momoyama Period, not the Muromachi.  It is believed he was originally of the Buke, but due to political misfortune (the assassination of Oda Nobunaga in 1582), his status shifted, and he became an armorer, and then, a tsubako.  It is, of course, difficult to know the truth of this narrative, but this is what is generally accepted about this smith.

 

Shodai Hoan tsuba are rarely encountered.  HIs best works are masterpieces in iron, combining a powerful yakite-kusarashi effect on the surface of the plate, a beautiful "rippling" of the metal in the forging process known as "uwabamigane" (I believe this translates to something like "python skin"), and sensitively-rendered sukidashi-bori to express motif elements.  His sword guards often carry that peculiar Momoyama vitality that infuses so many of the arts of that specific time. 

 

Tim Evans

Most of the mumei attribution papers will either say Hoan den or kodai Hoan. The use of acid etching was introduced to Japan by the Europeans and there are a number of tsuba shops that utilized this technique.  I have seen signed etched tsuba with both Jingo and Umetada mei, and I think most of the tsuba papered to Hoan Den are really one of these two groups. However, low relief acid etching and sukidashi bori can be sometimes hard to tell apart. Here is a brief description of the Hoan group:

 

Shodai Hoan is a mysterious figure. He used Hoan as a personal name, whereas the later Hoan smiths used Hoan as a family name. What little information we have tells us that he was of a Buke family and was initially named Kawaguchi Hoan. He was adopted by Takada Sakyo, who was the lord of Kunotsubo castle in the Kasugai district in Owari Province. Sasano noted in the publication, Tosogu Yuhin Zufu (third edition) that according to Hoan family tradition, “when the the Oda family diminished, Sakyo’s child became an armor maker. He also made tsuba.” The diminishment of the Oda family in Owari can probably be traced to Oda Nobuo being removed from Owari Province in 1590, after quarrelling with Hideyoshi during the Odawara campaign against the Hojo. After losing his position as the heir of Takada Sakyo, Hoan reverted back to the Kawaguchi surname and became a metal worker for the Asano family in Kai Province. The Shodai Hoan is known for his unique and artistic treatment of the iron including a very visible coarse folding of the iron (uwebamegane), acid etched designs, and high heat melting of the the finished surface to create patterns.

 

 
 

[DKR]

And here a example of a Hoan Tsuba. 

NBTHK Hozon attribution Hoan.

This should be the third or fourth Generation,  middle 17th century. 

A good example for the etch technique they have used......and this is a rare Tsuba with no additional Holes for Kogai and Kozuka. 

One side .....butterflies over grass....other side blossoms 

[Mushin]

Pick up something interesting, Brian?

[Tim Evans]

Sources - English

Early Japanese Sword Guards (gold book) by Sasano

Tsuba, an Aesthetic Study, by Robert Haynes

Nihonto Koza Volume VI, Kodogu Part 1, translated to English by Harry Watson (rare)

 

Sources - Japanese

Owari To Mikawa no Tanko by Okamoto Yasukazu. 1983. Markus Sesko wrote an English translation. The fullest discussion of the Hoan school I am aware of.

Short mentions or descriptions in Japanese tsuba books -  One technique I have been using lately is Google Translate on a tablet, by holding the camera over a page in a Japanese book and then reading the text in English. This does a good job with newer books and printed kanji. This would work on the Koza mentioned above if you can only find the Japanese version.

 

Bob Haynes mentioned to me there is a published Hoan geneology, if you can find one. Personally I would be somewhat sceptical of the claims. 

[MauroP]

Here the genealogy of Hōan school according to "Genealogies of Japanese tsuba and
tōsō-kinkō Artists" by Marcus Sesko.
(the best I can do without a flatbed scanner) 

[FlorianB]

There’s an interesting discrepancy in the dates.
If the first Generation died 1613 or 1614 the Nidal was 13/14 years old. Very young at least.
It is mentioned in the sources above the Nidai became the head of the family not until 1645 (thus explaining the later death date of the Shodai in Markus’ list).
If the Shodai died at the earlier date, the school was „headless“ about 32 years.