Tsuba: Moon, Pine Tree, and Nikaibishi Openwork

商品 No.

TSU-3349

画題

月下松樹二階菱透

Mei

明珍紀 宗吉作　明治五 申八月日

材質・形

鉄磨地 変形撫角形 透彫 毛彫

箱

桐箱

縦

7.2 cm

横

7.0 cm

Thickness

0.3 cm

As written by the shop

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

The Myochin school has been known since ancient times as armorers, a school possessing superior techniques in the forging and processing of iron. In the Edo period, in addition to the production of armor, they also worked on tosogu such as tsuba, and their traditional techniques were passed down even into the Meiji period. The maker, Myochin Muneyoshi, was a tsuba smith residing in Dewa no Kuni Shonai who studied under Myochin Mune-yasu of Edo. His master, Myochin Mune-yasu, produced kikkou-mon and ko-sukashi tsuba in the style of Nobuie and has collaborative works with Ichijo. This work is a dated piece from Meiji 5 (1872) by Myochin Ki Muneyoshi. The iron ji with a calm color tone is shaped into a nadekaku-gata, with a moon rendered in ko-sukashi at the top, and a single carved line representing a cloud placed below it. The hitsu-ana on the left and right are shaped into nikai-bishi, with pines rendered in sukashi symmetrically at the bottom, and the seppa-dai is given volume with exquisite usuniku-bori. Meiji 5 was a time just before the promulgation of the Haitorei in Meiji 9, a period when the demand for tsuba changed significantly. This work is a precious tsuba with a Meiji 5 date that neatly expresses the iron tsuba designs followed from his master Myochin Mune-yasu.