HAMANO NAOYUKI / SENNIN CHOKWARO
$750
Tracked across 76 dealers worldwide · price history · sold archive
About the school
Hamano School浜野派
The Hamano school of *machibori* carving was established in mid-Edo Edo by Hamano Masazui (浜野政隨), commonly known as Tarōbei, an exceptionally gifted pupil of Nara Toshihisa. As the *Edo Kinkō Meifu* states of him that he "thunders through the world," Masazui won widespread renown as one of the "Four Guardian Kings of Nara" (*Nara Shitennō*). Training many disciples and employing numerous art names—including Otsuryūken, Aji-zumi, Kankei, Rifūdō, Yūkotei, Shūhōsai, Hankei-shi, and Isshunan—he formed what came to be known as the Hamano school, establishing one of the principal lineages of *machibori* artistry and founding an independent house. The NBTHK consistently characterizes Hamano work through Masazui's mastery of diverse carving modes: "whether in bold high-relief carving, *sukidashi-bori*, *nikubori*, or *katakiribori*, he excelled in every technique." Works are rendered by means of *yōbori* (sculptural carving) upon varied grounds—gold-and-silver *imo-tsugi-ji*, solid gold (*kinmuku*)—with details frequently treated in the *in'yō-kon* mode, suggesting the early Gotō masters as models. The carving is executed with "ample, well-judged volume (*nikudori*)" and "exceptionally full, weighty presence," while applied metal (*okigane*) in silver and *shakudō* with *shakudō iroe* tightens pictorial fields and imparts additional movement. Later Hamano artists such as Katsurano Akafumi maintained this technical versatility, favoring polychrome inlay applied to high-relief compositions. The lineage continued through multiple generations, with the fourth-generation Hamano Masanobu working under the art name Otsuryūken Miboku and producing exceptional coordinated *daishō* fittings that demonstrate "exceptional care" and "splendid, decorative manner." The NBTHK repeatedly notes that works "clearly demonstrate the high level of technique," "amply demonstrate advanced technical mastery," and possess "a composed dignity"—attestations to the school's sustained excellence across generations and its enduring place within the broader *machibori* tradition.
