This is a pair of menuki by Hisanori (1725-1795), a samurai and metal carver of the Moriyama Domain. He studied under Omori Teruhide of the Omori school. The menuki feature a hen and chicks motif, showcasing Hisanori's characteristic style with exquisite detail, rich decorative inlay, and exceptional three-dimensionality. It comes with an NBTHK 70th Juyo Tosogu Certificate.
遅塚久則(享保十~寛政七)は水戸分家の守山藩士で、彫金は大森英秀に師事した。『守山藩士略伝』に拠れば、「資性温厚にして謹厳、三代 頼寛・四代頼亮の二侯に仕え、小姓となって三十石を給わる」とあり、また『夏雄彫金談』では「その姓を刻せしもの未見。賞翫すべき彫法なり。 色絵丁寧にして極彩風の仕方なり」とある。久則は武人の誇りを持って彫技に励み、細密濃麗な象嵌は独歩の域に達して世人の喝采を博した。 久則は孔雀や鳳凰などの鳥類や人物の緻密な意匠を得意とし、本作もその典型的な彫口を示した目貫である。地金は厚手で肉置が豊かで、 からのだしと表からのへし込みが強調され、腰の部分はくくり込むようになって総体に丸味のある形状となり、鶏の顔は裏側まで丸彫に彫り込 むなど一段と立体的になって、今にも動き出しそうな躍動感に溢れた作品となっている。
mei · Omori · Kyōhō–Kansei (1725-1795)










Omori Chizuka Hisanori
Kyōhō–Kansei (1725-1795)
Signed
Jūyō #70 (NBTHK)
Machibori · around 1725-1795
1 piece on the market now
Otsuzuka Hisanori (active Kyōhō 10–Kansei 7; 1725–1795) was a samurai retainer of the Moriyama Domain, a cadet line of the Mito Tokugawa house, who studied the art of chōkin (metal carving) under Ōmori Teruhide. According to the Moriyama Hanshi Ryakuden, he was "gentle in disposition and earnest and strict in conduct," serving the third lord Yorihiro and the fourth lord Yoriaki as a page with a stipend of thirty koku[[c:1]]. The Natsuo Chōkin Dan further observes that "I have yet to see a work in which he engraved his family name," noting that his carving methods are "worthy of appreciation" and that his iroe is careful, tending toward "a brilliantly colored style."[[c:2]] Hisanori thus occupied a distinctive position among late Edo period metalworkers: a warrior-artist whose output was shaped by both martial discipline and refined aesthetic sensibility within the Ōmori lineage.
Hisanori devoted himself to metal carving with the pride of a warrior, and his dense, sumptuous iroe inlay reached a singular level that won widespread admiration. He particularly excelled in designs of birds — peacocks and phoenixes — as well as figural subjects such as the Chinese heroes Guan Yu and Zhou Cang. His treatment of menuki is immediately recognizable: the base metal is made thick, the nikuoki (placement of flesh) is full and rounded, the raising from the reverse and the pressing-in from the front are emphatically contrasted, and the "waist" portion tightens as though cinched, producing an overall rounded contour. He further enhanced three-dimensionality by carving avian faces in a manner suggestive of fully rounded sculpture, achieving what the NBTHK describes as "a truly sculptural effect." The iroe employs a wide palette — gold, silver, suaka, and hishoku-dō — applied with minute precision down to the smallest details.
Across his designated works, the NBTHK consistently praises Hisanori's "dense, minute, and lustrous inlay work" as having reached "an individual, unsurpassed level." His pieces are recognized as fully demonstrating "the artist's particular strengths" and his "true strengths," with a "strongly three-dimensional manner rich in mass and presence." His distinctive sculptural conception of the menuki form — thick ground, rounded modeling, cinched waist, and polychrome brilliance — constitutes a coherent personal idiom within the Ōmori school tradition. Hisanori's oeuvre stands as evidence that the samurai-artisan of the late Edo period could achieve technical and expressive heights of the first order in the service of chōkin.
Where Chizuka Hisanori 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
13 pieces on the market now
The Ōmori school was one of the great machibori (town-carving) lineages of Edo, founded in the first half of the eighteenth century by Ōmori Terumasa (大森英昌, also read Eishō), a direct disciple of Yokoya Sōmin. " A dated tsuba of Meiwa 7 (1770) anchors his mature activity, and the workshop remained rooted in the shogunal capital throughout its history — his pupil Hidetomo proudly signed works "Tōto, by the Sumida River" (東都隅田川辺). Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Teruhide英秀 | — | 15 |
| Chizuka Hisanori遅塚久則 | 1725-1795 | 9 |
| Horie Okinari堀江興成 | — | 7 |
| Terumitsu英満 | — | 4 |
| Terumasa英昌 | — | 0 |
Exceptional craft of very high artistic value, judged to rank with a nationally recognized Important Art Object (Jūyō Bijutsuhin).
