This is a kozuka made by Ishiguro Masaaki. It features a design of autumn grass, two geese, and an eagle. It comes with a NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu Certificate.
NihontoWatchmei · Edo
Ishiguro Masaaki
Edo
Signed
Tokuho (NBTHK)
Machibori · Musashi
Ishiguro Masaaki (石黒政明) was a pupil of the first-generation Ishiguro Masatsune, the founder of the Ishiguro school, and lived at Matsushita-chō in Kanda, Edo. He is said to have been born in Bunka 10 (1813) and to have entered the school during Masatsune's late years, leading to the conjecture that his practical instruction may have been received from either the second-generation Masatsune or from Ishiguro Masayoshi. He used the art names Mokuen-sai (木鵬斎) and Kibōsai (木鵬斎), and within the Ishiguro lineage he was regarded as a highly skilled artist, praised as forming a "twin pinnacle" alongside his fellow disciple Masayoshi. His works are comparatively few, yet among them many outstanding masterpieces are known. He was active from around the Ka'ei era into the Meiji period.
The stylistic character of the Ishiguro school gives direct expression to the tastes of its time, unfolding a lustrous, pictorial world rendered through meticulously executed takabori and richly colored iroe. Masaaki faithfully inherited the techniques of the first-generation Masatsune, and his depictions — thoroughly grounded in close observation from life — are striking. He worked predominantly on shakudō grounds finished with nanako-ji, upon which he executed high-relief carving combined with suemon-zōgan and polychrome iroe using gold, silver, shakudō, shibuichi, suaka, and oborogin. The method of combining many varieties of colored metals in high relief and inlay is extraordinarily sumptuous, yet never lapses into vulgarity. When an ordinary craftsman attempts such density, the result tends to become overwrought; yet Masaaki displays consummate control, producing work so accomplished that it seems to allow not the slightest margin for fault. His chisel work is minute, his sense of color outstanding, and compositions that leave broad areas of open ground are filled with a lucid, pure vitality.
The Ishiguro school excelled in bird-and-flower subjects, and Masaaki was no exception. In particular, many of his finest works take pheasants and golden pheasants (kinkeichō) as their principal themes, alongside peacocks, hawks, bush warblers, and quail arranged with seasonal flowers in a naturalistic, sketch-like manner. His spacious compositional sense was inherited from his teacher Masatsune. Through the skillful deployment of multiple varieties of colored metals, the coloring effects are accomplished and the sense of sumptuousness heightened, producing a thoroughly brilliant impression. In both technique and design, his works display the essential character of the Ishiguro school brought to a refined culmination — and the distinctly more splendid application of iroe among his peers may be said to represent Masaaki's individual character.
Where Masaaki 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.
Machibori · Edo
21 pieces on the market now
The Ishiguro school was founded by Ishiguro Masatsune, born in Horeki 10 (1760), who trained under Kato Naotsune and Yanagawa Naomasa within the broader Yokoya lineage before establishing an independent atelier that would become one of the most celebrated machibori ("town carving") workshops of the late Edo period. Masatsune combined one character from each teacher's name to form his professional identity, and under the art name Togakushi he attracted a succession of gifted pupils -- Masayoshi, Masaaki, Koretsune (his eldest son), Koreyoshi, Masahide, and Masahiro -- who carried the school's distinctive manner through the final decades of the Tokugawa period and into the Meiji era. Centered in Edo, the Ishiguro lineage operated within the machibori sphere, producing fittings for discerning warrior-class and merchant patrons rather than under the hereditary commissions of the Goto iebori tradition, a commercial independence that fostered pictorial ambition and technical innovation. The collective technical identity of the Ishiguro school is defined by a painterly naturalism executed through takabori upon shakudo nanako-ji grounds, enriched by lavish polychrome iroe employing an unusually wide palette of colored metals -- gold, silver, shibuichi, suaka (scarlet copper), oborogin, and hi-irodo. The school's signature subjects are kacho-zu (flowers and birds), rendered with a naturalistic, sketch-like fidelity grounded in close observation from life. Masatsune established this direction, transforming the Yanagawa manner into a personal idiom centered on birds of prey and bird-and-flower compositions that became the hallmarks of the house. His works are characterized by an "honest, finely detailed manner" and a "clear and limpid spirit" achieved through masterful use of open space. Masayoshi, who succeeded as third head, brought the school's painterly idiom to its fullest expression: front and reverse surfaces are linked through continuous branches and contrasting water motifs, male and female birds are paired with deliberate compositional care, and the interplay of a-un expression lends narrative depth to each scene.
