NihontoWatchNihontoWatchRare set of Sekibun Urakusai Carp Fuchi Kashira with NTHK Certificate The 1st gen. Sekibun (赤文) – his first name was „Shōzō“ (正蔵) – was born in the village of Murakami (村上), in Echigo province, on the third day of the third month of Kansei two (1790) as the second son of a certain kinkō artist called Unken“ (雲軒). It is said that the family name was first just „Katsura“ (桂). Already in his youth he went to Edo to study under the Hamano school but his master is unknown. In between he also refined his craft in Kyōto. He alludes on that with his gō „Yūrakusai“ (遊洛斎) because „yūraku“ (遊洛) means „journey to Kyōto“ or „study trip to Kyōto“. In the seventh year of Bunsei (1824), when he was 35 years old, Sekibun was hired by the Sakai family as a craftsman of the Shōnai fief but did not settled there in Tsurugaoka before he was 56 (in the second year of Kōka, 1845). For his signatures in grass script he even took lessons from the Echigo calligrapher Kameda Bōsai (亀田鵬斎, 1752-1826). But the various interpretations of the hard-to-read signatures of his gō „Yūrakusai“ resulted in different meikan entries. Other pseudonyms of Sekibun were „Tōō“ (東翁) and „Tōbō“ (東鵬), and often he added the suffix „Sanjin“ (山人) or „Rōjin“ (老人) to the name „Sekibun“. He was well versed in various styles and techniques and trained many students. He died on the 14th day of the first month of Meiji eight (1875) at the age of 86. The 2 nd gen. Sekibun was born on the first day of the eleventh month of Tenpō nine (1838) when his father,*94 the 1st gen., was in Edo. He accompanied his father to Shōnai and took over there the school as second generation Sekibun. Before, he signed with the name „Bunju“ (文寿) and besides „Yūrakusai“ also used later the gō „Keigetsudō“ (桂月堂). He had no sons and so he adopted in Meiji nine (1876) – the year the ban on swords was passed – the son of his student Honma Aritake (本間有武), whose craftsman name was „Masatoshi“ (政寿). Sekibun the second died on February 19th 1912 at the age of 75.
NihontoWatchOffered by Nihonto Australia
The listing mentions papers from the NTHK that aren’t in our records yet. Current NBTHK and NTHK shinsa papers are the independent check we rely on, so it’s worth asking the dealer for a clear photo of the certificate. — Hoshi
5 on the market
Edo
Echigo
Signed
Machibori · Dewa · around 1670
5 pieces on the market now
Katsurano Sekibun, who employed the art name Yurakusai, was born in Kansei 2 (1790) at Murakami in Echigo Province. As a young man he traveled to Edo and studied under the Hamano family, acquiring the foundational discipline of that distinguished lineage. From his adoption of the art name Yurakusai, it is further conjectured that he undertook training in Kyoto, broadening his technical and aesthetic formation beyond a single school. In Bunsei 7 (1824) he entered the service of the Sakai family of Shonai domain as a retained artisan (kakae-ko), and from Koka 2 (1845) onward he settled permanently in Tsuruoka, where he continued to work until his death in Meiji 8 (1875) at the remarkable age of eighty-seven. For his inscriptions he used a distinctive cursive hand modeled on the calligraphic style of Kameda Bosai, the celebrated scholar of his native Echigo.
Sekibun devoted himself to the study of Tsuchiya Yasuchika, refining his skills with that master's example as his ideal, and produced an oeuvre in which tsuba are especially numerous. For the ground metal he frequently employed iron and shakudo, and he "excelled especially at applying iroe to a style of strongly modeled high-relief carving." His technical repertoire further encompassed sukidashi-bori, katakiribori, nikuai-bori, and various forms of zogan (inlay). Among pictorial subjects he favored animals and birds, with tigers and newts (imori) counted as particular strengths. His celebrated "Dawn Crow" (Akegarasu) tsuba, conceived as the sky at daybreak with suaka ground and shakudo suemon-zogan crows beating toward the sun, is singled out by the NBTHK alongside his octagonal newt-design tsuba as among his finest achievements.
The NBTHK consistently characterizes Sekibun's work as possessing a "high degree of refinement" in both composition and carving method, praising his "compositional command and carving skill" as "truly superb." His productions are recognized for their distinctive vitality -- an intensity of expression deemed "indeed characteristic of Akafumi" -- realized through the full mobilization of a wide range of carving methods together with inlay and polychrome metalwork techniques[[c:2]]. Whether working on intimate tsuba or ambitious multi-component soroi kanagu such as his Twelve Zodiac fitting set, Sekibun's works are commended as fully demonstrating the "sharpness of the maker's abilities[[c:3]]," securing his place as one of the most accomplished provincial metalworkers of the late Edo period.
Where Sekibun stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
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Machibori · Edo
32 pieces on the market now
The Hamano school of machibori carving was established in mid-Edo Edo by Hamano Masazui (浜野政隨), commonly known as Tarōbei, an exceptionally gifted pupil of Nara Toshihisa. As the Edo Kinkō Meifu states of him that he "thunders through the world," Masazui won widespread renown as one of the "Four Guardian Kings of Nara" (Nara Shitennō). Training many disciples and employing numerous art names—including Otsuryūken, Aji-zumi, Kankei, Rifūdō, Yūkotei, Shūhōsai, Hankei-shi, and Isshunan—he formed what came to be known as the Hamano school, establishing one of the principal lineages of machibori artistry and founding an independent house. " Works are rendered by means of yōbori (sculptural carving) upon varied grounds—gold-and-silver imo-tsugi-ji, solid gold (kinmuku)—with details frequently treated in the in'yō-kon mode, suggesting the early Gotō masters as models.
The carving is executed with "ample, well-judged volume (nikudori)" and "exceptionally full, weighty presence," while applied metal (okigane) in silver and shakudō with shakudō iroe tightens pictorial fields and imparts additional movement. Later Hamano artists such as Katsurano Akafumi maintained this technical versatility, favoring polychrome inlay applied to high-relief compositions. " The NBTHK repeatedly notes that works "clearly demonstrate the high level of technique," "amply demonstrate advanced technical mastery," and possess "a composed dignity"—attestations to the school's sustained excellence across generations and its enduring place within the broader machibori tradition. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Shozui政随 | — | 17 |
| Sekibun赤文 | 1670 | 8 |
| Noriyuki矩随 | — | 4 |
| Naotoshi直寿 | — | 0 |
| Naoharu直春 | — | 0 |
We could not find an authenticity certificate on the seller’s listing. Japanese swords and fittings are normally papered by the NBTHK (or the NTHK). Without one, the attribution is the seller’s own assessment and has not been independently verified — treat it with caution and ask the dealer about certification before buying.
Price on request