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.

[Steve Waszak]

The 1645 death date for the Shodai (if accurate) invites many questions, such as where, then, the 1613/1614 date comes from, and why he would have been buried at Kokuzanji Temple, which is in Kii Province (Wakayama Prefecture), if he'd worked for the Asano from 1619-1645 in Aki Province (Hiroshima).  The Shodai moved from Owari to Kai Province to work for the Asano daimyo in that province, and then to Kii Province, continuing to work for the Asano family after they had been transferred there (Asano Yukinaga, the daimyo of Kii, died in 1613).  It would seem to be more logical to conclude that, having worked for the Asano family in Kii province, he passed away there some five to six years before the Asano were transferred to Aki in 1619, and was then buried in Kokuzanji Temple, than that he would have lived the last 26 years of his life in Aki, only to then have his remains be interred in Kokuzanji in Kii in 1645.  It's also odd that it is specified that Hisatsugu (second generation Hoan) accompanied the Asano to Aki Province in 1619, while the Shodai is not mentioned as having also done so.   I wonder if the 1645 date given for Hisatsugu having become the "head" of the family might allude to some "technical" detail regarding official titles.  I am more inclined to regard the 1613/1614 death date for the Shodai as more likely to be accurate.  

[Steve Waszak]

A little further looking around turned up the following, a Juyo Shodai Hoan tsuba with accompanying text translated by Markus Sesko:

 

 

 

"Jūyō-kodōgu at the 48th jūyō shinsa held on October 11, 2002 kuruma-sukashi miminaga-usagi no zu tsuba (車透耳長兎図鐔) - Tsuba with cart wheel sukashi and a design of long-eared rabbits mei: Hōan (法安) Measurements Height 8.1 cm, width 7.5 cm, thickness at rim 0.6 cm Description Hinshitsu-keijō: tatemaru-gata, iron, tsuchime-ji, sukidashibori, yakite-kusarashi, ji-sukashi, kinzōgan, dote-mimi, one hitsu-ana Jidai: Momoyama period.   Explanation: Hōan was an armor smith who lived in Kiyosu (清洲) in Owari province and whose real name was Kawaguchi Saburō'emon (川口三郎右衞門). When he became employed by the Asano (浅野) family, he also worked from Fuchū (府中) in Kai province and in Wakayama (和歌山) in Kii province. He died on the 20th day of the fifth month of Keichō 18 (慶長, 1613) and his posthumous Buddhist name is Honpō'in Sō'an Nisshin (本法院宗安日真). His son-in-law Hisatsugu (久次) moved during the Genna era (元和, 1615-1624) on the occasion of the transfer of the Asano to Hiroshima (広島) in Aki province where the local Kokuzenji (国前寺) came to facilitate henceforth the graves of all members of the Kawaguchi family. The powerful iron of Hōan works is praised by the rather uncommon term uwabami-gane (うわばみ鉄), which means lit. "large snake steel," and the steel of this tsuba is exceptionally well forge[d]. It has the characteristic "stickyness," shows a forging structure in places, and an etched (yakite-kusarashi) design of long-eared rabbits which was the strong point of this artist. Shape, openwork, and distribution of the niku are gorgeous, giving this tsuba a very profound appearance."

 

So, it seems the Shodai's death date is actually quite specific (May 20th, 1613).  It also appears that the Shodai's remains were moved to Kokuzenji Temple in Aki (Hiroshima), presumably after (or at the same time that) the Asano and Hoan Hisatsugu were transferred to Aki in 1619.  

 

Many thanks to Markus Sesko for the translation, and to Rayhan for his generous work in supplying these Juyo Zufo texts for our learning and appreciation.    

 

 

 

 

 

[FlorianB]

It seems that the Hoan smiths have had difficulties to earn their living. The Shodai and the nidal worked mainly for the Asano but also for other clans. The reason for this seems to be meagre wages: the Shodai received 10 Koku rice by the Asano which is said to be little.
It is not mentioned they sold their works to civilians like wealthy merchants. Possibly that’s the reason they where not prosperous like other schools and changed business later.

Their works have been made for an exclusive circle and not for masses like Akasaka so the demand was limited.

