-Tōsōgu, 51st Session — Designated October 13, 2005
(, , ), : Kikuoka Mitsuyuki (菊岡光行)
Measurements
- : length 9.73 cm; width 0.47 cm
- : length: (not stated in the source excerpt)
Description Form: (set of three) comprising , , and Material:
- and : , gold crests (), with gold backing (’)
- : solid gold (), carved in yōbori (rounded, sculptural carving) Design: “Mice at play with Noh implements for Shiki Sanban (‘Okina’)” (shiki sanban nezumi zu) Decoration: relief carving in the manner of the Yokoya tradition; gold ornament and gold-backed construction on the and Signature:
- signature: 「活剱子 菊岡光行（花押）」(Katsukenji Kikuoka Mitsuyuki, with )
- Gold-inlaid : 「菊岡・光行（花押）」(Kikuoka Mitsuyuki, with )
Artisan Kikuoka Mitsuyuki (菊岡光行), founder of the Kikuoka group, a pupil of Yanagawa Naomitsu of the Yokoya lineage.
Era Late period.
Explanation Kikuoka Mitsuyuki was a disciple of Yanagawa Naomitsu of the Yokoya school and went on to establish the Kikuoka group. He had a son named Mitsutomo, and his younger brother (by birth) was Mitsumasa. The brothers Mitsuyuki and Mitsumasa were influential metalworkers in ; they were also well known as haikai poets and cultivated men of letters, and both adopted the inherited art-name (gō) “Senryō” passed down from their forebears. Mitsuyuki was born in ’ei 3 (1626) and died in Kansei 12 (1800).
In his style he typically employed grounds and, using a Yokoya-derived manner of high-relief carving, produced subjects such as lions (shishi), animals, and birds. Having been thoroughly trained under the Yanagawa house, he attained maturity as an artist and was especially adept at lion subjects in the Yanagawa manner.
In the present work, the are executed in solid gold using the yōbori method, while the and are made with , gold crests, and gold backing. The theme—a mouse playfully engaging with the Noh properties associated with Shiki Sanban (“Okina”)—is a polished, quintessentially subject, and the Kikuoka school’s precise and steadfast carving skill is here displayed to its fullest extent.
