NihontoWatchNihontoWatchFrom the texture that fits comfortably in the hand, one feels as though they can glimpse the history of this kozuka, which has been cherished and used over many years. The nanako near the mouth where the thumb rests has worn down to resemble migaki-ji, while the other areas with less contact retain their corresponding granules. The sense of use on this kozuka, which shows its age without any major kizu, is quite appealing. That nanako-ji is sown finely and orderly, and combined with the jet-black jigane, it is full of high-quality luxury. While works kept like "sheltered daughters" in boxes as heirlooms are treasured, a work like this one, which conveys an unfading gami while having passed through the ages, seems to possess a different kind of charm. The motif is a yazutsu. A cylinder decorated with ivy patterns rendered in kin and gin iroe and kebori is placed horizontally, with three feathered arrows peeking out. The composition, where the tangled cord serves as an accent, gives movement to a subject that tends to be simple, and even provides a sense of reality. This way of framing the composition is very skillful. The cylinder itself is migaki-ji, and the background nanako-ji has a matte tone; the motif is further emphasized by the difference in light reflection, making full use of the visual effect. The construction is a two-plate laminate structure, but the ji-ita does not appear to be an inlay. The mon is also not brazed on, but is takabori hammered out from the back with carving added. However, the hammered unevenness inside the hole cannot be confirmed, so perhaps a thin plate has been placed in between. Alternatively, there is a possibility of nikubori, but the weight feels light in the hand, making that a bit doubtful. (The ji-ita itself is of thin construction, and the width of the body is also narrow... so it is natural that it feels light.) Looking at the iroe, the construction of the body, and the condition of the nanako-ji, the era appears to be early Edo. Considering the structure of the body, it might even be pushed back to the beginning of Edo. However, pushing it back as far as the Momoyama period is a bit difficult... The kanteisho attributes it to Ko-Goto (is the structure not a factor in the kiwame judgment?). Well, I am defying the higher authority, but this shop believes Goto is appropriate. (I am only saying this verbally here. Please forgive us as this shop does not issue papers.)
NihontoWatchOffered by Asahi Token
315 on the market
Goto School
Pre-Edo
Unsigned
Hozon (NBTHK)
As written by the shop
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Iebori · Yamashiro
315 pieces on the market now
The Goto house stands as the preeminent dynasty of sword-fitting makers in the history of Japanese metalwork, an unbroken lineage of seventeen generations spanning from the founding master Yujo (1440--1512), who served Ashikaga Yoshimasa amid the refined culture of Higashiyama, through the final head Hojo (1816--1856) in the closing years of the Tokugawa shogunate. From its inception the house served successive rulers -- Ashikaga shoguns, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Tokugawa -- and its productions became known as iebori, the "house carving" distinguished from machibori made for ordinary public demand. The fourth master Kojo first introduced warrior subjects and employed preparatory drawings by Kano Motonobu and Eitoku; the fifth master Tokujo struck the celebrated "Tokujo kiri" hallmark upon oban gold coinage for Hideyoshi; the third master Joshin -- "not only a metalworker but also a warrior" -- was killed in battle against the Azai clan in 1562. The seventh master Kenjo, praised since ancient times as a restorer of the house's fortunes (the finest exponents being termed Yuko-ken), traveled to Kaga and laid the foundations for the later flourishing of the Kaga-Goto tradition, while the tenth master Renjo carried the mainline from Kyoto to Edo, where it would remain through the seventeenth generation. The eleventh master Tsujo bridged the formal tradition with the expressive spirit of the Genroku era, and the thirteenth master Enjo served as an authoritative appraiser, authenticating works by earlier masters across the entire succession. The collective technical vocabulary of the Goto house is built upon shakudo nanako-ji grounds of extraordinarily minute and dense stippling, upon which motifs are rendered in takabori with kin-iroe and gin-iroe, frequently supplemented by solid gold (kinmuku) construction and kin'ura gilt backing. The sculptural manner is characterized by what the NBTHK repeatedly describes as "high mountains and deep valleys" -- a modulation of volume in which modeling rises emphatically while recesses are cut deep and clean, producing forceful and crisply articulated relief.
" Sojo inherited and tightened these forms with controlled elegance; Joshin amplified them to conspicuously larger scale with claws that are "characteristically large and long, with the tips splayed open"; Eijo brought a finer, more delicate precision to compositions of equally grand ambition; and Kenjo introduced a distinctive shosha quality -- austere and urbane -- that distinguished his work from the first six generations. The later masters sustained this discipline: Teijo's calm restraint and distinctive coloristic effects, Renjo's forty-five years of deeply worked takabori capturing instantaneous warrior movements, Tsujo's innovative left-right spreading compositions, and Hojo's reintroduction of machibori aesthetics into the official house style all demonstrate the lineage's capacity for renewal within tradition. The Goto house's enduring significance resides not merely in the technical excellence of individual masters but in the institutional continuity of a critical tradition sustained across four centuries. Works from the "upper six generations" (kami roku-dai) through Eijo established the canonical repertoire of prescribed okitemono motifs -- dragons, lions, paulownia crests, Kurikara, and auspicious figures -- while successive heads served simultaneously as makers and authenticators, issuing origami certificates and kiwame-mei inscriptions that themselves constitute important documents of connoisseurship. Valuations reaching one thousand kan and transmission through such distinguished collections as the Konoike, Shimazu, Tokugawa, and Maeda houses attest to the unrivaled esteem in which Goto metalwork has been held. Even Sokujo, whose tenure lasted barely four years before his death at thirty-two, left a small but distinguished body of work authenticated across eight subsequent generations of headmasters. From Yujo's founding vision through Hojo's final flowering -- whose technical command the NBTHK judges the finest from the twelfth master onward, betraying "not the slightest hint of the approaching conclusion" of the unbroken line -- the Goto house represents the defining standard against which all Japanese metalwork is measured, the wellspring from which the entire sokeN kinkO tradition flows. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Goto Joshin後藤乗真 | 1512-1562 | 68 |
| Goto Yujo後藤祐乗 | 1440-1512 | 41 |
| Goto Sojo後藤宗乗 | 1461-1538 | 56 |
| Goto Kenjo後藤顕乗 | 1586-1663 | 46 |
| Goto Teijo後藤程乗 | 1603-1673 | 42 |
Certifies a genuine fitting worth preserving: a correct signature, or, if unsigned, an identifiable era and school, with recognized artistic and craft 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 siteReturns are accepted within 7 days of the item's arrival, provided its condition has not changed since the time of sale. Once the return is confirmed, the payment is promptly refunded to your designated account.
¥150,000