The father of machibori. Yokoya Sōmin walked out of the Gotō workshops and the shōgunal stipend behind them, and founded the free "town carving" that defined Edo fittings for two centuries — katakiribori engraving that cuts like a painter’s brushstroke. From his house descend the great machibori lines that fill this tree: Yanagawa, and through it Ishiguro’s birds-and-flowers ateliers, Tōryūsai, and Kikuoka.
Era
1620 — 1870
Members
115
Kokuhō
0
Jūbun
4
Jūbi
16
Tokujū
20
Jūyō
312
For Sale
55
115smiths0Kokuhō4Jūbun16Jūbi20Tokujū312Jūyō
Branch石黒Ishiguro24 smiths
Branch大森Omorifrom 宗珉15 smiths
Branch岩本Iwamoto10 smiths
Branch菊岡Kikuoka9 smiths
The Edo Yokoya School (横谷) Lineage
The The Edo Yokoya School (横谷), active 1620–1870 in Edo across 115 documented smiths: 0 Kokuhō (National Treasures), 4 Jūbun, 16 Jūbi, 20 Tokubetsu Jūyō, 312 Jūyō.
Phase 1 · The Edo Yokoya School (横谷) · 1620 – 1870
Somin (宗珉) — Mainline. Jūbun, Jūbi, Tokujū, Jūyō. Yokoya Somin (横谷宗珉), born in Edo in Kanbun 10 (1670) under the personal name Tomotsune, was the third-generation master of the Yokoya family, the largest metalworking lineage of the Edo period. His grandfather, the first-generation Yokoya Soko, had studied under the Goto house and served the Tokugawa shogunate as an official metalworker. Somin likewise entered shogunal service and trained in the hereditary *iebori* manner, but — finding the convention-bound idiom of the Goto house unsatisfying and "influenced as well by the tastes of the time" — he resigned his stipend and entered the independent sphere. There he "exercised his abilities to the fullest, achieved great success, and came to be called the founder of *machibori*." He cultivated a close friendship with the Kano-school-trained painter Hanabusa Iccho, from whom he "received guidance regarding designs and pictorial conceptions." He also studied with Kano Tan'yu, deepening his art by working from painters' designs. He used the common name Chojiro (later Jihei), the art name Ton'an, and was first called Sochi before adopting the name Somin after his father's death. He died in Kyoho 18 (1733) at the age of sixty-four.
Somin's manner "may broadly be divided into two principal modes": richly modeled *takabori* with polychrome metal inlay (*iroe*) in gold, silver, and *shibuichi*, and *katakiribori*, "a technique he originated." In the former mode, his carving displays "an overwhelming abundance of modeled volume" (*nikuoki*) with "bold rises and falls in the flesh, producing a forceful and crisply articulated carving manner" that "clearly reveals both Somin's Goto lineage and the thoroughness of his training." In the latter, his chisel work shows "pronounced modulation" and "decisive" strokes, "alternating depth and shallowness at will," with "modulations of speed and emphasis that recall ink painting." His command of *nanako-ji* grounds in *shakudo*, polished *shibuichi* surfaces, and techniques such as *sukidashi-bori*, *kebori*, and *yobori* was comprehensive. Among his most distinctive inventions are the "Yokoya lions" (*shishi*) — rendered with such immediacy that "one experiences the illusion that the lion might spring forth from the *kozuka* itself" — and his innovative vertically oriented *tatezu* compositions for *kozuka*, depicting lions, tigers, horses, and other subjects "from the front or from behind." His *menuki* employ *in'yo-ne* roots, *kukuridashi*, and *chikara-gane*, while his *tsuba* demonstrate a mastery of negative space, "unfolding a weighty subject with an unforced expansiveness."
The NBTHK setsumei consistently characterize Somin as an artist of supreme technical authority, describing his work as displaying "the very quintessence of Somin's artistry" and "outstanding technical mastery." His ability to harmonize deliberately contrasting ground treatments and carving methods within a single composition is called "an exceptionally difficult task" in which "Somin's outstanding technique is displayed to its fullest." His chisel handling is praised as "at once delicate and boldly expressive," possessing "a severity and awe-inspiring intensity that other craftsmen could not rival." His influence is described as having "exerted a major influence on later generations of metalworkers" — a phrase that appears in virtually every NBTHK assessment. Whether working in the high-relief *takabori iroe* of his Goto heritage or in the freely modulated *katakiribori* he pioneered, Somin "opened a new direction through freer, life-sketch-based realism," establishing a tradition that fundamentally reshaped the world of Edo-period sword fittings.
Masayoshi (政美) — Mainline. Tokujū, Jūyō. Ishiguro Masayoshi (石黒政美), also read Masami, was a preeminent master of the Ishiguro school, a distinguished lineage of Edo-period metalworkers descended from the Yokoya tradition. Born in An'ei 3 (1774), his common name was Shōzō, and he employed a succession of art names including Jugakusai, Jukakusai, Juōsai, and Juō. He first trained under Sano Naoyoshi of the Yanagawa school before entering the atelier of Ishiguro Masatsune, the founder of the Ishiguro house. In tribute to both teachers, he derived his art name by taking one character from each master's name and substituting the character *mi* (美) for *yoshi* (好), thus arriving at Masayoshi (政美). Extant works bearing the inscription "Third-generation Ishiguro Masayoshi" confirm that he succeeded as the third head of the family following the second Masatsune. Within the school he was celebrated alongside his fellow pupil Masaaki as forming a "matched pair" of supreme ability, and he trained numerous disciples who carried the Ishiguro manner into the late Edo period.
Masayoshi's technical command encompassed the full repertoire of the Ishiguro school's metalworking vocabulary. His preferred format was a *shakudō* ground finished in dense *nanako-ji* upon which elaborate pictorial compositions were built through *takabori* executed as applied motifs in the *suemon* technique, enriched with lavish polychrome *iroe* employing gold, silver, *shibuichi*, and scarlet copper (*hiirōdō*). His *tsuba*, *fuchi-kashira*, *kozuka*, *kōgai*, and *menuki* frequently formed unified suites—*soroi kanagu* or complete *issaku* sets—demonstrating rigorous thematic coherence across every fitting. While the school's signature *kachō-zu* (flowers-and-birds) subjects predominated, Masayoshi proved equally commanding in martial themes: hawks poised on rocks above raging torrents, raptors fixed upon prey amid aged pines, and dragon-and-tiger compositions rendered through varied relief techniques from *sukidashi-bori* through rounded modeling to full high relief. He also worked with distinction on *shibuichi* *migaki-ji* and *ishime-ji* grounds, and produced refined *katakiribori* and *kebori* line-engraving on solid-gold fittings, as seen in his celebrated "Four Gentlemen" *aikuchi* suite. His works inscribed at the age of seventy-seven and seventy-eight confirm an undiminished creative intensity sustained across decades.
Masayoshi occupies a central place in the history of late Edo metalwork as the artist who brought the Ishiguro school's painterly idiom to its fullest expression. His compositions reveal a pictorial intelligence that extends beyond virtuoso carving: front and reverse surfaces are linked through continuous branches and contrasting water motifs, male and female birds are paired with deliberate compositional care, and the interplay of *a-un* expression lends narrative depth to each scene. The NBTHK examiners have repeatedly noted that his finest pieces represent works in which "Masayoshi's full capabilities are brought to fruition," praising both the steadfast precision of his chisel work at the smallest scale and the monumental presence of his high-relief compositions. Whether rendering the opulent splendor of peacocks with peonies or the austere nobility of a solitary hawk upon iron, Masayoshi demonstrated a range and mastery that secured his standing as one of the foremost *tōsōgu* artists of the late Tokugawa period.
Masatsune (政常) — Mainline. Tokujū, Jūyō. Ishiguro Masatsune (stone inscription: 石黒政常), born in Horeki 10 (1760), was the founding master of the Ishiguro school of metalworkers and one of the most celebrated *machibori* (town-carving) artists of the late Edo period. He first apprenticed under Kato Naotsune of the Yanagawa branch, and subsequently studied with Yanagawa Naomasa himself, both part of the broader Yokoya lineage. Upon establishing independence, Masatsune combined one character from each teacher's name — *masa* (政) from Naomasa and *tsune* (常) from Naotsune — to form his professional name. He used the art names Togakushi (東嶽子, later written 東岳子) and, after passing the age of sixty, signed works as "Ishiguro-sai Jumyo Masatsune." His school attracted many gifted pupils, including Masayoshi, Masaaki, Koretsune, Masahide, and Masahiro, and the Ishiguro lineage continued to flourish through successive generations into the Meiji period. He died in Bunsei 11 (1828) at the age of sixty-nine.
Masatsune's technical command encompassed the full repertoire of the *kinko* metalworker. His favored ground was *shakudo* finished with an impeccably regular *nanako-ji*, praised in designation records for its orderly precision. Upon this deep-black surface he executed designs primarily in *takabori* (high relief) enriched with *iroe* (polychrome inlay), deploying a remarkable palette of colored metals — gold, silver, *shibuichi*, *suaka* (scarlet copper), *oborogin*, and *hi-irodo* — to achieve effects of brilliant yet controlled chromatic richness. His *menuki* demonstrate equal mastery of *yobori* (sculptural carving) and *nikubori* (fleshed relief) on solid gold grounds, often employing *okigane* (applied metal) and *suemon-zogan* (applied inlay). A pair of dragon *menuki* reveals his command of the *dashi-keshi* method and precise *sankaku-tagane* (triangular chisel) work adapted from the Goto *iebori* tradition. Whether rendering the minutely differentiated plumage of a raptor, the undulating force of ocean waves expressed through polished relief with gold and silver *ro-zogan* (dew inlay), or the delicate color gradations in a pheasant's breast, Masatsune's chisel strokes are characterized by an honest, finely detailed manner and a clean final polish that imparts an air of dignified refinement.
Masatsune's artistic significance rests upon his transformation of the Yanagawa manner into a distinctly personal idiom centered on bird-and-flower subjects and birds of prey — themes that became the hallmarks of his school. His compositions make masterful use of open space, creating what the NBTHK examiners repeatedly describe as a "clear and limpid spirit." Yet within this decorative brilliance there persists a martial vigor suited to warrior taste, a quality that distinguishes the first generation's work from the more purely ornamental output of later Ishiguro artists. His oeuvre spans *tsuba*, *fuchi-kashira*, *kozuka*, *kogai*, *menuki*, and complete *soroe-kanagu* sets, demonstrating equal facility across every format of sword fitting. As an artist who bridged the Yokoya lineage's classical discipline and the expressive naturalism of the Bunka-Bunsei cultural efflorescence, Masatsune stands among the foremost representative metalworkers of Edo-period Japan.
Teruhide (英秀) — Mainline. Tokujū, Jūyō. Omori Hideshu was the second-generation master of the Omori school, one of the most influential branches within the broader Yokoya lineage of Edo-period metalworkers. A nephew of the founding master Omori Eisho -- himself a direct disciple of the great Yokoya Somin -- Hideshu bore the personal name Kisoji and, after training under Eisho, succeeded him as head of the line. Under his leadership the Omori group attained a prosperity that rivaled the parent Yokoya tradition itself. Working in the mid to late Edo period from his atelier beneath Kinryuzan in Edo, Hideshu also used the art-name Ryuusai, and his output encompassed the full range of sword-fitting forms: tsuba, fuchi-kashira, menuki, kozuka, kogai, and complete unified suites of fittings known as *issaku kanagu*. Several of his documented commissions were executed for the Ii family of Hikone domain, including formal *hosodachi* and *daisho koshirae* bearing the Ii clan tachibana crest -- evidence of sustained patronage at the highest levels of daimyo society.
Hideshu's technical achievement is defined by a remarkable synthesis of sculptural ambition and decorative refinement. His preferred working method employed *shakudo nanako-ji* grounds upon which he carved in bold *takabori* (high relief) with polychrome *iroe* in gold, silver, *shibuichi*, *suaka*, and the rare *hi-irodo* (scarlet copper). He is most celebrated for originating the powerfully three-dimensional wave motif known as *Omori nami* -- surging, reverse-breaking crests rendered in *sukidashi-bori* that became the school's defining signature. Equally innovative were his inlay techniques: the *sunago-zogan* executed in a *kinkeshi* manner that scattered fine gold dust across the surface, and the method he termed *nashiji-zogan* (also called *chirigami-zogan*), a form of flat gold inlay that evokes the luminous depth of *maki-e* lacquerwork. His subject matter ranged across figural compositions drawn from Chinese and Japanese history and legend -- Fan Kuai forcing his way into the enemy ranks at the Banquet at Hongmen, warriors contesting the Uji River crossing, Shoki confronting demons -- as well as iconic motifs of shishi amid peonies, hawks and prey, sacred Buddhist figures, and auspicious themes such as the *gohei-zaru*. In at least one documented instance he worked from an underdrawing by the Kano painter Tsunenobu, demonstrating a scholarly engagement with painting traditions that informed his pictorial compositions.
Hideshu occupies a position of singular importance within the Edo *kinko* tradition. He transformed the Omori school from a secondary branch of the Yokoya lineage into a creative force of the first rank, and his technical innovations -- the Omori wave, the nashiji inlay method -- were perpetuated by subsequent generations and became hallmarks by which the school is identified. The NBTHK setsumei consistently characterize him as an artist who "brought renewed prosperity" to the lineage and whose chiselwork demonstrates "full mastery." His surviving oeuvre, spanning intimate menuki carved in solid gold *yobori* to monumental daisho suites unified by heraldic programs, reveals an artist equally capable of restrained courtly dignity and dramatic narrative force, one whose refined technique and compositional intelligence place him among the foremost practitioners of the Yokoya tradition.
Mitsuyuki (光行) — Mainline · 1750-1800. Jūbi, Jūyō. Kikuoka Mitsuyuki was born in Kan'en 3 (1750) in Kandakajichō, Edo, and trained under Yanagawa Naomitsu of the Yokoya lineage. Having matured through the guidance of the Yanagawa house, he attained full accomplishment as an artist and went on to establish the Kikuoka school as its founder, creating an independent line characterized by what the NBTHK describes as a "careful and solidly executed" manner of working. His son was Mitsutomo, and his younger brother Mitsumasa; the brothers were influential metalworkers in Edo and were also well known as *bunjin* — men of letters active as *haikai* poets. Both adopted the inherited artistic sobriquet "Senryō," passed down from their forebears, and Mitsuyuki styled himself "third-generation Senryō." He employed several art names throughout his career, including Doppōsai, Saika-an, Katsukenji, and Suiminsha. Dated works bear inscriptions from Tenmei 1 (1781) and Kansei 9, and he died in Kansei 12 (1800) at the age of fifty-one.
