Hirata

[M Ubertini]

Hey all,

 

 Just picked up this nice Hirata school tsuba. Any thoughts to which generation? 7.62 x 7.14cm. 

[Toryu2020]

Sorry can’t answer the question just want to say what a great piece that is. Well done sir !

[Spartancrest]

  Attributed to Hirata Hikozo I, 17^th century     

 

Nidai Hirata Hikozo

[Curran]

Matt and I already spoke about this one.

Though the punch marks on the seppa dai are not 100% classic, they also don't feel off.  Nakago ana adjustment might be the answer.

I am still thinking on it,  though sometimes I can never come up with a real answer.

 

So much feels right on this one, that I would have been excited to find it at a sword show.

I am genuinely envious.

[Lewis B]

Caveat emptor, I don't have much experience with tosogu. But I thought the punch marks around the seppa dai were to fine tune a fitting to a particular blade. Wouldn't the 3 strikes on the left and upper one on the right have little effect in this respect. Or would enough force have been applied to cause the metal to bulge into the nakago hitsu ana space. Were non circular punches used often? I'm asking to calibrate my observations in case I come across a similar tsuba. 

[Curran]

For some artisans from the Hirata, Hayashi, and Kamiyoshi schools of Higo tsuba,

the punch marks are a defacto signature.

[Steve Waszak]

Matt and I have conversed on this piece, too.  Beautiful work.  I lean towards Nidai work, but I may very well be wrong, and it could be Shodai Hikozo.  That plate is just killer.  I'd love to see it in person some day.  Congrats again, Matt, on acquiring this tsuba.   

[M Ubertini]

Thanks for everyone’s opinion. Whether it’s a shodai or Nidai, love it. It had a slightly old repair on the rear. I hear the ste common with these types of mimi. 

[Brian]

Who's that Japanese dealer that specializes in these, that comes to the US shows?
Wouldn't it be worth asking him for an opinion?
Really lovely tsuba, I think we are all a bit jealous

[HannesT]

The tsuba looks great, I really like the yakite surface. Does it have papers attributing it to the Hirata school?

 

The tagane-mei are somewhat unclear, but since the piece has been mounted several times, that would explain the irregularities. However, an attribution cannot be made based on this feature alone, as Itô Mitsuru states in his book.

 

Odawara Fukurin looks good.

 

The first master is generally believed to have lived from 1590 to 1635 (according to most studies), which explains why only a very small number of pieces attributed to the first generation exist. Most of the known pieces (to my knowledge, around 40) are well documented.

 

First-generation work tends to be darker, less polished, and very refined in design and execution, while the second generation is often a bit simpler.
 

Also to consider: It always raises questions when a typical piece doesn’t get clear papers and ends up being sold abroad. Still, depending on the price, it might be worth the risk and based on the photos alone, I’d probably have gone for it too. 

[M Ubertini]

No paper, bought it on its attributes.  Shodai doesn’t always have a uniform tagane-mei. I’ve seen many pieces similar to this, but that’s not as important.  It’s definitely much darker than its photos with a very reflective surface, probably from the urushi.  Was in a US collection for a long time, I believe.  I’ve been looking for one for some time, so got lucky.  I was thinking second generation when I first saw it.  Who knows. 

Edited Wednesday at 11:55 AM by M Ubertini

[Jake6500]

It can be very hard to pin a specific generation to Hirata given most of the works are unsigned.

NBTHK are more than likely to err on the side of caution and certify as Hirata den...

 

Regardless, it's a pretty nice addition to any collection. Hirata school is interesting for a lot of reasons!

[Mushin]

7 hours ago, Brian said:

Who's that Japanese dealer that specializes in these, that comes to the US shows?
Wouldn't it be worth asking him for an opinion?
Really lovely tsuba, I think we are all a bit jealous

The Expert is Ito Mitsuru of You You Gallery. His daughter Rei handles most dealings w folks from overseas. They are both supposed to be in Chicago next week.