NihontoWatchNihontoWatch横谷宗珉は江戸時代を代表する名工で、後藤家に対して町彫りと言われる一派の祖となる人物である。横谷派から柳川派、石黒派、大森派と多くの分派を生み出し、江戸金工を形成した。 宗珉は寛文十年に生まれる、通称長次郎といい、のちに次兵衛と改める。初銘を宗知としたが、父の没後の元禄七年ごろに宗珉と名乗る。宗珉は絵画で有名な狩野派の画風を勉強し、それを彫金技術に取り入れた。これまでの高彫りという作風に加え、片切彫りという新しい境地を確立させた。この横谷派の彫技は世の中の賞賛を受け以後の彫金界に大きな影響を与えた。 本作は片切彫りの逸品となる。それは一幅の軸を見ているような感覚になる。宗珉得意の竹虎図であるが、虎の表情など愛嬌があり上手である、これはすべて鏨で描いている、まさに名人である。
NihontoWatchOffered by Wakeidou
Yokoya School
Edo
Signed
Tokuho (NBTHK)
As written by the shop
Machibori · Edo
112 pieces on the market now
The Yokoya school was the largest metalworking lineage of the Edo period, founded in the early seventeenth century when the first-generation Yokoya Soyo -- sometimes distinguished as "Sofu Soyo" or "Ko-Soyo" -- studied under Goto Injo Mitsutomi and established an independent atelier in Edo. The school's trajectory was decisively shaped by the third-generation master Somin (1670--1733), who trained in the hereditary iebori manner of the Goto house but, finding its convention-bound idiom unsatisfying, resigned his shogunal stipend and entered the sphere of independent work. There he "exercised his abilities to the fullest, achieved great success, and came to be called the founder of machibori" -- the town-carver tradition that would fundamentally reshape the world of Edo-period sword fittings. Somin cultivated a close friendship with the Kano-school-trained painter Hanabusa Iccho, from whom he received guidance regarding pictorial conceptions, and also studied with Kano Tan'yu, deepening his art through direct engagement with painters' designs. His adopted son and successor Soyo (1700--1734) faithfully continued the atelier's methods, while Soju (1651--1734), a disciple connected with both the first-generation Soyo and Somin, contributed rigorously unified daisho koshirae that exemplify the school's commitment to integrated, thematic ensembles. The Yokoya school's collective technical achievement divides broadly into two principal modes, both originated or perfected by Somin and transmitted through successive generations. The first is richly modeled takabori with polychrome metal inlay (iroe) in gold, silver, and shibuichi on shakudo nanako-ji grounds, where the carving displays an overwhelming abundance of modeled volume -- bold rises and falls in the flesh producing a forceful and crisply articulated manner that clearly reveals the school's Goto lineage and the thoroughness of its training. Soyo's works in this mode are described as possessing "both the capability and the dignity expected of Somin's successor," while Soju's takabori on shakudo nanako-ji achieves a dignified and well-ordered atmosphere across complete, unified fitting suites.
The second mode is katakiribori, a single-edge chisel technique that Somin originated, in which pronounced modulation and decisive strokes alternate depth and shallowness at will, producing modulations of speed and emphasis that recall ink painting. Soyo inherited this specialty with excellent technique, deftly alternating chisels of varying widths to combine bold katakiribori with delicate kebori linework. Among the school's most distinctive inventions are the celebrated "Yokoya lions" -- shishi rendered with such immediacy that one experiences the illusion that the lion might spring forth from the kozuka itself -- and Somin's innovative vertically oriented tatezu compositions depicting lions, tigers, horses, and other subjects from unconventional angles. The Yokoya school's enduring significance lies in its having opened a new artistic direction through freer, life-sketch-based realism that broke decisively with the formalized conventions of the Goto house while retaining that lineage's technical rigor. Somin's command of nanako-ji grounds in shakudo, polished shibuichi surfaces, and techniques such as sukidashi-bori, kebori, and yobori was comprehensive, and this breadth of technical vocabulary was transmitted intact to his successors. Soju's hereditary daisho mounting of the Uesugi family of Yonezawa Domain exemplifies the school's integrative vision -- every component sustaining a single coherent theme across the entire suite -- while Soyo's takabori works, described as "extremely rare," lend special value to surviving matched sets. Whether working in the restrained monochrome palette of polished shakudo or introducing touches of color through kinhira-zogan accents and gold iroe, the Yokoya masters consistently achieved what the NBTHK characterizes as a severity and awe-inspiring intensity that exerted a major influence on later generations of metalworkers, establishing the machibori tradition as the dominant creative current of Edo-period sword fittings. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Somin宗珉 | — | 50 |
| Soyo宗與 | — | 13 |
| Soju宗壽 | — | 3 |
| Yoshisada宜貞 | — | 0 |
| Genchin元珍 | 1670 | 1 |
A Hozon-certified fitting of notably superior craftsmanship and condition, often with signature or workmanship of high reference value.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official siteInternet purchases only. If, after seeing the item in person, you are not satisfied with it, we accept a return within 7 days, provided the item shows no abnormality. Return shipping for returns at the customer's convenience is at the customer's expense; please send it prepaid.
¥1,800,000