Mitsuyuki's characteristic method employs *shakudō nanako-ji* grounds with gold crests (*kinmon*), gold backing (*kin'ura*), and Yokoya-style high-relief carving (*takabori*) enhanced with applied ornament (*suemon*) and polychrome metal coloring (*iroe*). His *menuki* are typically executed in solid gold (*kinmuku*) using rounded, sculptural carving (*yōbori*). Within this idiom, *shishi* were his greatest specialty — the NBTHK observes that his lion subjects "closely resemble what are termed 'Yokoya shishi' and 'Yanagawa shishi,'" and his level of technique is "recognized as comparable to that of Sōmin and Naomasa," with some works displaying "a level of skill approaching that of Sōmin." His *menuki* shishi are singled out as "not only in the manner of Sōmin but even more imposing than typical Yanagawa shishi, projecting a particularly bold and valiant presence." Beyond lions, he produced subjects including animals, birds, human figures, and Niō guardian deities, and he was adept at composing *mitokoromono* and *nisomono* sets in which each element receives individualized treatment — varying postures and compositions to avoid repetition and achieve what the examiners call "variation and motion."
Across the NBTHK setsumei, Mitsuyuki's work is consistently praised for its "precise and steadfast carving skill" displayed "to its fullest extent," and for compositions executed with "dignity" and a "robust and forceful quality." The examiners describe his workmanship as "careful and thorough throughout," noting that his finest pieces "fully demonstrate the high level of Mitsuyuki's technique." His position within the tradition is that of an artist who, having fully absorbed the training of the Yanagawa house, established a lineage that preserved the Yokoya–Yanagawa heritage while achieving independent artistic identity — producing works "composed with a notably dignified, elevated tone" that are deemed "worthy of admiration" and recognized as excellent representatives of the late Edo *machibori* tradition.
Konkan (昆寛) — Mainline. Jūyō. Iwamoto Konkan was born in Edo in the first year of Enkyo (1744) under the family name Asai. He initially used the given name Ryo, later changing it to Konkan. Because the fifth-generation head Ryokan died young, Konkan — who had been a junior fellow disciple — succeeded as the sixth-generation head of the Iwamoto house. The Iwamoto lineage was originally of the Yokoya tradition; however, Konkan studied the carving methods of the Nara school, centering especially on the work of Yasuchika. By incorporating the strengths of both the Yokoya and Nara schools and bringing them to completion, he established an artistic manner that is distinctly *Edomae* — thoroughly stylish and quintessentially *iki* in the true Edo sense. He also used the art name Hakuhotei and the studio name Shushodō.
Konkan's technical range is remarkable for its breadth and consistency at the highest level. He worked with equal command across *shakudō*, *shibuichi*, *suaka*, brass (*shinchū*), and polished iron (*tetsu migaki-ji*), employing grounds from precisely executed *nanako-ji* to *chirimen-ishime-ji* and *migaki-ji*. His signature method combines deeply emphatic *takabori* with *suemon-zōgan* and polychrome metal inlay (*iroe*) in gold, silver, *shakudō*, *shibuichi*, and copper, at times further enriched with *aogai* shell and *oborogin*. His carving extends from bold high relief to the delicate precision of *kebori* line work, *sukidashi-bori*, and openwork (*sukashi*), with triangular chisel marks (*sankaku-tagane*) applied for forceful emphasis. Whether rendering the individual scales of a fish, the faint glow of a hazy moon through scattered *suaka* fragments, or the flowing surface of a river, his chisel work achieves minute detail without sacrificing compositional dynamism. His favored subjects — birds, fish, dragons, and landscape scenes — are expressed with vivid life and a realism that conveys the sense of imminent motion.
Konkan stands as one of the foremost Edo-period *tōsōgu* artists, a master whose synthesis of the Yokoya and Nara traditions produced something distinctly his own. His works demonstrate outstanding compositional power, a capacity to integrate generous open space with concentrated narrative, and an exceptional harmony of colored metals. From formally matched *aoi-mon* koshirae executed on commission to freely conceived naturalistic subjects, from the solemn majesty of a Dainichi Nyorai *tsuba* to the spirited immediacy of a cormorant-fishing scene, his oeuvre reveals broad-ranging technical ability united by a consistent artistic personality. The deep, emphatic carving, the careful advance planning in execution and overall conception, and the thoroughly urbane sensibility that characterizes his output together confirm Konkan's place among the leading practitioners of the naturalistic, sketch-from-life approach in late Edo metalwork.
Soyo (宗與) — Mainline. Tokujū, Jūyō. Yokoya Soyo was born in Edo in Genroku 13 (1700), the second son of Yokoya Soju and younger brother of Eisei. Invited to become the adopted son of the celebrated Yokoya Somin, he succeeded to the family headship in Kyoho 18 (1733) at the age of thirty-four, following Somin's death, thereby preserving the distinguished Yokoya house name. In later years he took the art name Shokei. He should be distinguished from the first-generation Soyo (sometimes called "Sofu Soyo" or "Ko-Soyo"), who had studied under Goto Injo Mitsutomi, served as an official bakufu carver during the Kan'ei era, and founded the Yokoya lineage in Edo. The second-generation Soyo stands as the direct artistic heir of Somin and an outstanding presence among the many metalworkers who emerged in what came to be called *machibori*.
Soyo's oeuvre divides broadly into two modes. Many of his works are executed on polished *shibuichi* grounds using *katakiribori* — the single-edge "engraver's brush" carving that was a favored specialty inherited from Somin — in which he "demonstrates an excellent technique inherited from his master and adoptive father." By deftly alternating chisels of varying widths, he achieves compositions that combine bold, powerful katakiribori with delicate *kebori* linework. A smaller but no less distinguished body of work employs *shakudo* *nanako-ji* grounds with *takabori*, inlay, and *iroe*, producing "superb results that possess both the capability and the dignity expected of Somin's successor." His lions — the celebrated "Yokoya *shishi*" originating with Somin — are rendered with imposing presence and richly modeled high relief, while his horses display a naturalistic, sketch-from-nature quality. His signature is characteristically cut in vigorous *kaisho* script with *kao*.
The NBTHK setsumei repeatedly affirm Soyo's place as a master who "clearly surpassed the rest" among machibori metalworkers while faithfully continuing his teacher's manner. His *takabori* works are described as "extremely rare," lending special value to surviving examples; fully coordinated matching sets (*mitsudogu*) are rarer still and regarded as representative masterpieces. Whether working in the restrained monochrome palette of polished shakudo or introducing touches of color through *kinhira-zogan* rim accents and gold *iroe*, his pieces consistently display "a high level of skill inherited from Somin" alongside an individuality all his own — a capacity, as the NBTHK observes, for adding "the innovative freshness of machibori" to the traditional Yokoya atelier vocabulary.
Nobusada (宣貞) — Mainline · Edo mid. Tokujū. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Other smiths
Genchin (元珍) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Haruaki (春明) — Mainline. Kono Shunmei (1787--1857) was born in Edo and entered the studio of Yanagawa Naoharu of the Yokoya lineage at the age of fifteen, in Kyowa 2 (1802). He initially signed his work Haruto, but during the Bunka era changed his art name to Shunmei. In the early Bunsei era he was appointed *Hokyo*, and before long advanced to the rank of *Hogen*. Active in the same period as Goto Ichijo, Shunmei is regarded as one of the representative Edo metalworkers of his day. His sphere of activity, however, was not confined to the capital: around the Bunsei era he traveled extensively through the Tohoku region and northern Kanto, producing works on commission for wealthy patrons and prosperous farming families, and leaving behind several notable masterpieces in Sendai and at Kamegasaki in Tou. In his later years, during the Ka'ei and Ansei eras, he journeyed to the Echigo region, where he ultimately died. Works from these itinerant periods bear supplementary inscriptions recording their place of execution, and he also adopted the *go* Jippo-o ("Old Man of Ten Directions"), a name reflective of his wide-ranging travels.
Shunmei's style is founded upon the illustrative *e-fu* carving manner of the Yanagawa school, yet his artistic ideal rested with the Goto house, and his work carries the weighty chisel manner associated with that tradition. His *shakudo* is of exceptional quality, often described as possessing the lustrous "wet crow-feather" (*tori no nureba-iro*) coloration, and he deployed dazzling gold alongside a wide palette of *irogane*---*shibuichi*, *suaka*, silver, and *hi-irodo*---to create elegant, realistically conceived pictorial scenes. His mastery of *takabori* with *iroe* is outstanding: deeply dimensional high relief, frequently of striking mass and volume, is enriched with lavish polychrome inlay in which every detail of chisel work and color placement is finished with exceptional care. He commanded the full range of metalworking techniques, from *nanako-ji* grounds and *hira-zogan* flat inlay to *sukidashi-bori*, *katakiribori*, and the delicate *shigure* hairline engraving used for flowing water. His subjects encompass literary and mythological themes---the Kurikara Dragon, Gama and Tekkai, Yoshiie observing disordered geese---as well as nature studies of chrysanthemums, peonies, and spring landscapes with swallows, all handled with an undercurrent of wit and urbane humor that is distinctly his own.
Shunmei stands as one of the great late-Edo *kinko* masters. Praised in his own time as "Shunmei of the East" in counterpoint to Ichijo of the West, he occupies a position of the first rank among Bakumatsu-era metalworkers. While grounded in the techniques and traditions of his teacher Naoharu, as well as in the legacy of Yokoya Somin and the Goto house, Shunmei further developed an individual artistic domain distinguished by its dignity of style, its richness of coloristic sense, and its characteristic lyrical sensibility. His extensive travels through the provinces ensured that his influence extended well beyond Edo, and the body of work he left behind---from sumptuous *mitokoromono* to large-format tsuba of striking vitality---fully demonstrates the breadth and assurance of his art.
Kiryusai Somin (起龍斎宗珉) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshinobu (利信) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Hidetomo (秀知) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kanri (寛利) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Koretsune (是常) — Mainline. Ishiguro Koretsune was the eldest son of the first-generation Masatsune, the founding master of the Ishiguro school within the broader Yokoya lineage. Known by the common name Shukichi, he employed the art names Togakushi and Shuhosai. Together with the second-generation Masatsune, Koretsune served as a substitute maker (*daisaku*) for his father, assuming a central role in the workshop's prolific output during the late Edo period. He is further credited with having provided technical guidance to the first-generation Koreyoshi, thereby transmitting the school's methods to the next generation. It is recorded that Koretsune died in the prime of life, lending a particular rarity to his surviving oeuvre.
Koretsune's carving methods are characterized by the NBTHK as "dignified and sumptuous, yet steadfast and reliable." Working principally on *shakudo* *nanako-ji* grounds, he excelled in bold *takabori* with polychrome *iroe* employing gold, silver, *shakudo*, *shibuichi*, and *hi-irodo* (scarlet copper). His command of sculptural depth is especially notable: by subtly lowering the *hiraniku* from the *seppa-dai* toward the rim, he achieved a heightened sense of perspective that transforms the tsuba surface into what the examiners describe as "a magnificent and excellent screen-painting transformed into metalwork." His bird-and-flower subjects — from phoenix and paulownia to raptorial birds upon aged plum trees — display vigorous, spreading forms and a courageous bearing that constitute "the very essence of the Ishiguro school."
Koretsune's significance rests both in his role as the vital link between the first-generation Masatsune and the school's later flourishing, and in the exceptional quality of his individual production. The NBTHK has consistently praised works in which "Koretsune's full strengths are amply displayed," noting in particular his lavish yet controlled use of gold and his ability to render subjects with an immediacy "such that the bird seems about to burst forth from the surface." Because examples by Koretsune are acknowledged to be scarce, each surviving work is valued not only as a demonstration of supreme craftsmanship but also as "important material for the study of the Ishiguro school."
Mitsumasa (光政) — Mainline · 1759-1824. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsutoshi (光利) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Ikkan (一寛) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masahide (政英) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshikage (寿景) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akishige (明重) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Katsura Eiju (桂永寿) — Mainline. Katsura Eiju was a native of Kurume in Chikugo Province who trained within the distinguished Yokoya lineage. He studied initially under Yokoya Eisei and later became a disciple of the second-generation Soko. On the strength of his abilities he was engaged as a *kakae-ko* (officially retained craftsman) by the Arima family, lords of the Kurume domain. He also employed the art name Shoyoshi. Active from the Meiwa and An'ei eras through the Tenmei and Kansei periods, Eiju represents the mature transmission of Yokoya-school metalwork into the provincial ateliers of western Japan, where domain patronage sustained traditions of fine *kinko* craftsmanship well into the closing decades of the eighteenth century.
Eiju's manner of work follows the orthodox Yokoya idiom: *shakudo nanako-ji* grounds combined with *takabori* and polychrome *iroe*, deploying multiple colored metals to achieve richly pictorial effects. His subject range encompassed *shishi* as well as dragons and tigers, and he is noted for matched fittings depicting carp, produced by faithfully studying and emulating the style of Yokoya Somin. A representative carp set executed in *oborogin* demonstrates his ability to render the vigorous movement of fish amid waves through assured relief carving and carefully modulated *iroe* coloring. In his tsuba work, as seen in a *shakudo nanako-ji* guard depicting the Eight Fine Horses, Eiju employed *takabori iroe* in four colors -- gold, silver, *shibuichi*, and *shakudo* -- achieving the free and expansive carving manner characteristic of the Yokoya school. The *iroe* in such pieces is executed with steady assurance, and the compositions convey a sense of breadth and vitality that reflects the high level of the artist's technical command.
Katsura Eiju occupies a significant place among the provincial practitioners who carried forward Yokoya-school traditions under domain patronage during the middle to late Edo period. His production of faithful studies after Somin's celebrated models testifies both to the enduring authority of the Yokoya aesthetic and to Eiju's own disciplined mastery of its demanding techniques. While his work does not surpass the originals he emulated, it nonetheless represents a forceful and technically accomplished continuation of that lineage, and his service to the Arima household ensured that the refined *kinko* arts of the Yokoya tradition flourished in the Kurume domain during a period of sustained cultural vitality.
Naomasa (直政) — Mainline. Yanagawa Naomasa was born in Edo in Genroku 5 (1692) and initially bore the common name Heijiro, later changed to Sanzaemon. He entered the workshop of Yokoya Somin and quickly distinguished himself as an outstanding talent within that circle. Through establishing his own following, Naomasa founded what became known as the Yanagawa school, a lineage that carried forward the Yokoya manner into the mid-Edo period and beyond. Beginning with his adopted heir, the second-generation Naomitsu, and the third-generation Naoharu, and with the emergence of figures such as Yanagawa Naokatsu and Kikuchi Jokatsu, the prosperity of the Yanagawa line was remarkable. Naomasa remained active until Horeki 7 (1757).
