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  3. Mitsutada

Umetada Mitsutada

光忠

Jūyō
Vol. 8, No. 94 · Tsuba

Umetada Mitsutada

光忠

6 ranked works

SchoolUmetadaTraditionShintoGeneration2nd genTypeTosogu MakerCodeUME021
1Jūyō Bijutsuhin
5Jūyō Tōken

Overview

Mitsutada is a Kyoto metalworker of the period, regarded as belonging to the group ( ichimon). Although his name does not appear in the genealogies of the lineage, examination of the range and character of his extant works indicates that he should be placed within that circle. His period of activity is thought to have been almost contemporaneous with Myoju, and he is conjectured to have been of senior standing among the metalworkers of the group. His precise biography and genealogy remain unclear, and because none of his works bear dates, his exact working period cannot be established with certainty.

Mitsutada's works are consistently executed in brass (shinchu), employing an uneven, raised-and-recessed ground (dekoboko-) that imparts an archaic atmosphere. His rims characteristically receive a turned-back treatment (), often with deliberate variation. Many pieces are further embellished with gold and silver and ground texturing, while subjects range from scattered family crests and decorative paper slips (jigami) to landscapes, flowers, and Daoist and Buddhist figures. Compared with Myoju, his work "may be somewhat less polished in refinement; however, many examples display an even more classically archaic elegance." Certain pieces, such as a Daruma-design , give a "somewhat unusual impression," revealing a distinctive and individual flavor. His brass grounds are notably rich in character, and the slightly raised texture of his projects what the describes as "a richly fragrant sense of refined elegance."

Signed works by Mitsutada are extremely few — only three bearing his two-character signature are known, with merely several more attributed to him. This rarity makes each authenticated example precious reference material. His compositions overflow with -period feeling, and his best works convey a subdued emotional tone unique to this craftsman, distinct from Myoju yet resonant with the tradition of refined beauty.

Kantei

3 descriptive axes: material (brass grounds worked uneven, with shakudo and ishime) x technique (flat inlay and gold-and-silver nunome inlay) x themes (plant and pictorial-or-design-style devices). His load-bearing discriminators are the uneven brass ground he works almost without exception and the more antique feel the records set against the refinement of Myoju. With only six pieces these are low-n tells, honestly scoped.

Mitsutada is a metalwork artist of the school of Kyoto, working in the period roughly contemporary with the founder Myoju. The records note that his name is not entered in the genealogy, but his workmanship is judged to be that of the school, and he is surmised to be a senior figure within it, active about Myoju's time or a generation earlier. His surviving signed pieces are few. They are without exception worked on brass grounds left uneven, the field roughened, and finished with rims given variety by turning them back, in flat-inlay and nunome-inlay work. The rate him less refined than Myoju but more antique and elegant in feel. He signs a two-character Mitsutada cut on the right of the -.

Diagnostic discriminators

the uneven, roughened brass ground is his constant tell; the records say his surviving pieces are without exception worked on brass left uneven, separating his field from the more polished work of the house. n is low (5 of 6); 凸凹地 and the OCR variant 凹凸地 are the same feature

the corpus repeatedly distinguishes him from Myoju as less refined but more antique (古雅); this is the documented discriminator against the house head, on 3 of 6 pieces, low-n

Material (grounds)

Brass above all, the ground left uneven and roughened rather than polished flat; and a stone-grain ground also appear on a mounting. The brass ground is his constant material.

Technique (inlay)

Inlay is his hand: flat inlay across the brass grounds, with gold-and-silver nunome inlay, and on one piece relief work; the rims are turned or twisted back to give the outline variety.

Themes (devices)

His subjects are few in the corpus: young pine scattered on a , paulownia-and-tomoe devices, citrus-paper and willow-and-returning-geese designs. One record divides his work into pictorial-style and design-style pieces.

Design-style devicesless firmly established

Plant and emblematic devices set as design on the uneven brass field, with the texture of the ground itself carrying the antique feel.

Pictorial-style devicesless firmly established

A pictorial mode the records set beside the design mode, composing the subject like a painting on the ; the corpus notes it without a securely-linked motif.

Full iconography

Signature chronology

Recorded signatures

Documentary note

His name is not entered in the genealogy and no dated piece survives, so his place is not fixed; the records judge him an -school metalwork artist from his workmanship alone and surmise he is a senior figure of about Myoju's time or a generation earlier. He signs a two-character Mitsutada cut on the right of the -, and one carries the full Mitsutada; unsigned pieces are attributed to him.

Scholarship

A single record says one of his pieces is among those that can give a somewhat unusual feel, like that seen in the Daruma tsuba of the Koga house. This rests on one setsumei only and is offered as that record's impression, not a settled judgment.

Designations

Kokuhō—
Jūyō Bunkazai—
Jūyō Bijutsuhin1
Gyobutsu—
Tokubetsu Jūyō—
Jūyō Tōken5

Elite Standing

0.00 across 6 designated works

Top 100% among makers

Provenance

2 documented provenances across certified works by Mitsutada

Provenance Standing

0 works held in elite collections across 2 documented provenances

Top 50% among makers

Raw score: 2.00 / 10

Work Types

Distribution across 6 ranked works

Tsuba
480%
Other
120%

Signatures

Signature types across 6 ranked works

Currently Available

Umetada School

Other artisans of the Umetada school

  1. 1.Myoju明寿43designated
  2. 2.Shigeyoshi重義4 for sale4designated
  3. 3.Umetada❀忠7designated
  4. 4.Jusai寿斎1designated
  5. 5.Shichizaemon七左衛門1designated
  6. 6.Shichiza七左1designated

Mitsutada

Mitsutada(光忠) was a maker of Japanese sword fittings (tōsōgu) of the Umetada school.

The work follows the Shinto tradition.

Designated works by Mitsutada include 5 Jūyō.