Lot 113
113
AN IRON tsuba INSCRIBED SEKIJOKEN MOTOZANE, AN IRON tsuba BY TOJOKEN KATSUYOSHI AND A SMALLER IRON tsuba BY HITOTSUYANAGI TSUJU
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AN IRON tsuba INSCRIBED SEKIJOKEN MOTOZANE, AN IRON tsuba BY TOJOKEN KATSUYOSHI AND A SMALLER IRON tsuba BY HITOTSUYANAGI TSUJU

EDO PERIOD (19TH CENTURY)

Details
AN IRON tsuba INSCRIBED SEKIJOKEN MOTOZANE, AN IRON tsuba BY TOJOKEN KATSUYOSHI AND A SMALLER IRON tsuba BY HITOTSUYANAGI TSUJU
Edo Period (19th century)
The first of mokko form carved with a cormorant fisherman, a basket at his waist, with signature Sekijoken Motozane, 7.7cm.; a larger, circular tsuba, also with raised seppa-dai, finely carved on the face with Shoki, the demon-queller, the reverse with the oni trying to hide behind a straw hat, signed Tojoken Katsushige, 8.4cm.; the third of circular shape with a silver dragon, pierced and carved with a silver dragon and inlaid key-fret pattern, typical of the design of the Hitotsuyanagi school of Mito, signed Mito no ju Tsuju saku, 7.3cm. (3)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Ukai, or cormorant fishing, is a speciality of the Nagara river in Gifu ken and many other rivers. The birds are caught and trained to fish with rings around their necks, so that they can catch the fish, but not swallow them. Presentation to the imperial court of ayu, caught by the cormorant fishing technique is recorded as long ago as 885 AD.

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