The Yanagawa school inherited and perpetuated the characteristic Yokoya-style methods: *shakudo nanako-ji* grounds worked in *takabori* with polychrome metalwork (*iroe*). Naomasa's works often call to mind his teacher and are characterized by a powerful and dignified presence. His carving employs a thickly modeled *takabori* technique — what the NBTHK describes as richly modeled high-relief carving (*koniku-bori*) — together with gold and silver *iroe*, achieving compositions that brim with martial spirit and authority. He is known to have worked after Somin's own compositions, and while the NBTHK notes that the placement of flesh (*nikuoki*) in such works occasionally lacks the force of the originals, Naomasa's distinctive carving manner brings these pieces close to their models.
Naomasa occupies a position of singular importance as the founder of one of the principal machibori lineages of the Edo period. The NBTHK consistently recognizes works in which "Naomasa's true merits are fully brought to the fore" and praises pieces where "the Yanagawa-school manner is displayed without reservation." Signed works bearing the explicit inscription "disciple of Somin" are noted as being of particular value and importance. Surviving matched *daisho* sets from his hand are comparatively few, lending additional significance to such examples. As the artist who established the Yanagawa school and achieved renown in his own right, Naomasa's legacy resides in the enduring vitality of the tradition he founded.
Soju (宗壽) — Mainline. Yokoya Soju was a metalworker of the Yokoya school active in the mid-Edo period, born in Keian 4 (1651) and dying in Kyoho 19 (1734) at the age of eighty-four. He has long been discussed as a disciple connected with both the first-generation Yokoya Soyo and Yokoya Somin; in recent scholarship, he is understood as a disciple of the first-generation Soyo. Soju's career thus places him at the formative heart of the Yokoya lineage, working in the decades surrounding the Genroku era when the school's aesthetic conventions were being defined and transmitted to successive generations.
Soju's designated works are unified by a mastery of *takabori* on *shakudo* *nanako-ji* grounds — the technically demanding combination of high-relief carving over finely stippled alloy surfaces that became the signature medium of the Yokoya house. His compositions take natural subjects, particularly bamboo, as their governing motif, rendered in luxuriant growth across complete, unified sets of fittings (*issaku kanagu*). The NBTHK examiners observe that although *shakudo* creates a jet-black world, his bamboo appears to sway in a cool breeze, so that one almost seems to hear its distinctive refreshing sound — an overflowing display of Soju's aesthetic sensibility. Inlay techniques employing various types of *irogane*, gold, and silver lend a taut unity to the overall atmosphere, bringing each piece together in a dignified and well-ordered manner.
Soju's importance lies in his capacity to produce rigorously unified *daisho koshirae* — matched long-and-short sword mountings — of the formal *kamishimo-zashi* type, in which every component sustains a single coherent theme across the entire suite. The hereditary *daisho* mounting of the Uesugi family, lords of Yonezawa Domain, is attributed to his hand and exemplifies this integrative vision. The examiners note that *daisho koshirae* preserved with such strict, properly matched uniformity have gradually become scarce, making surviving examples precious. Soju's body of work thus constitutes a distinguished contribution to the Yokoya tradition, embodying the school's commitment to refined sculptural metalwork executed with full artistic commitment in an integrated, unified whole.
Tomoyoshi (友喜) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshinori (寿矩) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshitsugu (良次) — Mainline. Takahashi Ryoji was born into the family of the Edo metalworker Shin'un-sai Toshitsugu, inheriting a lineage already established in the craft of sword-fitting production. He first studied metalworking under his father and under Shibahara Juro before becoming a disciple of the celebrated Bakumatsu master Toryusai Seiju (Tanaka Seiju), one of the foremost figures of the late Edo period. Among Ryoji's own pupils was Okada Setsuga, ensuring the continuation of the lineage into the Meiji era. A distinct figure within the same family line was Takahashi Yoshitsugu, born in Tempo 13 (1842), who likewise studied under Toshiyoshi and Tanaka Seiju but died in Meiji 6 (1873) at the young age of thirty-two, leaving behind a small but remarkably accomplished body of work.
Ryoji is recognized by the NBTHK above all for his mastery of fully unified fittings suites -- *issaku kanagu* -- executed entirely in solid gold (*kin-muku*). His decorative programs deploy an elevated iconographic vocabulary: the "Four Gentlemen" (*shikunshi*), the "Three Friends of Winter" (*saikan sanyu*), and chrysanthemum-spray (*eda-giku*) compositions recur across his oeuvre. His technique encompasses *takabori* with *iroe*, *nanako-ji* groundwork, *suemon* applique, *katakiribori*, *kebori*, and *hira-zogan* in gold, silver, *shakudo*, and *shibuichi*. The NBTHK consistently notes how his gold fittings achieve effects that are at once "weighty and luxurious" (*omoomoshiku kago*) and "refined and tasteful" (*johin na aji*), with the brilliance of solid gold harmonized against restrained lacquer grounds to produce mountings of cohesive elegance.
Within the tradition of Bakumatsu metalwork, Takahashi Ryoji occupies a position of particular distinction as a maker capable of conceiving and executing entire mounting programs as unified artistic statements. The NBTHK characterizes his productions as "opulent and luxurious" and "thoroughly in keeping with refined Edo taste," singling out the coherence of his *issaku* suites as their defining quality. His *daishi koshirae*, *uchigatana koshirae*, and *tsukubei* mountings represent the culmination of late-Edo metalworking ambition, in which the splendid radiance of gold and the cultivated elegance of the design are, in the words of the designation committee, "fused to striking effect."
Masayoshi (政義) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naotoki (直時) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naotsura (直連) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Teruhiko (英彦) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terutoki (英辰) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshimitsu (寿光) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshitaka (寿高) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akichika (明親) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Eiko (英光) — Mainline · Edo late. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Hidetoshi (秀寿) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kazutomo (一知) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kiyoshige (清重) — Mainline. Kiyoshige was the adopted son of Tanaka Seijū, founder of the Tōryūsai lineage, and succeeded as the second generation of that name. His common name (*tsūshō*) was Minomatsu. While still young he was elevated to the Buddhist honorary rank of *Hōkyō*, and he was permitted the art name Seiu. Active during the late Edo period, Kiyoshige occupied a central position within the Tōryūsai school, working alongside Itō Katsumi — himself a gifted disciple of Seijū — with whom he executed collaborative pieces of the highest order. Together they represent the mature flowering of the Tōryūsai tradition as it had been transmitted from its founder.
Kiyoshige's technical vocabulary was rooted in the school's signature command of *takabori* with polychrome *iroe*, yet he distinguished himself through an exceptional capacity for volumetric modeling. His *yōbori* carving, approaching fully sculptural *marubori*, displays what the NBTHK characterizes as outstanding "placement of flesh" (*nikuoki*) — a superior sense of mass and bodily modeling — while the chisel work is effective into every corner. In his tsuba, straightforward, forthright *takabori* and the skillful use of various colored metals create strongly contrasted, animated pictorial fields, with spacious compositions making effective use of open ground and finely sprinkled *nanako*. In composition, carving, and coloring alike, the workmanship is careful and precise throughout.
The NBTHK judges Kiyoshige's finest works as attaining a level comparable even to that of his master. His solid-gold menuki of Shō-Kannon Bosatsu, carved with such pronounced volume that the figure appears almost as *marubori*, is singled out as a piece of exceptionally elevated character — the finest among his surviving oeuvre. His collaborative tsuba with Itō Katsumi constitutes valuable material for the study of the Tōryūsai school, clearly demonstrating the firmly grounded, advanced technique of both makers. Given that extant works by Kiyoshige are few, each designated example carries particular weight as testimony to the technical and artistic achievements of the Tōryūsai line.
Kiyotoshi (清寿) — Mainline. Tanaka Seiju, whose personal name was Tanaka Bunjiro, was born in Edo in Bunka 1 (1804) as the son of the Musashi Province *tsuba* maker Tanaka Fusajiro. He lived in Shibai-cho, adjacent to Shiba Shinzenza-cho, and trained as a *tsuba* maker under Goto Sojiro Masanori, who had connections with Goto Seijo. However, Seiju himself favored the broader field of *kinko* (decorative metalwork) and pursued study largely through self-directed learning. Inheriting his father's art name, he styled himself Toryusai. He also maintained a close association with Goto Ichijo, and in step with contemporary taste he perfected a stylish, distinctive personal manner---the *Toryusai style*---that was uniquely his own. He is counted as one of the "three great masters of Bakumatsu metalwork" (*Bakumatsu san meiko*). He rivaled the fame of Goto Ichijo in Kyoto and, like Ichijo, was granted the rank of *Hogen*. In Koka 2 (1845) he was promoted to *Hokyo*, and in the following year advanced to *Hogen*. He cut supplementary inscriptions such as *Ryuju*, *Jiryu*, *Ga-ikkaku*, and *Ikka-shiki*---phrases asserting artistic independence and personal style. While training many disciples, he also left numerous masterworks; he died in Meiji 9 (1876) at the age of seventy-three.
Seiju assimilated with great skill the carving methods of the Goto family and the Yanagawa family, among others, yet forged from these an independent manner marked by notably fresh designs and an ingenious, Edo-flavored sensibility. His technical range encompassed *sukidashi-bori* and *takabori* (high-relief carving), *suemon-zogan* (flush inlay), *hira-zogan* (flat inlay), *iroe* (polychrome metalwork) deploying gold, silver, *shakudo*, *shibuichi*, *suaka*, and brass, as well as *nunome-zogan* (textile-pattern inlay) and *sumi-zogan* (ink-painting-effect inlay). He worked fluently in both iron and *shakudo* grounds, and his handling of iron plate---the forging, the polished surface, the turned-back rim construction, and the fitting of *sekigane* at the *nakago-ana*---are consistently identified as hallmarks of his hand. Praised as a "magician of colored metals," he displayed minute yet brilliantly decorative *irogane* inlay and *iroe* across an extensive range of subjects: figure compositions, birds and animals, literary and narrative themes drawn from the *Taketori Monogatari* and *Tsurezuregusa*, folk tales such as "Kachi-kachi Yama" and the Dragon Palace legend, auspicious motifs, and witty conceits including anthropomorphized frogs and the "Daruma-in-absence" design. His workshop flourished widely, and the range of his designs is extensive; figure subjects as well as birds and animals were among his special strengths.
The NBTHK's appraisals consistently characterize Seiju's productions as works of notably high dignity and completion that could only have been achieved by an artist of his caliber. His distinctive character is felt throughout each piece, with the evaluative language emphasizing that his sensibility, skill, and conception all operate in full concert. Works are described as possessing a solemn yet unpretentious taste and a calm, tasteful impression even when gold inlay is used abundantly. His compositions are recognized for their urbane wit and stylish playfulness---the *okashimi* (humorous charm) that strongly conveys his sense of fashionable Edo flair. The assessments trace a coherent arc from early productions, where a *reisho*-like signature style and high technical accomplishment are already evident, through the mature period, where both design and carving technique achieve an impressive degree of completion, to late works signed *Ikka-shiki* and *Juso Hogen* that display the full vigor of his prime. Throughout, the NBTHK affirms that his works fully demonstrate the technical capabilities that could be achieved by Seiju---an artist who mastered the world of *kinko* through independent study and whose proud resolve is legible in every detail of his craft.
Konju (昆寿) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Koreyoshi (是美) — Mainline. Ishiguro Koreyoshi was the son of Masayoshi, whom the NBTHK identifies as "a representative master of the Ishiguro school." His common name was Kanjiro, and he employed the art names Jukakushi and Kansai. Koreyoshi trained under Koretsune of the same school, and in forming his professional name took one character from his master Koretsune and one from his father Masayoshi — a gesture of lineage that bound the school's successive generations. Possessing, in the NBTHK's assessment, ability that "surpassed that of his father," Koreyoshi contributed together with Masayoshi to the continued prosperity of the Ishiguro lineage. Works bearing *Tenpo*-era dates are known, and his survival is confirmed as late as Meiji 20 (1887), placing him among the last major figures of the school's classical production.
Koreyoshi worked in the established Ishiguro idiom of *takabori* with *iroe* on *shakudo* *nanako-ji* grounds, yet brought to it a distinctive refinement of color and naturalistic observation. His bird-and-flower subjects — among which the golden pheasant may be called the school's hallmark — are rendered through meticulous chiselwork that achieves "great splendor without any vulgarity." He employed an unusually wide palette of inlay metals, including scarlet copper, silver, and *suaka*, deployed with what the examiners recognize as "an outstanding sense of color." His *menuki* display rounded sculptural carving (*yobori*) on gold grounds, while his *kozuka* and *kogai* feature the characteristic *kin'ura* (gold-backed reverse) of the Ishiguro workshop. In certain works, his approach takes on a naturalistic, sketch-like quality that sets his production apart from the more formal manner of his predecessors.
The NBTHK has consistently recognized Koreyoshi as an artist in whom the Ishiguro school's distinctive character finds its fullest late-period expression. His complete fitting sets are praised as works that leave "nothing of the Ishiguro school's distinctive character unexpressed," while his finest tsuba are described as achieving a brilliance "akin to the *nishiki-e* color woodblock prints then in vogue." Through a superb fusion of high-relief carving, richly modeled gold ornament, and polychrome inlay, Koreyoshi's production represents the summation of the Ishiguro tradition — works of "great visual mass and presence" that embody the school's legacy of sumptuous yet disciplined metalwork.
Masa (雅) — Mainline. Yamasaka Kichibei (山坂吉兵衛), known also by the abbreviation Yamakichi or Yamayoshi, was a representative tsuba maker of Owari province active from the late Muromachi period into the Momoyama era. He flourished at roughly the same time as Nobuie and Hoan, with whom his work shares certain stylistic commonalities, and is said to have originally been an armorer in the service of the Oda family. The signature "Yamasaka Kichibei" is associated with a maker active around the Genki era (1570--1573), and within works bearing the Yamayoshi name, his pieces display the most archaic stylistic character. The line continued for several generations, while those who later styled themselves "Sakurayama Kichi--" represent makers of the Kanbun to Genroku eras (1661--1704). He is regarded as the "great first generation" (*o-shodai*) of this lineage.
Yamasaka Kichibei worked exclusively in iron, and his tsuba are characteristically executed in the *otafuku mokko-gata* form -- a shape that was, for its time, strikingly innovative. His signature technique is *kuruma-sukashi* (cart-wheel openwork), a specialty of Owari tsuba also found among works by Hoan, Nobuie, and Kanayama. The hammered-plate iron ground (*tsuchime-shitate*) reveals areas where hard iron nodules known as *tekkotsu* emerge, constituting a principal point of appreciation shared by Owari tsuba. His openwork lines are taut and sharply defined, and the iron surface is well forged, lending his pieces a rustic, untamed quality. The *hitsu-ana* plugged with lead in the technique called "Owari plugging" (*Owari-ume*) -- set slightly lower than the surrounding ground -- are highly prized as a distinguishing feature.
