NihontoWatchNihontoWatchNakajima Haruhide was called Tadatsugu, and after studying under the third generation of the Yanagawa family, Naoharu, he became independent in Edo Mukojima as one of the artists with excellent sensibilities. Using takabori with delicate and gorgeous gold and silver iroe, he expressed the natural beauty of our country. This kozuka is also a work where the precise drawing style of the Yanagawa school is utilized. Behind the soaring cranes is a neatly uniform shakudo nanako-ji, representing a clear winter sky. The use of iroe is particularly skillful, adding a single line of silver iroe to the necks and wings, subtly varying the expression of the wings. The a-un appearance is traditional. The kin-ko-beri and uramorigane are also without damage, giving a sense of profound dignity to the pictorial composition.
NihontoWatchOffered by Choshuya
60 on the market
Yanagawa Haruhide
Edo
Musashi
Signed
Hozon (NBTHK)
Machine translation from the shop's Japanese · may contain errors ·
Machibori · Musashi
1 piece on the market now
Machibori · Edo
60 pieces on the market now
The Yanagawa (柳川) school ranks among the principal machibori ("town carving") lineages of Edo metalwork, arising in the mid-Edo period as a direct offshoot of the Yokoya house. Its founder, Yanagawa Naomasa (1692–1757), studied under Yoshioka Inaba-no-suke and under Yokoya Sōmin, and established himself in the Otamagaike district of Edo. The NBTHK setsumei consistently locate the school within this filiation, styling it "the Yanagawa branch within the Yokoya lineage" (横谷門下柳川派) and naming Naomasa as the family founder (家祖). Naomasa had no biological heirs and devoted himself to the training of disciples, and the successive heads of the house inherited the character nao (直). " The collective idiom of the school is the classic Yokoya-derived vocabulary of Edo kinkō work: grounds of shakudō (赤銅) dressed in nanako-ji (魚子地), high-relief carving (takabori) — frequently executed as applied motifs (suemon) — and polychrome inlay (zōgan iroe) in gold, silver, and shibuichi, deployed across kozuka, kōgai, fuchi-kashira, menuki, and tsuba. The school was likewise renowned for excellent katakiribori (single-cut carving), and its repertoire favored classical subjects: shishi (lions) with peonies, tigers, Chinese sages, and figural themes such as the Seven Lucky Gods.
Fidelity to the manner of Sōmin remained the school's touchstone across generations. " Equally characteristic is the school's mode of transmission, whereby pupils composed their art-names from characters granted by the Yanagawa masters. The measure of the Yanagawa school's significance lies as much in what it engendered as in its own production. Ishiguro Masatsune, a pupil of Katō Naotsune of the Yanagawa school, formed his name by combining masa (政) from Naomasa and tsune (常) from Naotsune; the setsumei record that he "moved beyond the manner of the Yanagawa school, devising innovative treatments particularly within bird-and-flower subjects," founding the Ishiguro lineage, which "continued to prosper through successive generations until the Meiji period" and produced the celebrated "twin peaks" Masayoshi and Masaaki. " Through these ramifying lines, the Yanagawa school served as the essential conduit by which the Yokoya manner of takabori iroe on shakudō nanako-ji grounds was disseminated across the late-Edo metalworking world. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Haruaki春明 | — | 18 |
| Naoharu直春 | — | 7 |
| Naomasa直政 | — | 5 |
| Akinori/Meijo明乗 | — | 0 |
| Akio明雄 | — | 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 siteIf, due to our fault, the item differs significantly from its proper condition, the item may be returned. Cooling-off is within one week of the item's arrival.
¥250,000