His compositions on iron migaki-ji grounds demonstrate equal command, with kin-sunago zogan evoking atmospheric haze. " Koretsune served as vital link between the founder and the school's later flourishing, with takabori described as "dignified and sumptuous, yet steadfast and reliable," and a command of perspective achieved by subtly modulating surface depth. Koreyoshi, credited with ability "surpassing that of his father" Masayoshi, brought the school's character to its fullest late-period expression, producing work likened to the nishiki-e color woodblock prints of the age. The Ishiguro school's significance within the tosogu canon rests upon its transformation of the Yokoya-Yanagawa classical discipline into a pictorial art of extraordinary chromatic richness and compositional sophistication. Where earlier metalworking traditions relied predominantly on monochrome shakudo or gold tonalities, the Ishiguro masters deployed polychrome iroe with a sumptuousness "that never lapses into vulgarity" -- a balance of brilliance and restraint that defines the school's aesthetic. Masatsune's founding generation retained a martial vigor suited to warrior taste that distinguished his work from the "more purely ornamental output of later Ishiguro artists," while the successive generations of Masayoshi, Masaaki, and Koreyoshi progressively refined the school's decorative vocabulary toward an opulence that mirrored the cultural efflorescence of the Bunka-Bunsei era. Complete soroe-kanagu sets and unified issaku suites represent the school's highest achievement, demonstrating rigorous thematic coherence across every component of a mounting. The NBTHK has consistently praised the school's finest works as pieces in which "the Ishiguro school's distinctive character" is left "nothing unexpressed," and the tradition's enduring legacy is that of a workshop which, across four generations, brought the art of polychrome metalwork to its most accomplished and visually resplendent expression in Edo-period Japan. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Masayoshi政美 | — | 29 |
| Masatsune政常 | — | 17 |
| Masaaki政明 | — | 19 |
| Koretsune是常 | — | 4 |
| Koreyoshi是美 | — | 4 |
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 siteReturns accepted within 7 days of receipt (JP terms; EN page states 3 days). Customer must contact within the window and return at own cost. Refund after items confirmed in original condition; repair fees charged if damage occurs.
This is a kozuka made by Ishiguro Masaaki. It features a design of autumn grass, two geese, and an eagle. It comes with a NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu Certificate.
NihontoWatchmei · Edo
Ishiguro Masaaki
Edo
Signed
Tokuho (NBTHK)
Machibori · Musashi
Ishiguro Masaaki (石黒政明) was a pupil of the first-generation Ishiguro Masatsune, the founder of the Ishiguro school, and lived at Matsushita-chō in Kanda, Edo. He is said to have been born in Bunka 10 (1813) and to have entered the school during Masatsune's late years, leading to the conjecture that his practical instruction may have been received from either the second-generation Masatsune or from Ishiguro Masayoshi. He used the art names Mokuen-sai (木鵬斎) and Kibōsai (木鵬斎), and within the Ishiguro lineage he was regarded as a highly skilled artist, praised as forming a "twin pinnacle" alongside his fellow disciple Masayoshi. His works are comparatively few, yet among them many outstanding masterpieces are known. He was active from around the Ka'ei era into the Meiji period.
The stylistic character of the Ishiguro school gives direct expression to the tastes of its time, unfolding a lustrous, pictorial world rendered through meticulously executed takabori and richly colored iroe. Masaaki faithfully inherited the techniques of the first-generation Masatsune, and his depictions — thoroughly grounded in close observation from life — are striking. He worked predominantly on shakudō grounds finished with nanako-ji, upon which he executed high-relief carving combined with suemon-zōgan and polychrome iroe using gold, silver, shakudō, shibuichi, suaka, and oborogin. The method of combining many varieties of colored metals in high relief and inlay is extraordinarily sumptuous, yet never lapses into vulgarity. When an ordinary craftsman attempts such density, the result tends to become overwrought; yet Masaaki displays consummate control, producing work so accomplished that it seems to allow not the slightest margin for fault. His chisel work is minute, his sense of color outstanding, and compositions that leave broad areas of open ground are filled with a lucid, pure vitality.