The NBTHK consistently describes Yamasaka Kichibei's tsuba as possessing an "imposing" form and "dignified" overall presence, with iron surfaces that are "rich in freely varied changes" and that, together with the powerful *tekkotsu*, convey "a particularly deep appeal." His cart-wheel openwork is recognized as intensifying the impression of tsuba "born from the severe age of the Sengoku period," and his works are praised as "especially distinguished" within the oeuvre of the Owari school. The rustic strength of his iron forging and the severity of his openwork design firmly place him among the foremost Owari tsuba makers of the warring provinces era.
Masaaki (政明) — Mainline. Ishiguro Masaaki (石黒政明) was a pupil of the first-generation Ishiguro Masatsune, the founder of the Ishiguro school, and lived at Matsushita-chō in Kanda, Edo. He is said to have been born in Bunka 10 (1813) and to have entered the school during Masatsune's late years, leading to the conjecture that his practical instruction may have been received from either the second-generation Masatsune or from Ishiguro Masayoshi. He used the art names Mokuen-sai (木鵬斎) and Kibōsai (木鵬斎), and within the Ishiguro lineage he was regarded as a highly skilled artist, praised as forming a "twin pinnacle" alongside his fellow disciple Masayoshi. His works are comparatively few, yet among them many outstanding masterpieces are known. He was active from around the Ka'ei era into the Meiji period.
The stylistic character of the Ishiguro school gives direct expression to the tastes of its time, unfolding a lustrous, pictorial world rendered through meticulously executed *takabori* and richly colored *iroe*. Masaaki faithfully inherited the techniques of the first-generation Masatsune, and his depictions — thoroughly grounded in close observation from life — are striking. He worked predominantly on *shakudō* grounds finished with *nanako-ji*, upon which he executed high-relief carving combined with *suemon-zōgan* and polychrome *iroe* using gold, silver, *shakudō*, *shibuichi*, *suaka*, and *oborogin*. The method of combining many varieties of colored metals in high relief and inlay is extraordinarily sumptuous, yet never lapses into vulgarity. When an ordinary craftsman attempts such density, the result tends to become overwrought; yet Masaaki displays consummate control, producing work so accomplished that it seems to allow not the slightest margin for fault. His chisel work is minute, his sense of color outstanding, and compositions that leave broad areas of open ground are filled with a lucid, pure vitality.
The Ishiguro school excelled in bird-and-flower subjects, and Masaaki was no exception. In particular, many of his finest works take pheasants and golden pheasants (*kinkeichō*) as their principal themes, alongside peacocks, hawks, bush warblers, and quail arranged with seasonal flowers in a naturalistic, sketch-like manner. His spacious compositional sense was inherited from his teacher Masatsune. Through the skillful deployment of multiple varieties of colored metals, the coloring effects are accomplished and the sense of sumptuousness heightened, producing a thoroughly brilliant impression. In both technique and design, his works display the essential character of the Ishiguro school brought to a refined culmination — and the distinctly more splendid application of *iroe* among his peers may be said to represent Masaaki's individual character.
Masachika (政近) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masaharu (政春) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masatsune (政恒) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsushige (光重) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsutoki (満辰) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsutsune (光常) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mōri Mitsunori (毛利光則) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naoharu (直春) — Mainline. Yanagawa Naoharu was the biological son of Naoyuki and the lineal grandson of the family founder, Naomasa, who had studied under Yokoya Somin and established the Yanagawa house as an independent line within the Yokoya school. Naoharu's father died suddenly soon after his birth, and he therefore trained under the patronage and guidance of Naomitsu, who served as both guardian and fourth-generation head. When Naomitsu retired during the Kansei era (1789--1801), Naoharu succeeded to the headship as the third-generation master of the Yanagawa house. He went on to foster such artists as his own son Naotsura, Kono Haruaki, and Suzuki Haruchika, thereby invigorating the world of metal carving in Edo and enhancing the renown of the Yanagawa name.
Naoharu's manner of work excelled particularly in *takabori* and *iroe* executed on *nanako-ji* grounds of *shakudo* or *oborogin*, inheriting the Yokoya-school hallmark of combining *shakudo nanako-ji* with high relief and polychrome inlay. His carving is characterized by ample, rich modeling (*niku-dori*) rendered with a lofty sense of dignity; the NBTHK observes that his workmanship approaches that of Somin himself. While the Yanagawa atelier's hallmark subjects -- lions (*shishi*), horses, and tigers -- are well known, one of Naoharu's special points of interest is that, unlike most works of the Yanagawa main line, he also carved figural scenes with wit and elegance. His minute execution in miniature forms such as *menuki* is described as astonishing, uniting meticulous detail with refinement rather than sacrificing dignity to technique.
The NBTHK regards Naoharu as a master craftsman comparable in skill to the founder Naomasa, and in certain appraisals as surpassing him in technical ability. Although the Yanagawa school inherited the stylistic manner of the Yokoya school, many of Naoharu's works incorporate the Yanagawa house's own fresh and independent idiom. His finest pieces are consistently appraised as works produced with particular effort and resolve -- pieces that fully demonstrate his true merit and may be called successful masterpieces. Through the strength of both his artistry and his teaching, Naoharu secured the Yanagawa house as one of the foremost lineages within the broader Yokoya tradition.
Naomitsu (直光) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Okada Setsuga (岡田雪峨) — Mainline · 1854-1925. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Shigeyoshi (茂義) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Soyo (宗与) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terukiyo (英精) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terumitsu (英満) — Mainline. Omori Hidemitsu was the fifth son of the celebrated Omori Hidemasa (Eishu) and is understood to have inherited the headship of the family as the sixth-generation master of the Omori school, succeeding to his father's common-use name Kisoji after the death of the fifth head, Hidenaga. Originally known as Manzo, Hidemitsu came to prominence during the late Edo period and is credited with guiding the continued prosperity of the lineage. While preserving the carving methods handed down from his forebears, he also accepted changes in contemporary taste, devising new approaches that sustained the vitality of the school across generations.
Hidemitsu's technical range is well attested in his designated works. On iron plates he employs *ishime-ji* grounds worked in *sukidashi takabori*, enriched with *kin-zogan iroe* and *gin suemon-zogan iroe* to render subjects with great skill and variation of line. On *shakudo nanako-ji* grounds his high-relief *suemon-zogan* with *iroe* produces forms that are "expansive and remarkably free-flowing," while his *nikubori* menuki "overflow with vitality." His lions display the distinctive characteristics of the "Omori lion" — thick-boned and solidly built — set in bold, large-scale compositions that contrast movement and repose across *omote* and *ura*. The NBTHK further notes his collaborations with Kano school painters as evidence of high documentary value, and cautions that works executed as substitutes (*daisaku*) by Mantatsu are sometimes encountered under his name, with the form of the *kao* serving to authenticate Hidemitsu's own hand.
Across his designated corpus the NBTHK consistently praises Hidemitsu for compositions that generate "strong impact" and carving lines showing "continual variation, producing a rich range of expression." His works are recognized as possessing "a taut, dignified toughness" and an "outstanding level of workmanship." Standing at the intersection of inherited tradition and evolving Edo-period sensibility, Hidemitsu exemplifies the Omori school's capacity to sustain technical excellence while responding to the aesthetic currents of his era, securing his place as a master worthy of the lineage his father established.
Toshiyoshi (寿良) — Mainline. Shibahara (Fujiwara) Juro was born in Bunsei 12 (1829) and was commonly known as Kyutaro. He trained under Toryusai Kiyohisa, the distinguished head of the Toryusai lineage in Edo, and emerged as the foremost talent among Kiyohisa's disciples. The NBTHK has repeatedly characterized him as "an outstanding talent among the pupils of Toryusai Kiyohisa" and "a master craftsman second only to his teacher" --- assessments that appear with striking consistency across his designated works. Throughout his career he employed a succession of art names (*go*), including Shojo, Koso, Koso, Ryugansai, and Ryuminsai, signing variously as "Koso Juro," "Shibahara Koso Juro," and "So Jura," among other forms. Active from the closing years of the Edo period into the early Meiji era, he faithfully carried forward what the NBTHK describes as the "stylish, true Edo" (*Edomae*) techniques characteristic of the Toryusai school --- a body of methods "rich in the taste and sensibilities of Edo" that defined the lineage's identity.
Juro's technical range is distinguished by its command of multiple metalworking disciplines unified within single compositions. His preferred ground is *shibuichi migaki-ji* (polished *shibuichi*), though he worked with equal authority in *shakudo*, iron, *oborogin*, and solid silver. His carving encompasses *takabori* (high relief), *nikubori* (sculptural carving), *katakiribori*, *kebori*, and the *sukidashi-bori* characteristic of the Kiyohisa line, all enriched by layered *iroe* polychrome in gold, *shakudo*, *shibuichi*, *suaka*, and silver. He employed *suemon-zogan*, *hira-zogan*, *okigane* (applied-metal work), and *keshi-tokin* (matte gilding) with fluent assurance, frequently combining multiple inlay techniques within a single piece to achieve tonal depth and chromatic complexity. The NBTHK observes that his chisel handling is "assured," producing a "supple, rounded carving" that constitutes "one of his characteristic strengths." A recurring hallmark is the *neko-kaki yasurime* ("cat-scratch" file marks) found on the reverse of his *kozuka* --- a feature "frequently encountered in this group." His pictorial subjects range from Buddhist guardians and Daoist immortals to literary figures such as Saigyo and Yamabe no Akahito, seasonal motifs distributed across coordinated suites, and themes drawn from the Twenty-four Filial Exemplars. In each case, the NBTHK notes his ability to subordinate virtuosic technique to atmospheric effect, creating works that convey "a calm, restrained atmosphere" or "a sense of quiet loneliness" appropriate to the chosen subject.
Across his designated oeuvre, the NBTHK's evaluative language reveals an artist whose significance rests not merely on technical proficiency but on the capacity to sustain the aesthetic identity of his school at its highest level. His works are described as possessing "high completeness," demonstrating technique "displayed to its fullest," and exhibiting results that "compellingly confirm" his position as "the foremost metalworker among Kiyohisa's pupils." The recurring phrase "worthy of being called the most capable hand among the Toryusai-line disciples" establishes him as the principal inheritor of the lineage's artistic authority. His compositions are praised for their "generous advantage of open space," their "composed, steady atmosphere," and their capacity to harmonize diverse techniques into unified pictorial statements. That the NBTHK consistently invokes his standing relative to his teacher --- praising him as second only to Kiyohisa himself --- situates Juro as the essential bridge between the Toryusai school's mature Edo-period expression and its continuation into the Meiji era, a craftsman whose technical inheritance and aesthetic sensibility preserved the refined, taste-driven character of the lineage at the moment of its historical transition.
Akihiro (明広) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akinori/Meijo (明乗) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akio (明雄) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akisada (明貞) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akitatsu/Meiryu (明竜) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akitomo (明伴) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Haruhide (春英) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Harusada (春貞) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Hidenaga (秀永) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Hideyuki (秀随) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Hiroaki (広明) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kazutoshi/Ichiju (一寿) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kazuyoshi (一美) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kiyotsugu (清次) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Konkan (昆寛 (Ryō’un) — Mainline. Iwamoto Konkan was born in Edo in Enkyo 1 (1744) under the family name Asai. He first used the name Yoshikumo before adopting Konkan, and because the fifth-generation master Ryokan died young, Konkan succeeded as the sixth head of the Iwamoto house. The Iwamoto lineage was originally of the *Yokoya* school, but Konkan studied the carving methods of the *Nara* school, taking Tsuchiya Yasuchika as his principal model. By incorporating the strengths of both the *Yokoya* and *Nara* traditions, he brought his art to a distinctive synthesis that the NBTHK consistently characterizes as an unmistakably "Edomae," thoroughly *iki* sensibility — the chic, stylish aesthetic of Edo at its most refined.
Konkan's technical command is evident across an extraordinary range of materials and subjects. His *fuchi-kashira* depicting assorted fish (*uozukushi*) reveals precision so acute that "each individual species could be identified; even the backbone is carved out accurately, line by line," with scales rendered in "extremely fine detail" and *aogai* inlaid into the eyes. His *tsuba* compositions demonstrate a gift for narrative compression: a whale — "the sovereign of the sea" — is rendered effortlessly within the small field of the plate, with generous open space conveying the breadth of ocean and sky; an Ataka barrier scene is arranged as if viewed from above, heightening the psychological clarity of Yoshitsune's retainers bracing for danger. His treatment of Yasuchika's fierce-tiger design transforms the model through *shakudo* plate, elongated supple forelegs, and a reduced face that sharpens the animal's intensity, while the reverse employs rain clouds as a *rusumoyō* — an "absence motif" — implying the dragon without depicting it.
What distinguishes Konkan is not merely technical facility but an artistic personality that pervades every subject. An early *fuchi-kashira* signed under his birth name Asai already "reveals glimpses of his future greatness despite his youth." His *menuki* depicting *shishi* bear his distinctive triangular chisel marks and display eyes with "a gentle gaze" filled with a playful, even comical atmosphere — "in every sense, a manner one could call 'Konkan shishi.'" Whether rendering the lyrical scenery of cherry blossoms beside a *Nio*, the weightless grace of Daruma crossing water on a reed leaf, or the taut drama of kabuki narrative, each work is suffused with that lightness of spirit the NBTHK identifies as his signature quality: the same bearing and authority as his models, yet always with "a certain lightness, or an airy, untroubled spirit."
Konkansai (昆寛斎) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masaaki (政明) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masaharu (政春) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masakage (政景) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masakatsu (政克 (Masamoto) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masakatsu (政勝) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masamori (政守) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsutomo (光朝) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsuyasu (光保) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Nagayoshi (永美) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naotoshi (直俊) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naotsugu (直次) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naozumi (直純) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Onuki Masaharu (小貫政春) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Ryokan (良寛) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Sadayoshi (貞美) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Sochi (宗知) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Soei (宗永) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Soei (宗栄) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Tatsunari (辰成) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Tatsunobu (辰宣) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terukazu (英一) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terumasa (英昌) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terutomo (英知) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Tomomasa (伴正) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshiaki (寿明) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshiharu (寿春) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshikatsu (寿勝) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshimasa (寿政) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshinobu (寿延) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Tsunenobu (常信) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yasukiyo (安精) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshiaki (吉明) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshiaki (美明) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshikage (義景) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshinobu (良延) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshisada (宜貞) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshitaka (美孝) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshitsugu (美次) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yukinobu (行信) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yukiyoshi (行善) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Live·Yokoya lineage
横谷
The Edo Yokoya School
The father of machibori. Yokoya Sōmin walked out of the Gotō workshops and the shōgunal stipend behind them, and founded the free "town carving" that defined Edo fittings for two centuries — katakiribori engraving that cuts like a painter’s brushstroke. From his house descend the great machibori lines that fill this tree: Yanagawa, and through it Ishiguro’s birds-and-flowers ateliers, Tōryūsai, and Kikuoka.
