NihontoWatchNihontoWatchKozuka Signed "Spring of 1864, Adachi Yusai" with Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu. To be exact it is signed "Spring of the Wooden Rat Year, Adachi Yusai". The only wooden rat year during lifetime of Adachi Yusai was 1864. He was born in Bizen province in 1823, at 17 he moved to Kyoto and became the student od Wada Isshin, one of the most famous students of Goto Ichijio. Kozuka is made of polished shibuichi with superb quality katakiri bori carving of the crane. It is very difficult to showcase in on photos but it is really interesting piece. Legs are inlaid with a soft metal, however I do not know what it is as it changes colour depending on the light and angel. Decorated with a crane. In custom made kiri box.
Certificate reading — 銘 甲子春作 安達幽斎(花押)
NihontoWatchOffered by Soryu
35 on the market
Ichijo School
Edo
Bizen
Signed
Tokuho (NBTHK)
Iebori · Kyoto
35 pieces on the market now
" Ichijo was the fifth-generation head of the Shichiroemon house, a cadet branch of the Goto family, and trained under Hanzaemon Kamejo before succeeding to the headship at fifteen. His imperial commissions -- fittings for Emperor Kokaku in 1824 and Emperor Komei in 1862 -- earned him the ranks of Hokyo and Hogen respectively, and his atelier in Kyoto attracted a circle of gifted disciples who extended his aesthetic into the Bakumatsu and early Meiji periods. Among them, the celebrated "Five Tigers" (Goko) -- Funada Ikkin, Imai Nagatake, Hashimoto Isshi, Nakagawa Issho, and Wada Isshin -- together with the master's younger brother Goto Koran, constituted one of the most prolific and technically accomplished workshops in the history of Japanese tosogu production. The collective technical identity of the Ichijo school rests upon a foundation of shakudo nanako-ji of surpassing fineness -- described as "minute and orderly, deep and limpid," meriting the appellation kinume-nanako -- upon which elaborate pictorial compositions are built through takabori enriched by polychrome iroe employing gold, silver, shakudo, shibuichi, and suaka. Ichijo himself established the artistic direction by shifting from the canonical iebori subjects of dragons and lions toward compositions centered on close observation (shasei), rendering grasses, flowers, insects, birds, and landscapes with meticulous carving and refined dignity. This painterly sensibility pervades the entire school. Nagatake brought a distinctive ornamental density, arranging seasonal plants across entire surfaces with richly varied colored metals.
" Ikkin developed an unrivaled command of kosuki-bori -- a bold, thick chiseling technique that even Ichijo conceded was "beyond my own reach[[c:1]]" -- and his dragon subjects carried a distinctive forcefulness. " Isshin absorbed the hereditary vocabulary while concentrating creative zeal into individual passages of invention, and Issho achieved works of luxurious, courtly elegance through refined kinu-nanako and precise kebori. Koran, working in a manner akin to his elder brother yet "finished with an even more delicate and nuanced sensibility," brought the Shichiroemon branch to its most accomplished expression. Across the school, the favored tsuba form is the sumi-iri mokko-gata, and many works exhibit chuya shitate -- "day-and-night" construction using contrasting alloys on obverse and reverse. Complete daisho soroe kanagu sets, coordinated around seasonal, auspicious, or literary-historical themes, represent the school's highest format. " This standard was transmitted faithfully through the circle. " The school's productions are consistently praised for an elevated, Kyoto-inflected refinement that balances splendor and restraint in just measure. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Goto Ichijo後藤一乗 | — | 91 |
| Tomei東明 | — | 30 |
| Nagatake永武 | — | 13 |
| Ikkin一琴 | — | 11 |
| Issho一匠 | 1828-1876 | 10 |
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 siteInspection period (per the shop's shipping policy): after receiving the item, each customer has two weeks for inspection. In that time you may decide to return it, and the item will be refunded in full. Shipping costs are not refunded. Returns (per the shop's refund policy): the policy lasts 30 days; once 30 days have passed since purchase, no refund or exchange is possible. To be eligible for a return, the item must be in the same condition in which it was received and in its original packaging. Customized products cannot be returned. In certain situations only a partial refund is granted. Return shipping is at the customer's expense, and shipping costs are non-refundable.
$2,400