The Ishiguro school excelled in bird-and-flower subjects, and Masaaki was no exception. In particular, many of his finest works take pheasants and golden pheasants (kinkeichō) as their principal themes, alongside peacocks, hawks, bush warblers, and quail arranged with seasonal flowers in a naturalistic, sketch-like manner. His spacious compositional sense was inherited from his teacher Masatsune. Through the skillful deployment of multiple varieties of colored metals, the coloring effects are accomplished and the sense of sumptuousness heightened, producing a thoroughly brilliant impression. In both technique and design, his works display the essential character of the Ishiguro school brought to a refined culmination — and the distinctly more splendid application of iroe among his peers may be said to represent Masaaki's individual character.
Where Masaaki 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.
Machibori · Edo
21 pieces on the market now
The Ishiguro school was founded by Ishiguro Masatsune, born in Horeki 10 (1760), who trained under Kato Naotsune and Yanagawa Naomasa within the broader Yokoya lineage before establishing an independent atelier that would become one of the most celebrated machibori ("town carving") workshops of the late Edo period. Masatsune combined one character from each teacher's name to form his professional identity, and under the art name Togakushi he attracted a succession of gifted pupils -- Masayoshi, Masaaki, Koretsune (his eldest son), Koreyoshi, Masahide, and Masahiro -- who carried the school's distinctive manner through the final decades of the Tokugawa period and into the Meiji era. Centered in Edo, the Ishiguro lineage operated within the machibori sphere, producing fittings for discerning warrior-class and merchant patrons rather than under the hereditary commissions of the Goto iebori tradition, a commercial independence that fostered pictorial ambition and technical innovation. The collective technical identity of the Ishiguro school is defined by a painterly naturalism executed through takabori upon shakudo nanako-ji grounds, enriched by lavish polychrome iroe employing an unusually wide palette of colored metals -- gold, silver, shibuichi, suaka (scarlet copper), oborogin, and hi-irodo. The school's signature subjects are kacho-zu (flowers and birds), rendered with a naturalistic, sketch-like fidelity grounded in close observation from life. Masatsune established this direction, transforming the Yanagawa manner into a personal idiom centered on birds of prey and bird-and-flower compositions that became the hallmarks of the house. His works are characterized by an "honest, finely detailed manner" and a "clear and limpid spirit" achieved through masterful use of open space. Masayoshi, who succeeded as third head, brought the school's painterly idiom to its fullest expression: front and reverse surfaces are linked through continuous branches and contrasting water motifs, male and female birds are paired with deliberate compositional care, and the interplay of a-un expression lends narrative depth to each scene.
His compositions on iron migaki-ji grounds demonstrate equal command, with kin-sunago zogan evoking atmospheric haze. " Koretsune served as vital link between the founder and the school's later flourishing, with takabori described as "dignified and sumptuous, yet steadfast and reliable," and a command of perspective achieved by subtly modulating surface depth. Koreyoshi, credited with ability "surpassing that of his father" Masayoshi, brought the school's character to its fullest late-period expression, producing work likened to the nishiki-e color woodblock prints of the age. The Ishiguro school's significance within the tosogu canon rests upon its transformation of the Yokoya-Yanagawa classical discipline into a pictorial art of extraordinary chromatic richness and compositional sophistication. Where earlier metalworking traditions relied predominantly on monochrome shakudo or gold tonalities, the Ishiguro masters deployed polychrome iroe with a sumptuousness "that never lapses into vulgarity" -- a balance of brilliance and restraint that defines the school's aesthetic. Masatsune's founding generation retained a martial vigor suited to warrior taste that distinguished his work from the "more purely ornamental output of later Ishiguro artists," while the successive generations of Masayoshi, Masaaki, and Koreyoshi progressively refined the school's decorative vocabulary toward an opulence that mirrored the cultural efflorescence of the Bunka-Bunsei era. Complete soroe-kanagu sets and unified issaku suites represent the school's highest achievement, demonstrating rigorous thematic coherence across every component of a mounting. The NBTHK has consistently praised the school's finest works as pieces in which "the Ishiguro school's distinctive character" is left "nothing unexpressed," and the tradition's enduring legacy is that of a workshop which, across four generations, brought the art of polychrome metalwork to its most accomplished and visually resplendent expression in Edo-period Japan. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Masayoshi政美 | — | 29 |
| Masatsune政常 | — | 17 |
| Masaaki政明 | — | 19 |
| Koretsune是常 | — | 4 |
| Koreyoshi是美 | — | 4 |
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 siteReturns accepted within 7 days of receipt (JP terms; EN page states 3 days). Customer must contact within the window and return at own cost. Refund after items confirmed in original condition; repair fees charged if damage occurs.