Era
1620 — 1870
Members
115
Kokuhō
0
Jūbun
4
Jūbi
16
Tokujū
20
Jūyō
312
For Sale
55
115smiths0Kokuhō4Jūbun16Jūbi20Tokujū312Jūyō
Branch石黒Ishiguro24 smiths
Branch大森Omorifrom 宗珉15 smiths
Branch岩本Iwamoto10 smiths
Branch菊岡Kikuoka9 smiths
The Edo Yokoya School (横谷) Lineage
The The Edo Yokoya School (横谷), active 1620–1870 in Edo across 115 documented smiths: 0 Kokuhō (National Treasures), 4 Jūbun, 16 Jūbi, 20 Tokubetsu Jūyō, 312 Jūyō.
Phase 1 · The Edo Yokoya School (横谷) · 1620 – 1870
Somin (宗珉) — Mainline. Jūbun, Jūbi, Tokujū, Jūyō. Yokoya Somin (横谷宗珉), born in Edo in Kanbun 10 (1670) under the personal name Tomotsune, was the third-generation master of the Yokoya family, the largest metalworking lineage of the Edo period. His grandfather, the first-generation Yokoya Soko, had studied under the Goto house and served the Tokugawa shogunate as an official metalworker. Somin likewise entered shogunal service and trained in the hereditary *iebori* manner, but — finding the convention-bound idiom of the Goto house unsatisfying and "influenced as well by the tastes of the time" — he resigned his stipend and entered the independent sphere. There he "exercised his abilities to the fullest, achieved great success, and came to be called the founder of *machibori*." He cultivated a close friendship with the Kano-school-trained painter Hanabusa Iccho, from whom he "received guidance regarding designs and pictorial conceptions." He also studied with Kano Tan'yu, deepening his art by working from painters' designs. He used the common name Chojiro (later Jihei), the art name Ton'an, and was first called Sochi before adopting the name Somin after his father's death. He died in Kyoho 18 (1733) at the age of sixty-four.
Somin's manner "may broadly be divided into two principal modes": richly modeled *takabori* with polychrome metal inlay (*iroe*) in gold, silver, and *shibuichi*, and *katakiribori*, "a technique he originated." In the former mode, his carving displays "an overwhelming abundance of modeled volume" (*nikuoki*) with "bold rises and falls in the flesh, producing a forceful and crisply articulated carving manner" that "clearly reveals both Somin's Goto lineage and the thoroughness of his training." In the latter, his chisel work shows "pronounced modulation" and "decisive" strokes, "alternating depth and shallowness at will," with "modulations of speed and emphasis that recall ink painting." His command of *nanako-ji* grounds in *shakudo*, polished *shibuichi* surfaces, and techniques such as *sukidashi-bori*, *kebori*, and *yobori* was comprehensive. Among his most distinctive inventions are the "Yokoya lions" (*shishi*) — rendered with such immediacy that "one experiences the illusion that the lion might spring forth from the *kozuka* itself" — and his innovative vertically oriented *tatezu* compositions for *kozuka*, depicting lions, tigers, horses, and other subjects "from the front or from behind." His *menuki* employ *in'yo-ne* roots, *kukuridashi*, and *chikara-gane*, while his *tsuba* demonstrate a mastery of negative space, "unfolding a weighty subject with an unforced expansiveness."
The NBTHK setsumei consistently characterize Somin as an artist of supreme technical authority, describing his work as displaying "the very quintessence of Somin's artistry" and "outstanding technical mastery." His ability to harmonize deliberately contrasting ground treatments and carving methods within a single composition is called "an exceptionally difficult task" in which "Somin's outstanding technique is displayed to its fullest." His chisel handling is praised as "at once delicate and boldly expressive," possessing "a severity and awe-inspiring intensity that other craftsmen could not rival." His influence is described as having "exerted a major influence on later generations of metalworkers" — a phrase that appears in virtually every NBTHK assessment. Whether working in the high-relief *takabori iroe* of his Goto heritage or in the freely modulated *katakiribori* he pioneered, Somin "opened a new direction through freer, life-sketch-based realism," establishing a tradition that fundamentally reshaped the world of Edo-period sword fittings.
Masayoshi (政美) — Mainline. Tokujū, Jūyō. Ishiguro Masayoshi (石黒政美), also read Masami, was a preeminent master of the Ishiguro school, a distinguished lineage of Edo-period metalworkers descended from the Yokoya tradition. Born in An'ei 3 (1774), his common name was Shōzō, and he employed a succession of art names including Jugakusai, Jukakusai, Juōsai, and Juō. He first trained under Sano Naoyoshi of the Yanagawa school before entering the atelier of Ishiguro Masatsune, the founder of the Ishiguro house. In tribute to both teachers, he derived his art name by taking one character from each master's name and substituting the character *mi* (美) for *yoshi* (好), thus arriving at Masayoshi (政美). Extant works bearing the inscription "Third-generation Ishiguro Masayoshi" confirm that he succeeded as the third head of the family following the second Masatsune. Within the school he was celebrated alongside his fellow pupil Masaaki as forming a "matched pair" of supreme ability, and he trained numerous disciples who carried the Ishiguro manner into the late Edo period.
Masayoshi's technical command encompassed the full repertoire of the Ishiguro school's metalworking vocabulary. His preferred format was a *shakudō* ground finished in dense *nanako-ji* upon which elaborate pictorial compositions were built through *takabori* executed as applied motifs in the *suemon* technique, enriched with lavish polychrome *iroe* employing gold, silver, *shibuichi*, and scarlet copper (*hiirōdō*). His *tsuba*, *fuchi-kashira*, *kozuka*, *kōgai*, and *menuki* frequently formed unified suites—*soroi kanagu* or complete *issaku* sets—demonstrating rigorous thematic coherence across every fitting. While the school's signature *kachō-zu* (flowers-and-birds) subjects predominated, Masayoshi proved equally commanding in martial themes: hawks poised on rocks above raging torrents, raptors fixed upon prey amid aged pines, and dragon-and-tiger compositions rendered through varied relief techniques from *sukidashi-bori* through rounded modeling to full high relief. He also worked with distinction on *shibuichi* *migaki-ji* and *ishime-ji* grounds, and produced refined *katakiribori* and *kebori* line-engraving on solid-gold fittings, as seen in his celebrated "Four Gentlemen" *aikuchi* suite. His works inscribed at the age of seventy-seven and seventy-eight confirm an undiminished creative intensity sustained across decades.
Masayoshi occupies a central place in the history of late Edo metalwork as the artist who brought the Ishiguro school's painterly idiom to its fullest expression. His compositions reveal a pictorial intelligence that extends beyond virtuoso carving: front and reverse surfaces are linked through continuous branches and contrasting water motifs, male and female birds are paired with deliberate compositional care, and the interplay of *a-un* expression lends narrative depth to each scene. The NBTHK examiners have repeatedly noted that his finest pieces represent works in which "Masayoshi's full capabilities are brought to fruition," praising both the steadfast precision of his chisel work at the smallest scale and the monumental presence of his high-relief compositions. Whether rendering the opulent splendor of peacocks with peonies or the austere nobility of a solitary hawk upon iron, Masayoshi demonstrated a range and mastery that secured his standing as one of the foremost *tōsōgu* artists of the late Tokugawa period.
Masatsune (政常) — Mainline. Tokujū, Jūyō. Ishiguro Masatsune (stone inscription: 石黒政常), born in Horeki 10 (1760), was the founding master of the Ishiguro school of metalworkers and one of the most celebrated *machibori* (town-carving) artists of the late Edo period. He first apprenticed under Kato Naotsune of the Yanagawa branch, and subsequently studied with Yanagawa Naomasa himself, both part of the broader Yokoya lineage. Upon establishing independence, Masatsune combined one character from each teacher's name — *masa* (政) from Naomasa and *tsune* (常) from Naotsune — to form his professional name. He used the art names Togakushi (東嶽子, later written 東岳子) and, after passing the age of sixty, signed works as "Ishiguro-sai Jumyo Masatsune." His school attracted many gifted pupils, including Masayoshi, Masaaki, Koretsune, Masahide, and Masahiro, and the Ishiguro lineage continued to flourish through successive generations into the Meiji period. He died in Bunsei 11 (1828) at the age of sixty-nine.
Masatsune's technical command encompassed the full repertoire of the *kinko* metalworker. His favored ground was *shakudo* finished with an impeccably regular *nanako-ji*, praised in designation records for its orderly precision. Upon this deep-black surface he executed designs primarily in *takabori* (high relief) enriched with *iroe* (polychrome inlay), deploying a remarkable palette of colored metals — gold, silver, *shibuichi*, *suaka* (scarlet copper), *oborogin*, and *hi-irodo* — to achieve effects of brilliant yet controlled chromatic richness. His *menuki* demonstrate equal mastery of *yobori* (sculptural carving) and *nikubori* (fleshed relief) on solid gold grounds, often employing *okigane* (applied metal) and *suemon-zogan* (applied inlay). A pair of dragon *menuki* reveals his command of the *dashi-keshi* method and precise *sankaku-tagane* (triangular chisel) work adapted from the Goto *iebori* tradition. Whether rendering the minutely differentiated plumage of a raptor, the undulating force of ocean waves expressed through polished relief with gold and silver *ro-zogan* (dew inlay), or the delicate color gradations in a pheasant's breast, Masatsune's chisel strokes are characterized by an honest, finely detailed manner and a clean final polish that imparts an air of dignified refinement.
Masatsune's artistic significance rests upon his transformation of the Yanagawa manner into a distinctly personal idiom centered on bird-and-flower subjects and birds of prey — themes that became the hallmarks of his school. His compositions make masterful use of open space, creating what the NBTHK examiners repeatedly describe as a "clear and limpid spirit." Yet within this decorative brilliance there persists a martial vigor suited to warrior taste, a quality that distinguishes the first generation's work from the more purely ornamental output of later Ishiguro artists. His oeuvre spans *tsuba*, *fuchi-kashira*, *kozuka*, *kogai*, *menuki*, and complete *soroe-kanagu* sets, demonstrating equal facility across every format of sword fitting. As an artist who bridged the Yokoya lineage's classical discipline and the expressive naturalism of the Bunka-Bunsei cultural efflorescence, Masatsune stands among the foremost representative metalworkers of Edo-period Japan.
Teruhide (英秀) — Mainline. Tokujū, Jūyō. Omori Hideshu was the second-generation master of the Omori school, one of the most influential branches within the broader Yokoya lineage of Edo-period metalworkers. A nephew of the founding master Omori Eisho -- himself a direct disciple of the great Yokoya Somin -- Hideshu bore the personal name Kisoji and, after training under Eisho, succeeded him as head of the line. Under his leadership the Omori group attained a prosperity that rivaled the parent Yokoya tradition itself. Working in the mid to late Edo period from his atelier beneath Kinryuzan in Edo, Hideshu also used the art-name Ryuusai, and his output encompassed the full range of sword-fitting forms: tsuba, fuchi-kashira, menuki, kozuka, kogai, and complete unified suites of fittings known as *issaku kanagu*. Several of his documented commissions were executed for the Ii family of Hikone domain, including formal *hosodachi* and *daisho koshirae* bearing the Ii clan tachibana crest -- evidence of sustained patronage at the highest levels of daimyo society.
Hideshu's technical achievement is defined by a remarkable synthesis of sculptural ambition and decorative refinement. His preferred working method employed *shakudo nanako-ji* grounds upon which he carved in bold *takabori* (high relief) with polychrome *iroe* in gold, silver, *shibuichi*, *suaka*, and the rare *hi-irodo* (scarlet copper). He is most celebrated for originating the powerfully three-dimensional wave motif known as *Omori nami* -- surging, reverse-breaking crests rendered in *sukidashi-bori* that became the school's defining signature. Equally innovative were his inlay techniques: the *sunago-zogan* executed in a *kinkeshi* manner that scattered fine gold dust across the surface, and the method he termed *nashiji-zogan* (also called *chirigami-zogan*), a form of flat gold inlay that evokes the luminous depth of *maki-e* lacquerwork. His subject matter ranged across figural compositions drawn from Chinese and Japanese history and legend -- Fan Kuai forcing his way into the enemy ranks at the Banquet at Hongmen, warriors contesting the Uji River crossing, Shoki confronting demons -- as well as iconic motifs of shishi amid peonies, hawks and prey, sacred Buddhist figures, and auspicious themes such as the *gohei-zaru*. In at least one documented instance he worked from an underdrawing by the Kano painter Tsunenobu, demonstrating a scholarly engagement with painting traditions that informed his pictorial compositions.
Hideshu occupies a position of singular importance within the Edo *kinko* tradition. He transformed the Omori school from a secondary branch of the Yokoya lineage into a creative force of the first rank, and his technical innovations -- the Omori wave, the nashiji inlay method -- were perpetuated by subsequent generations and became hallmarks by which the school is identified. The NBTHK setsumei consistently characterize him as an artist who "brought renewed prosperity" to the lineage and whose chiselwork demonstrates "full mastery." His surviving oeuvre, spanning intimate menuki carved in solid gold *yobori* to monumental daisho suites unified by heraldic programs, reveals an artist equally capable of restrained courtly dignity and dramatic narrative force, one whose refined technique and compositional intelligence place him among the foremost practitioners of the Yokoya tradition.
Mitsuyuki (光行) — Mainline · 1750-1800. Jūbi, Jūyō. Kikuoka Mitsuyuki was born in Kan'en 3 (1750) in Kandakajichō, Edo, and trained under Yanagawa Naomitsu of the Yokoya lineage. Having matured through the guidance of the Yanagawa house, he attained full accomplishment as an artist and went on to establish the Kikuoka school as its founder, creating an independent line characterized by what the NBTHK describes as a "careful and solidly executed" manner of working. His son was Mitsutomo, and his younger brother Mitsumasa; the brothers were influential metalworkers in Edo and were also well known as *bunjin* — men of letters active as *haikai* poets. Both adopted the inherited artistic sobriquet "Senryō," passed down from their forebears, and Mitsuyuki styled himself "third-generation Senryō." He employed several art names throughout his career, including Doppōsai, Saika-an, Katsukenji, and Suiminsha. Dated works bear inscriptions from Tenmei 1 (1781) and Kansei 9, and he died in Kansei 12 (1800) at the age of fifty-one.
