Warikogai with Cloud Design, Mumei

寸法

全長21.92センチ　幅10.7ミリ

Accessories

桐箱

Weight

重さ40.5グラム

As written by the shop

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

Unmon is a pattern that replaces clouds moving through the sky while changing shape with curved lines, and it has been used since ancient times as an auspicious omen that brings life-giving rain, and as a design suggesting the celestial world where dragons and immortals dwell. Even without depicting realistic scenery, the extension of the lines, the swirls, and the negative space alone evoke the expansion of the wind and sky, making it a suitable motif to take advantage of the slender form of a kogai. This work is a warikogai made of a copper ji with a soft brownish tint, where the outlines of clouds flowing from the mimikaki side toward the do are connected in long sequences by thin, neat senbori. The clouds are not a uniform repetition of swirls, but by alternately arranging large bulging outlines and small coiling tips and making them correspond with each other across the boundary of the two pieces, a gentle airflow is created upon the quiet ground. An understated tailoring that relies only on the lines of the tagane and the color of the jigane without depending on flamboyant irogane or takabori is a difficult task where any midare in the lines or weakness in the composition becomes more noticeable the simpler it is; however, in this work, by not fearing the wide negative space and adopting a composition that gathers the clouds at the top and moves quietly toward the long sao, the stretchiness of the entire warikogai is not compromised. From the front, the pattern appears calm as if melting into the ground, and when receiving light from an angle, the shadows of the lines stand out, allowing one to enjoy the refined changes as if the cloud energy appears and disappears. On the ura side, fine diagonal yasurime remain extensively, showing an expression of the jihada different from the elegant senbori on the omote. The neat appearance when the two pieces are joined, the distribution of the patterns on the left and right that becomes clear when they are separated, and even the subtle shading of the jigane that has passed through many years become objects of appreciation, possessing a charm that cannot be overlooked by enthusiasts who value materials and modeling more in tosogu with restrained decoration. The abstract nature of the unmon harmonizes easily with various koshirae, and when displayed alone, it is a work rich in koga taste that exudes a quiet dignity.