NihontoWatchNihontoWatchMitokorimono Hamano Shozui / NBTHK MITOKORIMONO HAMANO SHOZUI (SHODAI) NBTHK TOKUBETSU HOZON DATE: NONE TSUBA MEI: OTSURYUKEN · MIBOKU (KAO) TSUBA DIMENSIONS: 3” X 2.875” X 0.156” NAKAGO ANA: 1” X 0.25” FUCHI: 2” X 0.875” ANA: 1” X 0.25” MENUKI (SOLID GOLD): Signed Miboku 2” X 0.5” (weight 18gms) PAPERS: NBTHK TOKUBETSU HOZON FROM SESKO’S , TOSO KINKO SCHOOLS : The founder of the Hamano school was Shōzui, who was a student of Nara Toshinaga (利寿) mentioned in the genealogy on the previous page. His first name was „Tarōbei“ (太郎兵衛) and he was born in the ninth year of Genroku (1696). After finishing his apprenticeship with Toshinaga he parted with the Nara school and pursued very successful his own career. His school was very capable of keeping up with the Yokoya school in terms of number of students and influence on the machibori movement. Simply spoken, he combined the styles of the Yokoya and the Nara school with the interpretations of Sugiura Jōi, that means he worked in takabori-iroe and in zōgan but with larger-sized motifs than those use by the Nara school, enriched with usunikubori and shishiaibori. And regarding his selection of motifs, he chose various historical, epic, worldly and figurative subjects, as well as a broad variety of plants and animals. Besides the Nara-sansaku (Nara Toshinaga, Sugiura Jōi and Tsuchiya Yasuchika), Shōzui is counted as the fourth great master that the Nara school has brought forth, i.e. the so-called „Nara Shitennō“ (奈良四天王). But it has to be mentioned that Shōzui and Jōi formed a rather somewhat separated pair in this group because there were about thirty years between them and the contemporaries Toshinaga and Yasuchika. Regarding his signatures, he always used the old version (濱) for „Hama“ (浜) and zui“ (随) is also signed with the non-simplified style (隨). The „Tōsō-kodōgu-kōza“ assumes that the characters for „Shōzui“ were back then probably read by their Japanese reading „Masayuki“ and that the Sino-Japanese rea
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Hamano Shozui
Edo
Signed
Tokuho (NBTHK)
Machibori · Musashi
2 pieces on the market now
Hamano Masayuki was an outstanding talent among the disciples of Nara Toshihisa and was commonly known as Tarobei. He trained many pupils and established the Hamano school as one of the principal lineages of urban metalworkers (machibori), thereby founding an independent tradition comparable in stature to the Yokoya school. As recorded in the Edo Kinko Meifu, he "thundered through the world," gaining widespread fame as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Nara" (Nara Shitenno). He used numerous art names throughout his career, including Otsuryuken, Miboku, Kankei, Rifudo, Yukotei, Shuhosai, Hankeishi, Isshunan, and others. Among his followers, artists such as Kakusui, Naosui, and Masaryo are known as excellent craftsmen who carried forward the lineage.
Masayuki's technique was highly esteemed, and he excelled in every approach — whether in bold sukidashi-bori, nikiai-bori, nikubori, or katakiribori. His manner is characterized, as the Soken Kisho appraises it, by a preference for "the challenging," through which he reveals a bold spirit; his work is "brisk and forceful."[[c:1]] While inheriting the style of his master Toshihisa and incorporating mannerisms associated with Joi and Yasuchika, he devised an individual sculptural approach, adding distinctive nikubori-like modeling to high-relief subjects. The Hamano school's characteristic manner — using vertically oriented compositions and placing the principal subject in a large, forceful arrangement realized through realism — was firmly transmitted within the lineage.
In his later years, Masayuki left many powerful works that can be called distinctly his own, making vigorous use of robust high relief. His late pieces, often signed with age statements recording his seventies, fully display what the NBTHK describes as "the true essence of his art through the vigorous deployment of his powerful carving techniques." Works from this final period combine daring with attentiveness, their polychrome iroe accents executed with great care, standing as eloquent testaments to his elevated technical skill and the enduring vitality of the tradition he founded.
Where Shozui stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
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Machibori · Edo
32 pieces on the market now
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. " 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 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. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Shozui政随 | — | 17 |
| Sekibun赤文 | 1670 | 8 |
| Noriyuki矩随 | — | 4 |
| Yoshinao義直 | — | 0 |
| Haruchika春親 | — | 0 |
A Hozon-certified blade judged to show notably superior workmanship and a better state of preservation. The bar is higher: re-tempered blades and most unsigned Muromachi/Edo works are excluded.
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 siteAll swords sold for $5000 USD or less are considered final! Swords above the $5000 range may be returned for any reason within 48 hrs. Buyer will receive a full refund minus shipping/handling, insurance and or any fees incurred in shipping or sale.