[Steve Waszak]

Hi Florian,

 

You make some good points here, especially about the Hoan smiths making their works for the Asano family (and perhaps for other high-ranking clans), but not for the masses.   For some of the most highly regarded tsubako (e.g. Hoan, Nobuiye, Yamakichibei, and the Higo smiths), they were indeed retained by Buke families, and did not, as far as I know, make their works availably broadly and generally to the public in common commerce.  I believe this was true of the Akao as well.   As retained craftsmen, they received a stipend, thus removing the need (and, perhaps, the permission) to sell their tsuba to the masses.  

 

As for the 10-koku stipend the Shodai was provided by the Asano, while some may see this amount as meager, it may not actually be so.  We may need more information about the particular circumstances involved, but if my understanding is correct, 1 koku of rice = the amount of rice required to feed one person for a year.  The Shodai Hoan did not operate a "school," per se, with several students working in an atelier; rather, he had a son-in-law who became the Nidai Hoan, perhaps/probably not until the passing of the Shodai in 1613/1614.   It is possible, if not probable, therefore, that the Shodai worked alone as a tsubako, with no actual "school" during his lifetime.  So, 10 koku of rice, in being enough to feed ten people for a year, may have been more than adequate for the Shodai and his family.   

[Curran]

On 8/30/2025 at 3:12 PM, Steve Waszak said:

A little further looking around turned up the following, a Juyo Shodai Hoan tsuba with accompanying text translated by Markus Sesko:

 

 

 

"Jūyō-kodōgu at the 48th jūyō shinsa held on October 11, 2002 kuruma-sukashi miminaga-usagi no zu tsuba (車透耳長兎図鐔) - Tsuba with cart wheel sukashi and a design of long-eared rabbits mei: Hōan (法安) Measurements Height 8.1 cm, width 7.5 cm, thickness at rim 0.6 cm Description Hinshitsu-keijō: tatemaru-gata, iron, tsuchime-ji, sukidashibori, yakite-kusarashi, ji-sukashi, kinzōgan, dote-mimi, one hitsu-ana Jidai: Momoyama period.   Explanation: Hōan was an armor smith who lived in Kiyosu (清洲) in Owari province and whose real name was Kawaguchi Saburō'emon (川口三郎右衞門). When he became employed by the Asano (浅野) family, he also worked from Fuchū (府中) in Kai province and in Wakayama (和歌山) in Kii province. He died on the 20th day of the fifth month of Keichō 18 (慶長, 1613) and his posthumous Buddhist name is Honpō'in Sō'an Nisshin (本法院宗安日真). His son-in-law Hisatsugu (久次) moved during the Genna era (元和, 1615-1624) on the occasion of the transfer of the Asano to Hiroshima (広島) in Aki province where the local Kokuzenji (国前寺) came to facilitate henceforth the graves of all members of the Kawaguchi family. The powerful iron of Hōan works is praised by the rather uncommon term uwabami-gane (うわばみ鉄), which means lit. "large snake steel," and the steel of this tsuba is exceptionally well forge[d]. It has the characteristic "stickyness," shows a forging structure in places, and an etched (yakite-kusarashi) design of long-eared rabbits which was the strong point of this artist. Shape, openwork, and distribution of the niku are gorgeous, giving this tsuba a very profound appearance."

 

So, it seems the Shodai's death date is actually quite specific (May 20th, 1613).  It also appears that the Shodai's remains were moved to Kokuzenji Temple in Aki (Hiroshima), presumably after (or at the same time that) the Asano and Hoan Hisatsugu were transferred to Aki in 1619.  

 

Many thanks to Markus Sesko for the translation, and to Rayhan for his generous work in supplying these Juyo Zufo texts for our learning and appreciation.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went from not liking Hoan tsuba that much, to truly loving some of the early ones. The Hoan Juyo of the long eared rabbit has become a favorite. I'd probably have to sell off 10 tsuba to own it, but would do so.

[Steve Waszak]

Right there with you, Curran.  This Juyo Rabbits tsuba has long been one of my absolute favorites, by any smith, and may be my #1 Hoan work (which is saying something).   Hoan is not often mentioned in the same breath as Nobuiye, Kaneie, Myoju, and Matashichi, but certainly should be in my view, along with Yamakichibei, of course.