Futatokoromono (kozuka with kogatana and kōgai) with wisteria motif, attr. to Goto Joshin, c. 1550.

Shakudō with a fine nanako ground, decorated in suemon-zōgan (据紋象嵌) with a design of wisteria vines and pendent racemes bearing dewdrops in gold and silver. The design continues across both the kozuka and kōgai, forming a coordinated pair. The kogatana is signed 大和守兼定 (Yamato no Kami Kanesada). The kozuka and kōgai are attributed to Gotō Jōshin (後藤乗真, 1512–1562), third-generation master of the Gotō school.

Dimensions:
Kozuka with kogatana: 214 mm, 40.2 g.
Kozuka: 98 × 14.5 mm.
Kōgai: 212 × 12.5 mm, 33.5 g.

Provenance: Robert E. Haynes Collection.

Reference: Haynes, Robert E. Study Collection of Japanese Sword Fittings (Gai Sō Shi, 外装史). — Ellwangen: Nihon Art Publishers, 2010; no. 50.

Seller's description: Muromachi Period (1392-1573) provenance: Japan, Made of shakudo (kozuka and kogai); Nikō-bori in gold, silver, and shakudō depicting wisteria branches on a nanako ground; the kogatana is signed “Shirobei Joshin. A futatokoromono consisting of shakudō nanako frames on each part. The jiita is worked in an extremely fine-grained nanako, decorated with the bold design of a large double branch of wisteria. The upper cluster of blossoms is executed in gold, while the lower branch is in shakudō. Both are attached to a strong central branch with leaves, each leaf adorned with five silver dew drops. This work appears to be by the third mainline Gotō master, Gotō Shirobei Joshin (1512–1562). Because wisteria was the family mon of several families, it is difficult to identify the specific family to which this set may have belonged. Joshin, a samurai first and an artist second, expressed the bold, powerful spirit of the warrior more clearly than any other Gotō master. His work is distinguished less by technical detail than by its strength of feeling and intuition: one recognizes it instantly, for it unmistakably declares itself as the hand of Joshin. Illustrated and described in 'Gai So Shi - Study Collection of Japanese Sword Fittings' by Robert E. Haynes, Nihon Art Publishers, 2010, No. 50, length 21.4 - 21.1 cm.