Mitsuyuki's characteristic method employs *shakudō nanako-ji* grounds with gold crests (*kinmon*), gold backing (*kin'ura*), and Yokoya-style high-relief carving (*takabori*) enhanced with applied ornament (*suemon*) and polychrome metal coloring (*iroe*). His *menuki* are typically executed in solid gold (*kinmuku*) using rounded, sculptural carving (*yōbori*). Within this idiom, *shishi* were his greatest specialty — the NBTHK observes that his lion subjects "closely resemble what are termed 'Yokoya shishi' and 'Yanagawa shishi,'" and his level of technique is "recognized as comparable to that of Sōmin and Naomasa," with some works displaying "a level of skill approaching that of Sōmin." His *menuki* shishi are singled out as "not only in the manner of Sōmin but even more imposing than typical Yanagawa shishi, projecting a particularly bold and valiant presence." Beyond lions, he produced subjects including animals, birds, human figures, and Niō guardian deities, and he was adept at composing *mitokoromono* and *nisomono* sets in which each element receives individualized treatment — varying postures and compositions to avoid repetition and achieve what the examiners call "variation and motion."
Across the NBTHK setsumei, Mitsuyuki's work is consistently praised for its "precise and steadfast carving skill" displayed "to its fullest extent," and for compositions executed with "dignity" and a "robust and forceful quality." The examiners describe his workmanship as "careful and thorough throughout," noting that his finest pieces "fully demonstrate the high level of Mitsuyuki's technique." His position within the tradition is that of an artist who, having fully absorbed the training of the Yanagawa house, established a lineage that preserved the Yokoya–Yanagawa heritage while achieving independent artistic identity — producing works "composed with a notably dignified, elevated tone" that are deemed "worthy of admiration" and recognized as excellent representatives of the late Edo *machibori* tradition.
Konkan (昆寛) — Mainline. Jūyō. Iwamoto Konkan was born in Edo in the first year of Enkyo (1744) under the family name Asai. He initially used the given name Ryo, later changing it to Konkan. Because the fifth-generation head Ryokan died young, Konkan — who had been a junior fellow disciple — succeeded as the sixth-generation head of the Iwamoto house. The Iwamoto lineage was originally of the Yokoya tradition; however, Konkan studied the carving methods of the Nara school, centering especially on the work of Yasuchika. By incorporating the strengths of both the Yokoya and Nara schools and bringing them to completion, he established an artistic manner that is distinctly *Edomae* — thoroughly stylish and quintessentially *iki* in the true Edo sense. He also used the art name Hakuhotei and the studio name Shushodō.
Konkan's technical range is remarkable for its breadth and consistency at the highest level. He worked with equal command across *shakudō*, *shibuichi*, *suaka*, brass (*shinchū*), and polished iron (*tetsu migaki-ji*), employing grounds from precisely executed *nanako-ji* to *chirimen-ishime-ji* and *migaki-ji*. His signature method combines deeply emphatic *takabori* with *suemon-zōgan* and polychrome metal inlay (*iroe*) in gold, silver, *shakudō*, *shibuichi*, and copper, at times further enriched with *aogai* shell and *oborogin*. His carving extends from bold high relief to the delicate precision of *kebori* line work, *sukidashi-bori*, and openwork (*sukashi*), with triangular chisel marks (*sankaku-tagane*) applied for forceful emphasis. Whether rendering the individual scales of a fish, the faint glow of a hazy moon through scattered *suaka* fragments, or the flowing surface of a river, his chisel work achieves minute detail without sacrificing compositional dynamism. His favored subjects — birds, fish, dragons, and landscape scenes — are expressed with vivid life and a realism that conveys the sense of imminent motion.
Konkan stands as one of the foremost Edo-period *tōsōgu* artists, a master whose synthesis of the Yokoya and Nara traditions produced something distinctly his own. His works demonstrate outstanding compositional power, a capacity to integrate generous open space with concentrated narrative, and an exceptional harmony of colored metals. From formally matched *aoi-mon* koshirae executed on commission to freely conceived naturalistic subjects, from the solemn majesty of a Dainichi Nyorai *tsuba* to the spirited immediacy of a cormorant-fishing scene, his oeuvre reveals broad-ranging technical ability united by a consistent artistic personality. The deep, emphatic carving, the careful advance planning in execution and overall conception, and the thoroughly urbane sensibility that characterizes his output together confirm Konkan's place among the leading practitioners of the naturalistic, sketch-from-life approach in late Edo metalwork.
Soyo (宗與) — Mainline. Tokujū, Jūyō. Yokoya Soyo was born in Edo in Genroku 13 (1700), the second son of Yokoya Soju and younger brother of Eisei. Invited to become the adopted son of the celebrated Yokoya Somin, he succeeded to the family headship in Kyoho 18 (1733) at the age of thirty-four, following Somin's death, thereby preserving the distinguished Yokoya house name. In later years he took the art name Shokei. He should be distinguished from the first-generation Soyo (sometimes called "Sofu Soyo" or "Ko-Soyo"), who had studied under Goto Injo Mitsutomi, served as an official bakufu carver during the Kan'ei era, and founded the Yokoya lineage in Edo. The second-generation Soyo stands as the direct artistic heir of Somin and an outstanding presence among the many metalworkers who emerged in what came to be called *machibori*.
Soyo's oeuvre divides broadly into two modes. Many of his works are executed on polished *shibuichi* grounds using *katakiribori* — the single-edge "engraver's brush" carving that was a favored specialty inherited from Somin — in which he "demonstrates an excellent technique inherited from his master and adoptive father." By deftly alternating chisels of varying widths, he achieves compositions that combine bold, powerful katakiribori with delicate *kebori* linework. A smaller but no less distinguished body of work employs *shakudo* *nanako-ji* grounds with *takabori*, inlay, and *iroe*, producing "superb results that possess both the capability and the dignity expected of Somin's successor." His lions — the celebrated "Yokoya *shishi*" originating with Somin — are rendered with imposing presence and richly modeled high relief, while his horses display a naturalistic, sketch-from-nature quality. His signature is characteristically cut in vigorous *kaisho* script with *kao*.
The NBTHK setsumei repeatedly affirm Soyo's place as a master who "clearly surpassed the rest" among machibori metalworkers while faithfully continuing his teacher's manner. His *takabori* works are described as "extremely rare," lending special value to surviving examples; fully coordinated matching sets (*mitsudogu*) are rarer still and regarded as representative masterpieces. Whether working in the restrained monochrome palette of polished shakudo or introducing touches of color through *kinhira-zogan* rim accents and gold *iroe*, his pieces consistently display "a high level of skill inherited from Somin" alongside an individuality all his own — a capacity, as the NBTHK observes, for adding "the innovative freshness of machibori" to the traditional Yokoya atelier vocabulary.
Nobusada (宣貞) — Mainline · Edo mid. Tokujū. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Other smiths
Genchin (元珍) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Haruaki (春明) — Mainline. Kono Shunmei (1787--1857) was born in Edo and entered the studio of Yanagawa Naoharu of the Yokoya lineage at the age of fifteen, in Kyowa 2 (1802). He initially signed his work Haruto, but during the Bunka era changed his art name to Shunmei. In the early Bunsei era he was appointed *Hokyo*, and before long advanced to the rank of *Hogen*. Active in the same period as Goto Ichijo, Shunmei is regarded as one of the representative Edo metalworkers of his day. His sphere of activity, however, was not confined to the capital: around the Bunsei era he traveled extensively through the Tohoku region and northern Kanto, producing works on commission for wealthy patrons and prosperous farming families, and leaving behind several notable masterpieces in Sendai and at Kamegasaki in Tou. In his later years, during the Ka'ei and Ansei eras, he journeyed to the Echigo region, where he ultimately died. Works from these itinerant periods bear supplementary inscriptions recording their place of execution, and he also adopted the *go* Jippo-o ("Old Man of Ten Directions"), a name reflective of his wide-ranging travels.
Shunmei's style is founded upon the illustrative *e-fu* carving manner of the Yanagawa school, yet his artistic ideal rested with the Goto house, and his work carries the weighty chisel manner associated with that tradition. His *shakudo* is of exceptional quality, often described as possessing the lustrous "wet crow-feather" (*tori no nureba-iro*) coloration, and he deployed dazzling gold alongside a wide palette of *irogane*---*shibuichi*, *suaka*, silver, and *hi-irodo*---to create elegant, realistically conceived pictorial scenes. His mastery of *takabori* with *iroe* is outstanding: deeply dimensional high relief, frequently of striking mass and volume, is enriched with lavish polychrome inlay in which every detail of chisel work and color placement is finished with exceptional care. He commanded the full range of metalworking techniques, from *nanako-ji* grounds and *hira-zogan* flat inlay to *sukidashi-bori*, *katakiribori*, and the delicate *shigure* hairline engraving used for flowing water. His subjects encompass literary and mythological themes---the Kurikara Dragon, Gama and Tekkai, Yoshiie observing disordered geese---as well as nature studies of chrysanthemums, peonies, and spring landscapes with swallows, all handled with an undercurrent of wit and urbane humor that is distinctly his own.
Shunmei stands as one of the great late-Edo *kinko* masters. Praised in his own time as "Shunmei of the East" in counterpoint to Ichijo of the West, he occupies a position of the first rank among Bakumatsu-era metalworkers. While grounded in the techniques and traditions of his teacher Naoharu, as well as in the legacy of Yokoya Somin and the Goto house, Shunmei further developed an individual artistic domain distinguished by its dignity of style, its richness of coloristic sense, and its characteristic lyrical sensibility. His extensive travels through the provinces ensured that his influence extended well beyond Edo, and the body of work he left behind---from sumptuous *mitokoromono* to large-format tsuba of striking vitality---fully demonstrates the breadth and assurance of his art.
Kiryusai Somin (起龍斎宗珉) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshinobu (利信) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Hidetomo (秀知) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kanri (寛利) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Koretsune (是常) — Mainline. Ishiguro Koretsune was the eldest son of the first-generation Masatsune, the founding master of the Ishiguro school within the broader Yokoya lineage. Known by the common name Shukichi, he employed the art names Togakushi and Shuhosai. Together with the second-generation Masatsune, Koretsune served as a substitute maker (*daisaku*) for his father, assuming a central role in the workshop's prolific output during the late Edo period. He is further credited with having provided technical guidance to the first-generation Koreyoshi, thereby transmitting the school's methods to the next generation. It is recorded that Koretsune died in the prime of life, lending a particular rarity to his surviving oeuvre.
Koretsune's carving methods are characterized by the NBTHK as "dignified and sumptuous, yet steadfast and reliable." Working principally on *shakudo* *nanako-ji* grounds, he excelled in bold *takabori* with polychrome *iroe* employing gold, silver, *shakudo*, *shibuichi*, and *hi-irodo* (scarlet copper). His command of sculptural depth is especially notable: by subtly lowering the *hiraniku* from the *seppa-dai* toward the rim, he achieved a heightened sense of perspective that transforms the tsuba surface into what the examiners describe as "a magnificent and excellent screen-painting transformed into metalwork." His bird-and-flower subjects — from phoenix and paulownia to raptorial birds upon aged plum trees — display vigorous, spreading forms and a courageous bearing that constitute "the very essence of the Ishiguro school."
Koretsune's significance rests both in his role as the vital link between the first-generation Masatsune and the school's later flourishing, and in the exceptional quality of his individual production. The NBTHK has consistently praised works in which "Koretsune's full strengths are amply displayed," noting in particular his lavish yet controlled use of gold and his ability to render subjects with an immediacy "such that the bird seems about to burst forth from the surface." Because examples by Koretsune are acknowledged to be scarce, each surviving work is valued not only as a demonstration of supreme craftsmanship but also as "important material for the study of the Ishiguro school."
Mitsumasa (光政) — Mainline · 1759-1824. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsutoshi (光利) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Ikkan (一寛) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masahide (政英) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshikage (寿景) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akishige (明重) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Katsura Eiju (桂永寿) — Mainline. Katsura Eiju was a native of Kurume in Chikugo Province who trained within the distinguished Yokoya lineage. He studied initially under Yokoya Eisei and later became a disciple of the second-generation Soko. On the strength of his abilities he was engaged as a *kakae-ko* (officially retained craftsman) by the Arima family, lords of the Kurume domain. He also employed the art name Shoyoshi. Active from the Meiwa and An'ei eras through the Tenmei and Kansei periods, Eiju represents the mature transmission of Yokoya-school metalwork into the provincial ateliers of western Japan, where domain patronage sustained traditions of fine *kinko* craftsmanship well into the closing decades of the eighteenth century.
Eiju's manner of work follows the orthodox Yokoya idiom: *shakudo nanako-ji* grounds combined with *takabori* and polychrome *iroe*, deploying multiple colored metals to achieve richly pictorial effects. His subject range encompassed *shishi* as well as dragons and tigers, and he is noted for matched fittings depicting carp, produced by faithfully studying and emulating the style of Yokoya Somin. A representative carp set executed in *oborogin* demonstrates his ability to render the vigorous movement of fish amid waves through assured relief carving and carefully modulated *iroe* coloring. In his tsuba work, as seen in a *shakudo nanako-ji* guard depicting the Eight Fine Horses, Eiju employed *takabori iroe* in four colors -- gold, silver, *shibuichi*, and *shakudo* -- achieving the free and expansive carving manner characteristic of the Yokoya school. The *iroe* in such pieces is executed with steady assurance, and the compositions convey a sense of breadth and vitality that reflects the high level of the artist's technical command.
Katsura Eiju occupies a significant place among the provincial practitioners who carried forward Yokoya-school traditions under domain patronage during the middle to late Edo period. His production of faithful studies after Somin's celebrated models testifies both to the enduring authority of the Yokoya aesthetic and to Eiju's own disciplined mastery of its demanding techniques. While his work does not surpass the originals he emulated, it nonetheless represents a forceful and technically accomplished continuation of that lineage, and his service to the Arima household ensured that the refined *kinko* arts of the Yokoya tradition flourished in the Kurume domain during a period of sustained cultural vitality.
Naomasa (直政) — Mainline. Yanagawa Naomasa was born in Edo in Genroku 5 (1692) and initially bore the common name Heijiro, later changed to Sanzaemon. He entered the workshop of Yokoya Somin and quickly distinguished himself as an outstanding talent within that circle. Through establishing his own following, Naomasa founded what became known as the Yanagawa school, a lineage that carried forward the Yokoya manner into the mid-Edo period and beyond. Beginning with his adopted heir, the second-generation Naomitsu, and the third-generation Naoharu, and with the emergence of figures such as Yanagawa Naokatsu and Kikuchi Jokatsu, the prosperity of the Yanagawa line was remarkable. Naomasa remained active until Horeki 7 (1757).
