NihontoWatchNihontoWatch長門国は山陽道に属し、周防国とともに現在の山口県に該当します。毛利家の城下町・萩は、全国でもっとも多くの鐔工が活躍した町で、著名工には中井善助友恒、河治権之充友周、岡田宣政、八道市平友清などがあげられます。 本作は長州萩住河治佐兵衛尉友恒在銘の鐔で、中井善助友恒とは有縁と言われています。長州鐔は鉄地真丸型で鋤出高彫を施した作が多くありますが、本作のような透鐔もあり、作風は多岐にわたります。菊は奈良時代から平安時代初めにかけて中国から伝えられ、春の桜と同様に秋の菊が平安貴族に愛でられてきました。丁子は熱帯産の木の名で、実からとった油を香料・薬剤として古来より用いられていたようで、正倉院の宝物の帳外薬物との記載が残されているようです。この鐔はそれらを透かしの図柄に取り入れた作品となっています。笄の櫃穴を見ると銘の無い方が表なのだろうかと思われたりもしますが、銘がある方が表として使用されていたようです。
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As written by the shop
Iron-tsuba · Nagato · around 1670
2 pieces on the market now
Where Tomotsune 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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Iron-tsuba · Nagato
18 pieces on the market now
The tsuba-making traditions of Choshu domain (Nagato Province) trace their origins to the migration of Heianjo-sukashi openwork craftsmen from Kyoto, invited by the Ouchi family of Suo and Nagato during the Muromachi period. This transplanted lineage gave rise to the Ko-Hagi group, which flourished from the late Muromachi into the early Edo period and established a distinctive regional idiom in iron openwork. Under the subsequent patronage of the Mori clan, Choshu developed into one of Japan's foremost centres of tsuba production, earning the epithet that placed it alongside Aizu as the two great guard-making provinces: notable both for the number of artisans and the volume of work. Multiple lineages emerged — among them the Kawaji, Nakahara, Hatto, Okada, Okamoto, Kaneko, and Nakai — with Nakai Tomotsune (also known as Zensuke) achieving particular renown as a kakae-ko (retainer craftsman) of the Mori household, receiving a stipend from Horeki 8 (1758). The collective vocabulary of the Choshu tradition is grounded in iron: thin, carefully forged plates with rich surface character, including tsuchime-ji (hammered ground).
" The later Nakai school extended this foundation into a broader technical range, deploying sukidashi takabori high relief, kinzogan iroe (gold inlay with polychrome accents), shibuichi, and gold nunome-zogan in compositions of considerable ambition — naturalistic subjects such as frolicking tenaga-zaru monkeys and theatrical Shiki Samban scenes rendered with "taut, controlled modeling" and effective distribution of irogane colour metals. The Choshu tradition occupies a singular position within the tosogu canon as a regional milieu whose finest productions transcend mere provincial category. The NBTHK has recognised that the best works by Nakai Tomotsune surpass "what is ordinarily encompassed by the category of so-called Hagi tsuba,"[[c:1]] distinguished in composition, carving technique, and the character of the iron (tetsumi) alike[[c:2]]. At the same time, the Ko-Hagi group preserves an older and quieter aesthetic — rooted in the Kyoto openwork heritage yet transformed into something "not seen in other makers' work" — that testifies to the depth and continuity of metalworking practice in Nagato Province across several centuries. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Tomonori友矩 | 1770-1800 | 0 |
| Tomohiro友広 | — | 0 |
| Tomotsune友恒 | 1670 | 2 |
| Nobushige信重 | 1781-1867 | 0 |
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 sitePlease contact us by phone within 3 days of the item's arrival and ship it back the next day. The postage and security service fees are the customer's responsibility.