Fuchi-Kashira Shibuichi Nio Agyo

[Florian]

Hello everyone,
 

Fuchi-Kashira in Shibuichi with a depiction of the guardian deity Niō named Agyo, one of the two guardian deities of Japanese mythology, protectors of Buddhist temples and the teachings of Buddha.

Agyo is usually depicted with his mouth open and associated with the sound « ah, » the first sound of birth.

Edo period.

Dimensions :
Fuchi : 38,3 x 19,7 x 6,9 mm
Kashira : 34 x 19 mm

600 € (plus shipping)

 

[Curran]

Hamano school.

Workmanship says someone close to Shozui (aka. Masayuki), or along the Shozui line.

 

It is good these are unsigned.

When the Europeans came, dealers would often add a gimei 'Shozui' signature to upgrade these for sale to the west.

 

This is my honest opinion.

I hope it helps. I don't collect Nara schools work, but this is a nice example in shibuichi.

[Jake6500]

On 5/22/2026 at 12:48 AM, Curran said:

Hamano school.

Workmanship says someone close to Shozui (aka. Masayuki), or along the Shozui line.

 

It is good these are unsigned.

When the Europeans came, dealers would often add a gimei 'Shozui' signature to upgrade these for sale to the west.

 

This is my honest opinion.

I hope it helps. I don't collect Nara schools work, but this is a nice example in shibuichi.

 

This strikes me as later work than that... I would have thought Bakumatsu Period (or in that ballpark, 1800-1850) Hamano work or possibly Iwama school...

 

Agree with you that it is a nice piece and better mumei than gimei.

Edited July 5 by Jake6500

[Curran]

On 7/5/2026 at 7:52 AM, Jake6500 said:

 

This strikes me as later work than that... I would have thought Bakumatsu Period (or in that ballpark, 1800-1850) Hamano work or possibly Iwama school...

 

Agree with you that it is a nice piece and better mumei than gimei.

 

I was thinking a generation or two after Shozui. That would be around 1800?

The main reason I don't go later is that the recessed carving of the tree trunk reminds me of Shozui and Shozui student's way of doing things. 

Like the proverbial grape-vine, a technique is handed down but changes a little bit in the +1 gen.  It changes more at +2 gen, but is still recognizable as having come from following Shozui's work or teaching.

   ---> My brain says "within 50 years of Shozui".  That might be early, but it is what I see.

[Jake6500]

On 7/9/2026 at 6:21 AM, Curran said:

 

I was thinking a generation or two after Shozui. That would be around 1800?

The main reason I don't go later is that the recessed carving of the tree trunk reminds me of Shozui and Shozui student's way of doing things. 

Like the proverbial grape-vine, a technique is handed down but changes a little bit in the +1 gen.  It changes more at +2 gen, but is still recognizable as having come from following Shozui's work or teaching.

   ---> My brain says "within 50 years of Shozui".  That might be early, but it is what I see.

 

Makes sense, I can see that. My mind goes toward Bakumatsu because of the more realistic presentation of the Nioh on the kashira, which is something you start to see more of post-1800 with late Edo artistic developments by artists such as Iwama Masayoshi or Yukimitsu Isobe who was a student of the Hamano school. These later artists would emulate earlier masters such as Shozui frequently, adding their own hyper-realistic spin to traditional designs. They also began to experiment with different techniques to enhance the realism of pieces such as using polished stone or horn for the eye, etc.

 

My tengu profile picture is an example of one such work - unfortunately gimei with a fake Shozui mei. I've done some research and I believe it might have been a sister piece from Yukimitsu Isobe's workshop or from within his circle, however I couldn't say for sure...

 

As the carving seems reminiscent of these later pieces but the techniques used are more traditional here, perhaps circa 1800-1820, a generation or two earlier, is right?

 

 

[Curran]

You have a very good point, where I see one end and you see the other.

I look at the kashira and very much understand your point of view.

 

I am very open to being wrong.

I was starting to sell a Higo f/k to a friend and pricing it as a circa 1750-1825 Nishigaki work.

A friend made me look closer at the fuchi and realize that it was a very well done married pair.

Fuchi is nidai Hirata, and the kashira is of Nishigaki 1750-1825 era.

I got too focused on the easy to kantei specifics of the kashira, and overly ignored the fuchi.

 

With the above Hamano f/k, I think it is safe to say the f/k are original to each other.

Still, -got to be cautious in age dating the set based simply on the fuchi or the kashira.

In this case, the kashira is probably the more dominant determinant. The recessed tree execution is not that difficult of an homage to (or execution in) the earlier circa Shozui n students style. 

As you say, the realism of the Nioh definitely presents as later work.