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 pair of menuki by Hisanori (1725-1795), a samurai and metal carver of the Moriyama Domain. He studied under Omori Teruhide of the Omori school. The menuki feature a hen and chicks motif, showcasing Hisanori's characteristic style with exquisite detail, rich decorative inlay, and exceptional three-dimensionality. It comes with an NBTHK 70th Juyo Tosogu Certificate.
遅塚久則(享保十~寛政七)は水戸分家の守山藩士で、彫金は大森英秀に師事した。『守山藩士略伝』に拠れば、「資性温厚にして謹厳、三代 頼寛・四代頼亮の二侯に仕え、小姓となって三十石を給わる」とあり、また『夏雄彫金談』では「その姓を刻せしもの未見。賞翫すべき彫法なり。 色絵丁寧にして極彩風の仕方なり」とある。久則は武人の誇りを持って彫技に励み、細密濃麗な象嵌は独歩の域に達して世人の喝采を博した。 久則は孔雀や鳳凰などの鳥類や人物の緻密な意匠を得意とし、本作もその典型的な彫口を示した目貫である。地金は厚手で肉置が豊かで、 からのだしと表からのへし込みが強調され、腰の部分はくくり込むようになって総体に丸味のある形状となり、鶏の顔は裏側まで丸彫に彫り込 むなど一段と立体的になって、今にも動き出しそうな躍動感に溢れた作品となっている。
mei · Omori · Kyōhō–Kansei (1725-1795)










Omori Chizuka Hisanori
Kyōhō–Kansei (1725-1795)
Signed
Jūyō #70 (NBTHK)
Machibori · around 1725-1795
1 piece on the market now
Otsuzuka Hisanori (active Kyōhō 10–Kansei 7; 1725–1795) was a samurai retainer of the Moriyama Domain, a cadet line of the Mito Tokugawa house, who studied the art of chōkin (metal carving) under Ōmori Teruhide. According to the Moriyama Hanshi Ryakuden, he was "gentle in disposition and earnest and strict in conduct," serving the third lord Yorihiro and the fourth lord Yoriaki as a page with a stipend of thirty koku[[c:1]]. The Natsuo Chōkin Dan further observes that "I have yet to see a work in which he engraved his family name," noting that his carving methods are "worthy of appreciation" and that his iroe is careful, tending toward "a brilliantly colored style."[[c:2]] Hisanori thus occupied a distinctive position among late Edo period metalworkers: a warrior-artist whose output was shaped by both martial discipline and refined aesthetic sensibility within the Ōmori lineage.
Hisanori devoted himself to metal carving with the pride of a warrior, and his dense, sumptuous iroe inlay reached a singular level that won widespread admiration. He particularly excelled in designs of birds — peacocks and phoenixes — as well as figural subjects such as the Chinese heroes Guan Yu and Zhou Cang. His treatment of menuki is immediately recognizable: the base metal is made thick, the nikuoki (placement of flesh) is full and rounded, the raising from the reverse and the pressing-in from the front are emphatically contrasted, and the "waist" portion tightens as though cinched, producing an overall rounded contour. He further enhanced three-dimensionality by carving avian faces in a manner suggestive of fully rounded sculpture, achieving what the NBTHK describes as "a truly sculptural effect." The iroe employs a wide palette — gold, silver, suaka, and hishoku-dō — applied with minute precision down to the smallest details.
Across his designated works, the NBTHK consistently praises Hisanori's "dense, minute, and lustrous inlay work" as having reached "an individual, unsurpassed level." His pieces are recognized as fully demonstrating "the artist's particular strengths" and his "true strengths," with a "strongly three-dimensional manner rich in mass and presence." His distinctive sculptural conception of the menuki form — thick ground, rounded modeling, cinched waist, and polychrome brilliance — constitutes a coherent personal idiom within the Ōmori school tradition. Hisanori's oeuvre stands as evidence that the samurai-artisan of the late Edo period could achieve technical and expressive heights of the first order in the service of chōkin.
Where Chizuka Hisanori 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
13 pieces on the market now
The Ōmori school was one of the great machibori (town-carving) lineages of Edo, founded in the first half of the eighteenth century by Ōmori Terumasa (大森英昌, also read Eishō), a direct disciple of Yokoya Sōmin. " A dated tsuba of Meiwa 7 (1770) anchors his mature activity, and the workshop remained rooted in the shogunal capital throughout its history — his pupil Hidetomo proudly signed works "Tōto, by the Sumida River" (東都隅田川辺). Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Teruhide英秀 | — | 15 |
| Chizuka Hisanori遅塚久則 | 1725-1795 | 9 |
| Horie Okinari堀江興成 | — | 7 |
| Terumitsu英満 | — | 4 |
| Terumasa英昌 | — | 0 |
Exceptional craft of very high artistic value, judged to rank with a nationally recognized Important Art Object (Jūyō Bijutsuhin).
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.