A GOTO SCHOOL DAISHO TSUBA

Details

A GOTO SCHOOL DAISHO TSUBA
LATE EDO PERIOD (CIRCA 1866), SIGNED TOKI NI TOSHI NANAJUGO RAKU HAKUO SAKU AND RAKU HOKU KYO HAKUO SAKU

The larger tsuba is of iron and decorated with a chocolate-brown smoothly polished patina and is carved with relief design of magnolia in bloom. The flowers are gold. The design extends on to the reverse, with the remainder of the plant, the blooms and buds in silver. The signature appears on the large rock in the web of the plate. The smaller tsuba is similarly patinated and carved with a relief design of peony, the bloom in silver; the design extends on to the reverse with a large silver bud. It is signed on the reverse side of the seppa-dai--dai: length 8.2cm., width 7.7cm., thickness 4.25mm.; sho: length 7.5cm., width 6.9cm., thickness 4.25mm.

Accompanied by a wood tomobako incribed on the front Iroe tagane gyokudo sha ko ... mei Hakuo and signed Goto hogen Ichijo with kakihan.

Double wood storage boxes. Inner box with inscription by Sato Kanzan, dated summer, 1966.

Accompanied by a tokubetsu kicho certificate (for the large tsuba) issued by the N.B.T.H.K., no. 506, dated May 29th, 1966; a tokubetsu kicho certificate (for the small tsuba) issued by the N.B.T.H.K., no. 508, dated May 29th, 1966; and a juyo kodogu certificate issued by the N.B.T.H.K., no. 3995, June 1st, 1971 (for the daisho).

Provenance

Joseph U. Seo, New York

Literature

Juyo token (1971), vol. 20, part II, p. 120.
Homma, Sato, Ogawa and Compton (1976), no. XXXIV, p. 130.
Mino and Robinson (1983), nos. 17 a & b, 18 a & b, p. 21.
One Hundred Masterpieces (1992), no. 81.

Lot Essay

This daisho was made by Goto Ichijo (1791-1876) in his later years. Ichijo is considered the last great master of the Goto School despite the fact that he was the sixth master of the Hachirobei branchline and not a member of the Shirobei mainline. He took the name Ichijo at the age of thirty-four, after he had been awarded the rank Hokkyo. In 1863 he was awarded the title Hogen and in 1866, the year these tsuba were made, the shogunate approved Kenjo Mitsunobu as his heir. He married three times and had two sons and three daughters. Apart from his metal-working skills he was also an adept painter and poet.

Both these tsuba are signed with Ichijo's art-name, Hakuo. Even at this late period the traditions of the Goto school were such that a master of the school could not use his official Goto names on an iron tsuba. This prohibition did not extend to accompanying documents and tomobako, where the formal signature was considered appropriate.