This is a kozuka by Yoshioka Inaba Suke, a metal smith family that served the Edo shogunate. It features a shakudo nanako plate with carvings of a hand fan and a Chinese hat, symbols of Zhuge Liang. The reverse side has engravings of a qilin and a scroll with the smith's name.
Certificate reading — 銘 吉岡因幡介
NihontoWatchBETAmei · Edo (1670)
Yoshioka Inaba no Suke
Edo
Signed
Tokuho (NBTHK)
Iebori · around 1670
7 pieces on the market now
The Yoshioka family (Yoshioka-ryu) was a prestigious lineage of metalworkers retained by the Tokugawa shogunate, receiving a stipend of one hundred hyo (bales of rice) and rations for ten persons. The house flourished from the first-generation master Shigetsugu, who was summoned into service by Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Keicho era, through to the ninth-generation Shigesada at the close of the shogunate. Over successive generations they adopted the Fujiwara surname, and from the second generation onward they held the court title Inaba no Suke. Because works produced in the earlier period were all delivered to the bakufu, they are entirely unsigned; the practice of cutting the five-character signature "Yoshioka Inaba no Suke" is thought to have begun around the fifth generation, Yasutsugu, yet since personal names were not inscribed, distinguishing individual generations remains difficult.
The Yoshioka school's characteristic manner centres on shakudo nanako-ji enhanced with takabori (high-relief carving) and kin-iroe (gold colour inlay), producing workmanship that is solid and precise. Their steady, reliable carving is paired with meticulously applied iroe using many kinds of coloured metals, yielding surfaces that, while sumptuous, remain filled with dignity and refinement. Compositions range from the Eight Views of Omi rendered in polychrome sukidashi-bori, to dragon-and-tiger programmes deployed across complete daisho-soroi suites, to the restrained formality of ripened rice ears (inaho) unified across matched mountings. Techniques of kin-sue-mon (gold applied motifs) and kin-zogan (gold inlay) are employed to achieve striking contrasts between flat inlay that conveys the momentum of a brushstroke and higher-relief applied decoration.
The NBTHK evaluations consistently characterise the Yoshioka house as producing work of elevated and formal tone, marked by a serious, straightforward manner. As official kakae-ko (shogunate-employed artisans), their output embodies the requirements of shogunal ceremonial culture, from ito-maki tachi koshirae made for the Kii Tokugawa house to issaku (unified-suite) mountings whose coherent thematic organisation demonstrates the true worth of a shogunate-employed master metalworker[[c:1]]. Like the Goto family, to whom the NBTHK draws direct comparison, the Yoshioka line occupies a central position within the institutional tradition of Edo-period kinko metalwork.
Where Inaba no Suke 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.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Iebori
15 pieces on the market now
The Yoshioka family (Yoshioka-ke) was an authoritative lineage of metalworkers retained by the Tokugawa shogunate, granted a stipend of one hundred hyo (bales of rice) and rations for ten persons. The house was founded by the first-generation master Shigetsugu, who was summoned into service by Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Keicho era (1596--1615), and it flourished continuously through nine generations down to Shigesada at the close of the shogunate. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Inaba no Suke因幡介 | 1670 | 6 |
| Terutsugu照次 | 1670 | 2 |
| Shigesada重貞 | — | 0 |
| Kiyotsugu清次 | — | 0 |
| Morotsugu師次 | — | 0 |
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 siteIf you wish to return an item, please notify us within 3 days of receipt. After this period we cannot accept cancellations. Please ship the return to us within 5 business days. Cancellation is conditional on the item being kept in the same condition as at the time of sale, so please handle it with care.
This is a kozuka by Yoshioka Inaba Suke, a metal smith family that served the Edo shogunate. It features a shakudo nanako plate with carvings of a hand fan and a Chinese hat, symbols of Zhuge Liang. The reverse side has engravings of a qilin and a scroll with the smith's name.
Certificate reading — 銘 吉岡因幡介
NihontoWatchBETAmei · Edo (1670)
Yoshioka Inaba no Suke
Edo
Signed
Tokuho (NBTHK)
Iebori · around 1670
7 pieces on the market now
The Yoshioka family (Yoshioka-ryu) was a prestigious lineage of metalworkers retained by the Tokugawa shogunate, receiving a stipend of one hundred hyo (bales of rice) and rations for ten persons. The house flourished from the first-generation master Shigetsugu, who was summoned into service by Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Keicho era, through to the ninth-generation Shigesada at the close of the shogunate. Over successive generations they adopted the Fujiwara surname, and from the second generation onward they held the court title Inaba no Suke. Because works produced in the earlier period were all delivered to the bakufu, they are entirely unsigned; the practice of cutting the five-character signature "Yoshioka Inaba no Suke" is thought to have begun around the fifth generation, Yasutsugu, yet since personal names were not inscribed, distinguishing individual generations remains difficult.
The Yoshioka school's characteristic manner centres on shakudo nanako-ji enhanced with takabori (high-relief carving) and kin-iroe (gold colour inlay), producing workmanship that is solid and precise. Their steady, reliable carving is paired with meticulously applied iroe using many kinds of coloured metals, yielding surfaces that, while sumptuous, remain filled with dignity and refinement. Compositions range from the Eight Views of Omi rendered in polychrome sukidashi-bori, to dragon-and-tiger programmes deployed across complete daisho-soroi suites, to the restrained formality of ripened rice ears (inaho) unified across matched mountings. Techniques of kin-sue-mon (gold applied motifs) and kin-zogan (gold inlay) are employed to achieve striking contrasts between flat inlay that conveys the momentum of a brushstroke and higher-relief applied decoration.
The NBTHK evaluations consistently characterise the Yoshioka house as producing work of elevated and formal tone, marked by a serious, straightforward manner. As official kakae-ko (shogunate-employed artisans), their output embodies the requirements of shogunal ceremonial culture, from ito-maki tachi koshirae made for the Kii Tokugawa house to issaku (unified-suite) mountings whose coherent thematic organisation demonstrates the true worth of a shogunate-employed master metalworker[[c:1]]. Like the Goto family, to whom the NBTHK draws direct comparison, the Yoshioka line occupies a central position within the institutional tradition of Edo-period kinko metalwork.
Where Inaba no Suke 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.
Select a lens to see how it's measured.
Iebori
15 pieces on the market now
The Yoshioka family (Yoshioka-ke) was an authoritative lineage of metalworkers retained by the Tokugawa shogunate, granted a stipend of one hundred hyo (bales of rice) and rations for ten persons. The house was founded by the first-generation master Shigetsugu, who was summoned into service by Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Keicho era (1596--1615), and it flourished continuously through nine generations down to Shigesada at the close of the shogunate. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Inaba no Suke因幡介 | 1670 | 6 |
| Terutsugu照次 | 1670 | 2 |
| Shigesada重貞 | — | 0 |
| Kiyotsugu清次 | — | 0 |
| Morotsugu師次 | — | 0 |
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 siteIf you wish to return an item, please notify us within 3 days of receipt. After this period we cannot accept cancellations. Please ship the return to us within 5 business days. Cancellation is conditional on the item being kept in the same condition as at the time of sale, so please handle it with care.
