Tsuba: Bucket and Ladle Design Sukashi Tsuba, Signed Kunihiro

寸法

縦79.6ミリ　横78.0ミリ　切羽台厚6.3ミリ

Accessories

桐箱

Weight

重量124.5グラム

As written by the shop

Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors · Show original

Kunihiro was a tsubako of the late Edo period, recorded as a craftsman who produced many tetsu tsuba, and is evaluated as a tsubako who mass-produced ordinary-quality tetsu tsuba for practical use on sword mountings rather than focusing on flamboyant engraving or precise zogan. While the majority of examples seen today are plain ita-tsuba, this work is a rare piece featuring bold sukashibori across the entire tsuba surface, making it an interesting work for understanding the range of Kunihiro's style. Buckets and ladles are familiar tools for scooping, carrying, and using water, and have been featured in crafts since ancient times as familiar designs reflecting daily life. In this work, the round tetsu-ji is largely pierced, and by skillfully connecting the roundness of the bucket and the long handle of the ladle to the mimi and seppa-dai of the tsuba, a light and varied composition is formed despite using practical items as the subject. The left and right hitsu-ana are also naturally incorporated into the design, and the composition, which balances straight and curved lines, the solid iron and the pierced space, changes the overlap and depth of the pattern depending on the viewing angle, allowing one to feel the interest of the form within a simple subject. The seppa-dai bears the mei of Kunihiro, and the solid tetsu-ji with a thickness of 6.3 mm possesses a robustness emphasizing practical use and a calm tetsu-aji. As an example of sukashibori that differs in flavor from the plain Kunihiro tsuba usually encountered, this is a piece where one can enjoy a different side of the maker, and it is easy to coordinate for both martial use and appreciation.