The Yanagawa school inherited and perpetuated the characteristic Yokoya-style methods: *shakudo nanako-ji* grounds worked in *takabori* with polychrome metalwork (*iroe*). Naomasa's works often call to mind his teacher and are characterized by a powerful and dignified presence. His carving employs a thickly modeled *takabori* technique — what the NBTHK describes as richly modeled high-relief carving (*koniku-bori*) — together with gold and silver *iroe*, achieving compositions that brim with martial spirit and authority. He is known to have worked after Somin's own compositions, and while the NBTHK notes that the placement of flesh (*nikuoki*) in such works occasionally lacks the force of the originals, Naomasa's distinctive carving manner brings these pieces close to their models.
Naomasa occupies a position of singular importance as the founder of one of the principal machibori lineages of the Edo period. The NBTHK consistently recognizes works in which "Naomasa's true merits are fully brought to the fore" and praises pieces where "the Yanagawa-school manner is displayed without reservation." Signed works bearing the explicit inscription "disciple of Somin" are noted as being of particular value and importance. Surviving matched *daisho* sets from his hand are comparatively few, lending additional significance to such examples. As the artist who established the Yanagawa school and achieved renown in his own right, Naomasa's legacy resides in the enduring vitality of the tradition he founded.
Soju (宗壽) — Mainline. Yokoya Soju was a metalworker of the Yokoya school active in the mid-Edo period, born in Keian 4 (1651) and dying in Kyoho 19 (1734) at the age of eighty-four. He has long been discussed as a disciple connected with both the first-generation Yokoya Soyo and Yokoya Somin; in recent scholarship, he is understood as a disciple of the first-generation Soyo. Soju's career thus places him at the formative heart of the Yokoya lineage, working in the decades surrounding the Genroku era when the school's aesthetic conventions were being defined and transmitted to successive generations.
Soju's designated works are unified by a mastery of *takabori* on *shakudo* *nanako-ji* grounds — the technically demanding combination of high-relief carving over finely stippled alloy surfaces that became the signature medium of the Yokoya house. His compositions take natural subjects, particularly bamboo, as their governing motif, rendered in luxuriant growth across complete, unified sets of fittings (*issaku kanagu*). The NBTHK examiners observe that although *shakudo* creates a jet-black world, his bamboo appears to sway in a cool breeze, so that one almost seems to hear its distinctive refreshing sound — an overflowing display of Soju's aesthetic sensibility. Inlay techniques employing various types of *irogane*, gold, and silver lend a taut unity to the overall atmosphere, bringing each piece together in a dignified and well-ordered manner.
Soju's importance lies in his capacity to produce rigorously unified *daisho koshirae* — matched long-and-short sword mountings — of the formal *kamishimo-zashi* type, in which every component sustains a single coherent theme across the entire suite. The hereditary *daisho* mounting of the Uesugi family, lords of Yonezawa Domain, is attributed to his hand and exemplifies this integrative vision. The examiners note that *daisho koshirae* preserved with such strict, properly matched uniformity have gradually become scarce, making surviving examples precious. Soju's body of work thus constitutes a distinguished contribution to the Yokoya tradition, embodying the school's commitment to refined sculptural metalwork executed with full artistic commitment in an integrated, unified whole.
Tomoyoshi (友喜) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshinori (寿矩) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshitsugu (良次) — Mainline. Takahashi Ryoji was born into the family of the Edo metalworker Shin'un-sai Toshitsugu, inheriting a lineage already established in the craft of sword-fitting production. He first studied metalworking under his father and under Shibahara Juro before becoming a disciple of the celebrated Bakumatsu master Toryusai Seiju (Tanaka Seiju), one of the foremost figures of the late Edo period. Among Ryoji's own pupils was Okada Setsuga, ensuring the continuation of the lineage into the Meiji era. A distinct figure within the same family line was Takahashi Yoshitsugu, born in Tempo 13 (1842), who likewise studied under Toshiyoshi and Tanaka Seiju but died in Meiji 6 (1873) at the young age of thirty-two, leaving behind a small but remarkably accomplished body of work.
Ryoji is recognized by the NBTHK above all for his mastery of fully unified fittings suites -- *issaku kanagu* -- executed entirely in solid gold (*kin-muku*). His decorative programs deploy an elevated iconographic vocabulary: the "Four Gentlemen" (*shikunshi*), the "Three Friends of Winter" (*saikan sanyu*), and chrysanthemum-spray (*eda-giku*) compositions recur across his oeuvre. His technique encompasses *takabori* with *iroe*, *nanako-ji* groundwork, *suemon* applique, *katakiribori*, *kebori*, and *hira-zogan* in gold, silver, *shakudo*, and *shibuichi*. The NBTHK consistently notes how his gold fittings achieve effects that are at once "weighty and luxurious" (*omoomoshiku kago*) and "refined and tasteful" (*johin na aji*), with the brilliance of solid gold harmonized against restrained lacquer grounds to produce mountings of cohesive elegance.
Within the tradition of Bakumatsu metalwork, Takahashi Ryoji occupies a position of particular distinction as a maker capable of conceiving and executing entire mounting programs as unified artistic statements. The NBTHK characterizes his productions as "opulent and luxurious" and "thoroughly in keeping with refined Edo taste," singling out the coherence of his *issaku* suites as their defining quality. His *daishi koshirae*, *uchigatana koshirae*, and *tsukubei* mountings represent the culmination of late-Edo metalworking ambition, in which the splendid radiance of gold and the cultivated elegance of the design are, in the words of the designation committee, "fused to striking effect."
Masayoshi (政義) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naotoki (直時) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naotsura (直連) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Teruhiko (英彦) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terutoki (英辰) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshimitsu (寿光) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshitaka (寿高) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akichika (明親) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Eiko (英光) — Mainline · Edo late. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Hidetoshi (秀寿) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kazutomo (一知) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kiyoshige (清重) — Mainline. Kiyoshige was the adopted son of Tanaka Seijū, founder of the Tōryūsai lineage, and succeeded as the second generation of that name. His common name (*tsūshō*) was Minomatsu. While still young he was elevated to the Buddhist honorary rank of *Hōkyō*, and he was permitted the art name Seiu. Active during the late Edo period, Kiyoshige occupied a central position within the Tōryūsai school, working alongside Itō Katsumi — himself a gifted disciple of Seijū — with whom he executed collaborative pieces of the highest order. Together they represent the mature flowering of the Tōryūsai tradition as it had been transmitted from its founder.
Kiyoshige's technical vocabulary was rooted in the school's signature command of *takabori* with polychrome *iroe*, yet he distinguished himself through an exceptional capacity for volumetric modeling. His *yōbori* carving, approaching fully sculptural *marubori*, displays what the NBTHK characterizes as outstanding "placement of flesh" (*nikuoki*) — a superior sense of mass and bodily modeling — while the chisel work is effective into every corner. In his tsuba, straightforward, forthright *takabori* and the skillful use of various colored metals create strongly contrasted, animated pictorial fields, with spacious compositions making effective use of open ground and finely sprinkled *nanako*. In composition, carving, and coloring alike, the workmanship is careful and precise throughout.
The NBTHK judges Kiyoshige's finest works as attaining a level comparable even to that of his master. His solid-gold menuki of Shō-Kannon Bosatsu, carved with such pronounced volume that the figure appears almost as *marubori*, is singled out as a piece of exceptionally elevated character — the finest among his surviving oeuvre. His collaborative tsuba with Itō Katsumi constitutes valuable material for the study of the Tōryūsai school, clearly demonstrating the firmly grounded, advanced technique of both makers. Given that extant works by Kiyoshige are few, each designated example carries particular weight as testimony to the technical and artistic achievements of the Tōryūsai line.
Kiyotoshi (清寿) — Mainline. Tanaka Seiju, whose personal name was Tanaka Bunjiro, was born in Edo in Bunka 1 (1804) as the son of the Musashi Province *tsuba* maker Tanaka Fusajiro. He lived in Shibai-cho, adjacent to Shiba Shinzenza-cho, and trained as a *tsuba* maker under Goto Sojiro Masanori, who had connections with Goto Seijo. However, Seiju himself favored the broader field of *kinko* (decorative metalwork) and pursued study largely through self-directed learning. Inheriting his father's art name, he styled himself Toryusai. He also maintained a close association with Goto Ichijo, and in step with contemporary taste he perfected a stylish, distinctive personal manner---the *Toryusai style*---that was uniquely his own. He is counted as one of the "three great masters of Bakumatsu metalwork" (*Bakumatsu san meiko*). He rivaled the fame of Goto Ichijo in Kyoto and, like Ichijo, was granted the rank of *Hogen*. In Koka 2 (1845) he was promoted to *Hokyo*, and in the following year advanced to *Hogen*. He cut supplementary inscriptions such as *Ryuju*, *Jiryu*, *Ga-ikkaku*, and *Ikka-shiki*---phrases asserting artistic independence and personal style. While training many disciples, he also left numerous masterworks; he died in Meiji 9 (1876) at the age of seventy-three.
Seiju assimilated with great skill the carving methods of the Goto family and the Yanagawa family, among others, yet forged from these an independent manner marked by notably fresh designs and an ingenious, Edo-flavored sensibility. His technical range encompassed *sukidashi-bori* and *takabori* (high-relief carving), *suemon-zogan* (flush inlay), *hira-zogan* (flat inlay), *iroe* (polychrome metalwork) deploying gold, silver, *shakudo*, *shibuichi*, *suaka*, and brass, as well as *nunome-zogan* (textile-pattern inlay) and *sumi-zogan* (ink-painting-effect inlay). He worked fluently in both iron and *shakudo* grounds, and his handling of iron plate---the forging, the polished surface, the turned-back rim construction, and the fitting of *sekigane* at the *nakago-ana*---are consistently identified as hallmarks of his hand. Praised as a "magician of colored metals," he displayed minute yet brilliantly decorative *irogane* inlay and *iroe* across an extensive range of subjects: figure compositions, birds and animals, literary and narrative themes drawn from the *Taketori Monogatari* and *Tsurezuregusa*, folk tales such as "Kachi-kachi Yama" and the Dragon Palace legend, auspicious motifs, and witty conceits including anthropomorphized frogs and the "Daruma-in-absence" design. His workshop flourished widely, and the range of his designs is extensive; figure subjects as well as birds and animals were among his special strengths.
The NBTHK's appraisals consistently characterize Seiju's productions as works of notably high dignity and completion that could only have been achieved by an artist of his caliber. His distinctive character is felt throughout each piece, with the evaluative language emphasizing that his sensibility, skill, and conception all operate in full concert. Works are described as possessing a solemn yet unpretentious taste and a calm, tasteful impression even when gold inlay is used abundantly. His compositions are recognized for their urbane wit and stylish playfulness---the *okashimi* (humorous charm) that strongly conveys his sense of fashionable Edo flair. The assessments trace a coherent arc from early productions, where a *reisho*-like signature style and high technical accomplishment are already evident, through the mature period, where both design and carving technique achieve an impressive degree of completion, to late works signed *Ikka-shiki* and *Juso Hogen* that display the full vigor of his prime. Throughout, the NBTHK affirms that his works fully demonstrate the technical capabilities that could be achieved by Seiju---an artist who mastered the world of *kinko* through independent study and whose proud resolve is legible in every detail of his craft.
Konju (昆寿) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Koreyoshi (是美) — Mainline. Ishiguro Koreyoshi was the son of Masayoshi, whom the NBTHK identifies as "a representative master of the Ishiguro school." His common name was Kanjiro, and he employed the art names Jukakushi and Kansai. Koreyoshi trained under Koretsune of the same school, and in forming his professional name took one character from his master Koretsune and one from his father Masayoshi — a gesture of lineage that bound the school's successive generations. Possessing, in the NBTHK's assessment, ability that "surpassed that of his father," Koreyoshi contributed together with Masayoshi to the continued prosperity of the Ishiguro lineage. Works bearing *Tenpo*-era dates are known, and his survival is confirmed as late as Meiji 20 (1887), placing him among the last major figures of the school's classical production.
Koreyoshi worked in the established Ishiguro idiom of *takabori* with *iroe* on *shakudo* *nanako-ji* grounds, yet brought to it a distinctive refinement of color and naturalistic observation. His bird-and-flower subjects — among which the golden pheasant may be called the school's hallmark — are rendered through meticulous chiselwork that achieves "great splendor without any vulgarity." He employed an unusually wide palette of inlay metals, including scarlet copper, silver, and *suaka*, deployed with what the examiners recognize as "an outstanding sense of color." His *menuki* display rounded sculptural carving (*yobori*) on gold grounds, while his *kozuka* and *kogai* feature the characteristic *kin'ura* (gold-backed reverse) of the Ishiguro workshop. In certain works, his approach takes on a naturalistic, sketch-like quality that sets his production apart from the more formal manner of his predecessors.
The NBTHK has consistently recognized Koreyoshi as an artist in whom the Ishiguro school's distinctive character finds its fullest late-period expression. His complete fitting sets are praised as works that leave "nothing of the Ishiguro school's distinctive character unexpressed," while his finest tsuba are described as achieving a brilliance "akin to the *nishiki-e* color woodblock prints then in vogue." Through a superb fusion of high-relief carving, richly modeled gold ornament, and polychrome inlay, Koreyoshi's production represents the summation of the Ishiguro tradition — works of "great visual mass and presence" that embody the school's legacy of sumptuous yet disciplined metalwork.
Masa (雅) — Mainline. Yamasaka Kichibei (山坂吉兵衛), known also by the abbreviation Yamakichi or Yamayoshi, was a representative tsuba maker of Owari province active from the late Muromachi period into the Momoyama era. He flourished at roughly the same time as Nobuie and Hoan, with whom his work shares certain stylistic commonalities, and is said to have originally been an armorer in the service of the Oda family. The signature "Yamasaka Kichibei" is associated with a maker active around the Genki era (1570--1573), and within works bearing the Yamayoshi name, his pieces display the most archaic stylistic character. The line continued for several generations, while those who later styled themselves "Sakurayama Kichi--" represent makers of the Kanbun to Genroku eras (1661--1704). He is regarded as the "great first generation" (*o-shodai*) of this lineage.
Yamasaka Kichibei worked exclusively in iron, and his tsuba are characteristically executed in the *otafuku mokko-gata* form -- a shape that was, for its time, strikingly innovative. His signature technique is *kuruma-sukashi* (cart-wheel openwork), a specialty of Owari tsuba also found among works by Hoan, Nobuie, and Kanayama. The hammered-plate iron ground (*tsuchime-shitate*) reveals areas where hard iron nodules known as *tekkotsu* emerge, constituting a principal point of appreciation shared by Owari tsuba. His openwork lines are taut and sharply defined, and the iron surface is well forged, lending his pieces a rustic, untamed quality. The *hitsu-ana* plugged with lead in the technique called "Owari plugging" (*Owari-ume*) -- set slightly lower than the surrounding ground -- are highly prized as a distinguishing feature.
