JAPAN, EDO PERIOD (MID-19TH CENTURY), SIGNED YOKEI TSUKURU WITH CURSIVE MONOGRAM (KAO) (TOYOKAWA YOKEI II; 1813-1869)

Technically, this tsuba is a masterpiece. Unlike conventional metal tsuba, in which grooves can be chiselled directly into an iron or copper plate, the application of high-relief silver elements to a ground as delicate as paper demands exceptional technical mastery, given the vast differences in the physical properties of the two materials.

Compare with an identical design of Fukurokuju on an inlaid shakudo tsuba by Somin ranked Tokubetsu-Juyo Tosogu in Tokubetsu-Juyo Shinsa no. 26, March 28, 2020, and an inlaid shakudo kozuka by Soyo ranked Juyo Tosogu in Juyo Shinsa, no. 66, December 15, 2020. Both illustrated in the NBTHK Tokubetsu-Juyo Nado Zufu and Juyo Nado Zufu.