Anonymous

Edo period 19th century

1615-1868

Tanto

A shin-shinto tanto blade mounted as an aikuchi (Dagger with flush-fitting hilt and scabbard). The saya and handle are of lacquered cherry bark inlaid with small metal ants crawling up and down as if alive and fittings are made of stag antler. The blade its self is a very heavy tanto blade with broad sugu-ha and indistinct itame-hada.

Unsigned

Size 345mm x 40mm

Umetada Masahide

Edo period 19th century

1615-1868

Tsuba

An iron and metal inlay tsuba decorated in stylistic natural scrolls and paulownia flowers in the form of the Toyotomi mon “family crest”. Around the outside of the tsuba is a pattern known as torture back.

Signed Umetada Masahide with Kakihan

Size 77mm x 85mm

Anonymous

Edo period mid-19th century

1615-1868

A Koshira-e (mounting) for a Tanto. All metal fittings comprising koiguchi (fitting to the mouth of the scabbard), kashira (hilt pommel), kojiri (butt piece), uragawara (fitting to the base of the kozuka slot) in finely worked silver wave design. The saya (scabbard) is finished in matt and polished lacquer with a matsuba (pine-needle) pattern; the tsuka (hilt) is covered in same (ray skin) with kujirahige (baleen) wrapping in a lozenge pattern.

The kozuka shakudo nanako is within a silver frame, inlaid in gold and chiselled in relief with a dragon (steel blade). Extremely fine nanako (fish roe) ground has been painstakingly hand-chiselled around the dragon, typical of the Goto school.

The warikogai silver, partially nanako, inlaid in gold and shakudo and chiselled in relief with kiri (paulownias) is fitted to the opposite side to the kozuka.

Size 381mm x 48mm

Unsigned

Ranzan Tsuneyuki

Edo Period 19th century

1615-1868

Fuchi & Kashira

A finely worked fuchi & kashira in brown shibuichi highlighted with copper, silver, gold and shakudo inlay.  The fuchi displays a hill lined landscape with grass blowing in the wind whereupon a single firefly holds on. The kashira depicts a black ox being driven by Jurojin not to be confused with (fukurokuju) holding an umbrella and blossom branch in the ox harness.

The fuchi has the characters Ōju (應需) meaning “by order” along with the makers’ name Ranzan Tsuneyuki. A book of designs by Ranzan Tsuneyuki is held in the Metropolitan Museum of New York whereupon the design can be found for the lone firefly on grass stems, the design is shown on tsubas and kozuka though not on a fuchi itself but is no mistakably the same design.

The specific kashira design is not found in the book but a total of 35 examples of Jurojin are to be found making it one of the most referenced subjects by Tsuneyuki and must have some important meaning to him. Jurojin is often depicted on the back of a stag and sometimes an ox holding a peach blossom branch walking stick. It is understood the origin of Jurojin comes from the Taoist sage Lao-tsu who is often depicted riding an ox.

Fuchi 37mm x 20mm

Kashira 34mm x 15mm

Signed Oju Ranzan Tsuneyuki

Goshu Hikone Ju Mogarashi (Soheishi) Nyudo Soten Sei

Late Edo period, 18/19th century

1650-1867

Tsuba

A deeply carved iron tsuba with flag and standard bearing samurai one on horseback the other on the floor. Inlayed with copper alloys, silver, and gold in the zogan technique.

This tsuba is of the Soten school of Hikone in Omi province of japan. The style is known as (Hikonebori) deriving its name from the village of Hikone in Goshu, where the first Kitagawa (Soneishi Nyubo Soten) lived and worked in the 17th century. This workmanship was developed from the Marubori work of Kamigata and Kyoto, through the marubori-zōgan stage in a Highley intricate and decorative style.

The subjects on these tsuba’s are taken from an almost inexhaustible range of legendary and historical episodes, both Chinese and Japanese origins. Many of the battle scenes are too ambiguous to be exactly sure of its meaning of the story.

Signed

Goshu Hikone ju Mogarashi (Soheishi) Nyudo Soten sei

71mm x 76mm

Anonymous

Edo period, 18/19th century

1750-1850

Tanto

A beautiful tanto with a fully bound tsuka, plaited highlights, gold and shakudo menuki retained by plaits, one in the form of a jumonji yari spearhead, the other a crutch and bag of scrolls. Shakudo and gold fuchi in the form of a basket with details of a hat and bamboo pole, and kashira in the form of a rice basket with a gold rat sitting on top. A gilt oval tsuba decorated with foliage and flowerheads of chrysanthemums in cloisonné enamels, contained in a cherry bark lacquered saya applied with a snail in mixed metals and a kojiri in the form of a cloth and fan motif with gold kakihan mark.

The fittings are by the maker Masayuki, founder of the Hamano family of Edo. Masayuki (1730), a pupil of the great Nara Toshihisa. Masayuki is always known as Shozui, the alternative pronunciation of the ideographs forming his name. His members created some of the finest objects of metal-work, primarily in fittings for the sword. He worked chiefly in shakudo but often in iron, not making any departure from the Nara style.

The blade itself has no mei (signature) but on the blade itself is a Sanskrit character in the Siddham script. The word Siddhaṃ means "accomplished" or "perfected" in Sanskrit. The character reads Fudo Myoo Acala (immovable). Acala is a dharmapala (wrathful god in Buddhism) and is classed among the wisdom kings and is preeminent among the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm.

He is known in China through esoteric Tangmi traditions as Budong Mingwang ("The Immovable Wisdom King"). His name in Japan is Fudo Myoo. Acala is especially important in Japanese Buddhism, where he is venerated in the Shingon, Tendai, Zen, and Nichiren sects, as well as in Shugendo.

Unsigned

410mm x 55mm

Kogatana

Edo period 18th/19th century

1753-1805

A bronze and gold kozuka decorated in peonies and butterflies houses a kogatana signed Ozaki Gengouemon Suketaka. Suketaka was born in 1753, he studied in Osaka under Kuroda Takanobu where he received an honorary title “nagato no Kami” in 1789. He was well known for signing his work in a cursive script. Cursive script is more like faster handwriting but a lot more difficult to read for unfamiliar eyes.   

Signed Ozaki Gengo’emon Suketaka

217mm x 14mm

Anonymous

Edo Period 18th/19th century

1615-1868

Kozuka

An iron kozuka with copper silver and gilt kinko inlays. Details hand chiselled depicting a closeup landscape with rocks and leaves in metal inlay and a central gilt Suzumushi (bell cricket).

The cricket has been traditionally kept as pets in japan and china, housed in beautifully decorated cages and carried by their owners. The Suzumushi is well known for its singing and the love of crickets can be found in the many poems written by Japanese poets. One of the great forefathers of haiku Kobayashi Issa (1762-1826) wrote: -

Autumn cicada-

flat on his back,

chirps his last song.

Grasshopper’s song in

moonlight – someone’s

survived the flood.

At the altar

in the chief place,

cries a cricket.

            -Issa (Translated by L. Stryk)

Unsigned

96mm x 14mm