Suishinshi Masamori

正守

3 ranked works

On the market now1 work

JūyōVol. 20, No. 313 · Katana

Overview

Hosokawa Masamori (細川正守) was a domain smith () of the Tsuyama fief in Mimasaka Province, active in the late period and producing dated works through the Ansei, Genji, and Keiō years. He was the legitimate heir and eldest son of Hosokawa Masayoshi, who had originally come from Kanuma in Shimotsuke Province before going to to study under Suishinshi Masahide. Through this paternal line Masamori inherited the Suishinshi current at one remove, and the records that he "wholly inherited his teacher-father's manner," with a technical level standing "next to that of his teacher-father."

Masayoshi excelled in both - and , and his - in particular is held to merit special attention; Masamori in turn favored the manner. The characteristic is a tightly forged densely worked, with thick adhering and appearing. The is fundamentally mixed with and ; enter overall in long legs, adheres well, and the is bright. In places coarser of "notably strong brilliance" emerges, while fine and run throughout. The tends to with , turning back in with a slightly pointed tendency. Signatures are characteristically cut in a long inscription toward the side of the , with a stamped seal and a date on the .

Masamori is "famed within Masayoshi's circle as the craftsman whose skill is second only to that of the master." At his finest, where the clusters grow larger than usual and the temper shows pronounced height variation, the result is "a particularly splendid and flamboyant " combined with a "grand, weighty, and heroic overall "—work that approaches the level of his father Masayoshi and stands among Masamori's foremost masterworks.

Historical importance

Where Masamori stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.

随一
Foremost
屈指
Leading
有数
Major
著名
Notable

Select a lens to see how it's measured.

Designations

Kokuhō—
Jūyō Bunkazai—
Jūyō Bijutsuhin—
Gyobutsu—
Tokubetsu Jūyō—
Jūyō Tōken3

Elite Standing

Currently Available

Other artisans of the Suishinshi Masahide school

  1. 1.Naotane直胤11 for sale40designated
  2. 2.Masahide正秀8 for sale28designated
  3. 3.Sukemasa助政8designated
  4. 4.Jirotaro Naokatsu直勝2 for sale7designated
  5. 5.Masayoshi正義3 for sale5designated
  6. 6.Masatsugu正次3 for sale4designated
  7. 7.Tsunatoshi綱俊7 for sale3designated
  8. 8.Masaaki正明2 for sale1designated
  9. 9.Hidekuni秀國1designated
  10. 10.Munetsugu宗次1designated
  11. 11.Masanao昌直1 for sale1designated
  12. 12.Masayoshi正義3 for sale2designated

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