The NBTHK consistently describes Yamasaka Kichibei's tsuba as possessing an "imposing" form and "dignified" overall presence, with iron surfaces that are "rich in freely varied changes" and that, together with the powerful *tekkotsu*, convey "a particularly deep appeal." His cart-wheel openwork is recognized as intensifying the impression of tsuba "born from the severe age of the Sengoku period," and his works are praised as "especially distinguished" within the oeuvre of the Owari school. The rustic strength of his iron forging and the severity of his openwork design firmly place him among the foremost Owari tsuba makers of the warring provinces era.
Masaaki (政明) — Mainline. Ishiguro Masaaki (石黒政明) was a pupil of the first-generation Ishiguro Masatsune, the founder of the Ishiguro school, and lived at Matsushita-chō in Kanda, Edo. He is said to have been born in Bunka 10 (1813) and to have entered the school during Masatsune's late years, leading to the conjecture that his practical instruction may have been received from either the second-generation Masatsune or from Ishiguro Masayoshi. He used the art names Mokuen-sai (木鵬斎) and Kibōsai (木鵬斎), and within the Ishiguro lineage he was regarded as a highly skilled artist, praised as forming a "twin pinnacle" alongside his fellow disciple Masayoshi. His works are comparatively few, yet among them many outstanding masterpieces are known. He was active from around the Ka'ei era into the Meiji period.
The stylistic character of the Ishiguro school gives direct expression to the tastes of its time, unfolding a lustrous, pictorial world rendered through meticulously executed *takabori* and richly colored *iroe*. Masaaki faithfully inherited the techniques of the first-generation Masatsune, and his depictions — thoroughly grounded in close observation from life — are striking. He worked predominantly on *shakudō* grounds finished with *nanako-ji*, upon which he executed high-relief carving combined with *suemon-zōgan* and polychrome *iroe* using gold, silver, *shakudō*, *shibuichi*, *suaka*, and *oborogin*. The method of combining many varieties of colored metals in high relief and inlay is extraordinarily sumptuous, yet never lapses into vulgarity. When an ordinary craftsman attempts such density, the result tends to become overwrought; yet Masaaki displays consummate control, producing work so accomplished that it seems to allow not the slightest margin for fault. His chisel work is minute, his sense of color outstanding, and compositions that leave broad areas of open ground are filled with a lucid, pure vitality.
The Ishiguro school excelled in bird-and-flower subjects, and Masaaki was no exception. In particular, many of his finest works take pheasants and golden pheasants (*kinkeichō*) as their principal themes, alongside peacocks, hawks, bush warblers, and quail arranged with seasonal flowers in a naturalistic, sketch-like manner. His spacious compositional sense was inherited from his teacher Masatsune. Through the skillful deployment of multiple varieties of colored metals, the coloring effects are accomplished and the sense of sumptuousness heightened, producing a thoroughly brilliant impression. In both technique and design, his works display the essential character of the Ishiguro school brought to a refined culmination — and the distinctly more splendid application of *iroe* among his peers may be said to represent Masaaki's individual character.
Masachika (政近) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masaharu (政春) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masatsune (政恒) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsushige (光重) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsutoki (満辰) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsutsune (光常) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mōri Mitsunori (毛利光則) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naoharu (直春) — Mainline. Yanagawa Naoharu was the biological son of Naoyuki and the lineal grandson of the family founder, Naomasa, who had studied under Yokoya Somin and established the Yanagawa house as an independent line within the Yokoya school. Naoharu's father died suddenly soon after his birth, and he therefore trained under the patronage and guidance of Naomitsu, who served as both guardian and fourth-generation head. When Naomitsu retired during the Kansei era (1789--1801), Naoharu succeeded to the headship as the third-generation master of the Yanagawa house. He went on to foster such artists as his own son Naotsura, Kono Haruaki, and Suzuki Haruchika, thereby invigorating the world of metal carving in Edo and enhancing the renown of the Yanagawa name.
Naoharu's manner of work excelled particularly in *takabori* and *iroe* executed on *nanako-ji* grounds of *shakudo* or *oborogin*, inheriting the Yokoya-school hallmark of combining *shakudo nanako-ji* with high relief and polychrome inlay. His carving is characterized by ample, rich modeling (*niku-dori*) rendered with a lofty sense of dignity; the NBTHK observes that his workmanship approaches that of Somin himself. While the Yanagawa atelier's hallmark subjects -- lions (*shishi*), horses, and tigers -- are well known, one of Naoharu's special points of interest is that, unlike most works of the Yanagawa main line, he also carved figural scenes with wit and elegance. His minute execution in miniature forms such as *menuki* is described as astonishing, uniting meticulous detail with refinement rather than sacrificing dignity to technique.
The NBTHK regards Naoharu as a master craftsman comparable in skill to the founder Naomasa, and in certain appraisals as surpassing him in technical ability. Although the Yanagawa school inherited the stylistic manner of the Yokoya school, many of Naoharu's works incorporate the Yanagawa house's own fresh and independent idiom. His finest pieces are consistently appraised as works produced with particular effort and resolve -- pieces that fully demonstrate his true merit and may be called successful masterpieces. Through the strength of both his artistry and his teaching, Naoharu secured the Yanagawa house as one of the foremost lineages within the broader Yokoya tradition.
Naomitsu (直光) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Okada Setsuga (岡田雪峨) — Mainline · 1854-1925. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Shigeyoshi (茂義) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Soyo (宗与) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terukiyo (英精) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terumitsu (英満) — Mainline. Omori Hidemitsu was the fifth son of the celebrated Omori Hidemasa (Eishu) and is understood to have inherited the headship of the family as the sixth-generation master of the Omori school, succeeding to his father's common-use name Kisoji after the death of the fifth head, Hidenaga. Originally known as Manzo, Hidemitsu came to prominence during the late Edo period and is credited with guiding the continued prosperity of the lineage. While preserving the carving methods handed down from his forebears, he also accepted changes in contemporary taste, devising new approaches that sustained the vitality of the school across generations.
Hidemitsu's technical range is well attested in his designated works. On iron plates he employs *ishime-ji* grounds worked in *sukidashi takabori*, enriched with *kin-zogan iroe* and *gin suemon-zogan iroe* to render subjects with great skill and variation of line. On *shakudo nanako-ji* grounds his high-relief *suemon-zogan* with *iroe* produces forms that are "expansive and remarkably free-flowing," while his *nikubori* menuki "overflow with vitality." His lions display the distinctive characteristics of the "Omori lion" — thick-boned and solidly built — set in bold, large-scale compositions that contrast movement and repose across *omote* and *ura*. The NBTHK further notes his collaborations with Kano school painters as evidence of high documentary value, and cautions that works executed as substitutes (*daisaku*) by Mantatsu are sometimes encountered under his name, with the form of the *kao* serving to authenticate Hidemitsu's own hand.
Across his designated corpus the NBTHK consistently praises Hidemitsu for compositions that generate "strong impact" and carving lines showing "continual variation, producing a rich range of expression." His works are recognized as possessing "a taut, dignified toughness" and an "outstanding level of workmanship." Standing at the intersection of inherited tradition and evolving Edo-period sensibility, Hidemitsu exemplifies the Omori school's capacity to sustain technical excellence while responding to the aesthetic currents of his era, securing his place as a master worthy of the lineage his father established.
Toshiyoshi (寿良) — Mainline. Shibahara (Fujiwara) Juro was born in Bunsei 12 (1829) and was commonly known as Kyutaro. He trained under Toryusai Kiyohisa, the distinguished head of the Toryusai lineage in Edo, and emerged as the foremost talent among Kiyohisa's disciples. The NBTHK has repeatedly characterized him as "an outstanding talent among the pupils of Toryusai Kiyohisa" and "a master craftsman second only to his teacher" --- assessments that appear with striking consistency across his designated works. Throughout his career he employed a succession of art names (*go*), including Shojo, Koso, Koso, Ryugansai, and Ryuminsai, signing variously as "Koso Juro," "Shibahara Koso Juro," and "So Jura," among other forms. Active from the closing years of the Edo period into the early Meiji era, he faithfully carried forward what the NBTHK describes as the "stylish, true Edo" (*Edomae*) techniques characteristic of the Toryusai school --- a body of methods "rich in the taste and sensibilities of Edo" that defined the lineage's identity.
Juro's technical range is distinguished by its command of multiple metalworking disciplines unified within single compositions. His preferred ground is *shibuichi migaki-ji* (polished *shibuichi*), though he worked with equal authority in *shakudo*, iron, *oborogin*, and solid silver. His carving encompasses *takabori* (high relief), *nikubori* (sculptural carving), *katakiribori*, *kebori*, and the *sukidashi-bori* characteristic of the Kiyohisa line, all enriched by layered *iroe* polychrome in gold, *shakudo*, *shibuichi*, *suaka*, and silver. He employed *suemon-zogan*, *hira-zogan*, *okigane* (applied-metal work), and *keshi-tokin* (matte gilding) with fluent assurance, frequently combining multiple inlay techniques within a single piece to achieve tonal depth and chromatic complexity. The NBTHK observes that his chisel handling is "assured," producing a "supple, rounded carving" that constitutes "one of his characteristic strengths." A recurring hallmark is the *neko-kaki yasurime* ("cat-scratch" file marks) found on the reverse of his *kozuka* --- a feature "frequently encountered in this group." His pictorial subjects range from Buddhist guardians and Daoist immortals to literary figures such as Saigyo and Yamabe no Akahito, seasonal motifs distributed across coordinated suites, and themes drawn from the Twenty-four Filial Exemplars. In each case, the NBTHK notes his ability to subordinate virtuosic technique to atmospheric effect, creating works that convey "a calm, restrained atmosphere" or "a sense of quiet loneliness" appropriate to the chosen subject.
Across his designated oeuvre, the NBTHK's evaluative language reveals an artist whose significance rests not merely on technical proficiency but on the capacity to sustain the aesthetic identity of his school at its highest level. His works are described as possessing "high completeness," demonstrating technique "displayed to its fullest," and exhibiting results that "compellingly confirm" his position as "the foremost metalworker among Kiyohisa's pupils." The recurring phrase "worthy of being called the most capable hand among the Toryusai-line disciples" establishes him as the principal inheritor of the lineage's artistic authority. His compositions are praised for their "generous advantage of open space," their "composed, steady atmosphere," and their capacity to harmonize diverse techniques into unified pictorial statements. That the NBTHK consistently invokes his standing relative to his teacher --- praising him as second only to Kiyohisa himself --- situates Juro as the essential bridge between the Toryusai school's mature Edo-period expression and its continuation into the Meiji era, a craftsman whose technical inheritance and aesthetic sensibility preserved the refined, taste-driven character of the lineage at the moment of its historical transition.
Akihiro (明広) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akinori/Meijo (明乗) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akio (明雄) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akisada (明貞) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akitatsu/Meiryu (明竜) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Akitomo (明伴) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Haruhide (春英) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Harusada (春貞) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Hidenaga (秀永) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Hideyuki (秀随) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Hiroaki (広明) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kazutoshi/Ichiju (一寿) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kazuyoshi (一美) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Kiyotsugu (清次) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Konkan (昆寛 (Ryō’un) — Mainline. Iwamoto Konkan was born in Edo in Enkyo 1 (1744) under the family name Asai. He first used the name Yoshikumo before adopting Konkan, and because the fifth-generation master Ryokan died young, Konkan succeeded as the sixth head of the Iwamoto house. The Iwamoto lineage was originally of the *Yokoya* school, but Konkan studied the carving methods of the *Nara* school, taking Tsuchiya Yasuchika as his principal model. By incorporating the strengths of both the *Yokoya* and *Nara* traditions, he brought his art to a distinctive synthesis that the NBTHK consistently characterizes as an unmistakably "Edomae," thoroughly *iki* sensibility — the chic, stylish aesthetic of Edo at its most refined.
Konkan's technical command is evident across an extraordinary range of materials and subjects. His *fuchi-kashira* depicting assorted fish (*uozukushi*) reveals precision so acute that "each individual species could be identified; even the backbone is carved out accurately, line by line," with scales rendered in "extremely fine detail" and *aogai* inlaid into the eyes. His *tsuba* compositions demonstrate a gift for narrative compression: a whale — "the sovereign of the sea" — is rendered effortlessly within the small field of the plate, with generous open space conveying the breadth of ocean and sky; an Ataka barrier scene is arranged as if viewed from above, heightening the psychological clarity of Yoshitsune's retainers bracing for danger. His treatment of Yasuchika's fierce-tiger design transforms the model through *shakudo* plate, elongated supple forelegs, and a reduced face that sharpens the animal's intensity, while the reverse employs rain clouds as a *rusumoyō* — an "absence motif" — implying the dragon without depicting it.
What distinguishes Konkan is not merely technical facility but an artistic personality that pervades every subject. An early *fuchi-kashira* signed under his birth name Asai already "reveals glimpses of his future greatness despite his youth." His *menuki* depicting *shishi* bear his distinctive triangular chisel marks and display eyes with "a gentle gaze" filled with a playful, even comical atmosphere — "in every sense, a manner one could call 'Konkan shishi.'" Whether rendering the lyrical scenery of cherry blossoms beside a *Nio*, the weightless grace of Daruma crossing water on a reed leaf, or the taut drama of kabuki narrative, each work is suffused with that lightness of spirit the NBTHK identifies as his signature quality: the same bearing and authority as his models, yet always with "a certain lightness, or an airy, untroubled spirit."
Konkansai (昆寛斎) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masaaki (政明) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masaharu (政春) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masakage (政景) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masakatsu (政克 (Masamoto) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masakatsu (政勝) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Masamori (政守) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsutomo (光朝) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Mitsuyasu (光保) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Nagayoshi (永美) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naotoshi (直俊) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naotsugu (直次) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Naozumi (直純) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Onuki Masaharu (小貫政春) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Ryokan (良寛) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Sadayoshi (貞美) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Sochi (宗知) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Soei (宗永) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Soei (宗栄) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Tatsunari (辰成) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Tatsunobu (辰宣) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terukazu (英一) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terumasa (英昌) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Terutomo (英知) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Tomomasa (伴正) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshiaki (寿明) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshiharu (寿春) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshikatsu (寿勝) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshimasa (寿政) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Toshinobu (寿延) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Tsunenobu (常信) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yasukiyo (安精) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshiaki (吉明) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshiaki (美明) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshikage (義景) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshinobu (良延) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshisada (宜貞) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshitaka (美孝) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yoshitsugu (美次) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yukinobu (行信) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.
Yukiyoshi (行善) — Mainline. Smith of the Edo Yokoya School.