Fuchi-kashira with rock and boar (iwa ni inoshishi zu) motif. Inlay of precious stones or colour glass. Shakudō, gold, gemstones. Technique: Sukibori zogan kiniroe.
Fuchi: 36 x 21 x 14 mm; Weight: 22 g; Kashira: 32 x 17 x 5 mm; Weight: 8 g; Material : Shakudō; Gold; Gemstones (Chalcedony and Rose Quartz). Possibly, Owari school.-
Signature: Unsigned -
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with eight roundels – circular emblems of flowers and/or family crests (mon) made of cast brass, pierced and chiseled in kebori, and with flat brass inlay (hira-zōgan) of vines or leaves all over the plate. Both hitsu-ana trimmed in brass. Nakago-ana of rectangular form, with copper sekigane. Four positive openwork (ji-sukashi) roundels at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock; and four negative openwork (in-sukashi) roundels with cherry blossom, bellflower, and two variations on suhama theme. Yoshirō school (Kaga-Yoshirō). The Momoyama or early Edo period, late 16th to early 17th century. Size: diameter 81.4 mm, thickness 4.7 mmat seppa-dai, 4.0 mm at rim. Christie's lot description: AN IRON TSUBA; EDO PERIOD (17TH CENTURY). THE DOLPHYN COLLECTION OF SAMURAI ART. The round iron tsuba pierced with roundels of various floral motifs interspersed among scrolling foliage, all inlaid with brass. 8.1 cm. high. Provenance: Pabst Collection (no. 338). -
Kyo-sukashi iron tsuba of round form with design of hollyhock (aoi ) and wild geese. Slightly rounded rim. Copper sekigane. Momoyama period, late 16th - early 17th century. Height: 82.6 mm, Width: 82.1 mm, Thickness at seppa-dai: 4.5 mm. NTHK (Nihon Token Hozon Kai) certified. -
Ippitsusai Bunchō (一筆斎文調); lived 1725-1794; flourished 1755–1790. Size: Chuban; 26 x 20 cm The design presents a young woman reading a scroll while arranging her hear, and a young man with a rowing rod watching over her shoulder; the pair is standing on a giant shrimp that ferries them over a stream. The third passenger is a literate octopus, who's is attentively exploring the text of a scroll. This allusion comes to mind promptly: “Bodhidharma crossing the Yangzi River on a reed” (Royō Daruma).
Image from Asian Art Museum in San Francisco:
Masanobu’s mitate wittily evokes an episode known as “Bodhidharma crossing the Yangzi River on a reed” (Royō Daruma). According to legend, the river crossing occurred en route to the Shaolin monastery, where Bodhidharma sat facing a wall for nine years without speaking. While serious interpretations abound in Chinese and Japanese paintings, popular prints of the Edo period often playfully substituted a beautiful woman for the monk. This parodic version was reportedly invented in response to a courtesan’s comment that she was more enlightened than Bodhidharma because she had spent ten years sitting, on display in a brothel.
An interesting article about this particular design is published at UKIYO-E.ORG BLOG. Though, the design is erroneously attributed to Harunobu. We see that Bunchō was quite fascinated by the idea of crossing a water obstacle with the help of an unsuitable means of transportation:
Female Daruma Riding a Mushroom. MFA # 21.4758.
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An iron tsuba in the shape of a bold or shaved human head in full round. Unsigned. Dimensions: 62.5 x 53.4 x 4.4 mm Iron, in the shape of a Ni O (Nio) head, in full round, the back flat chased as a pine forest. Signed : Miōchin Masatsugu in sosho. №38 in The Naunton Collection, 1912. There are a few tsuba of such design known. SOLDIron, a severed head. Signed: Takeaki of Kwaiyō. Ex Hawkshaw Collection [Plate VII]. Below written: Takurio, Suruga, 1118; Tamagawa, p. ; Tanaka, p. 168; Tanetora, 1894. №2729 in The Naunton Collection, 1912.
№38 Naunton Collection, 1912.
Reference to Hawkshaw Collection [Plate VII] happened to be not exact; it is Plate VIII, №236. It is clearly not the Hawkshaw piece (different facial expression, signle hitsu-ana, no plug. Description at Hawkshaw, 1910, reads: Iron, in the shape of a man's head, severed at the neck, the forehead in three wrinkles, the mouth hard-set and drooping, the eyes open, inlaid brass with shakudo pupils. Signed: Shoami; dated second year of Shoho, first month [SV: December 1644 through February 1648].
№2729 Naunton Collection, 1912.
№236 Hawkshaw Collection, 1910.
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Iron tsuba of oval form with the motif of horse trappings in openwork (sukashi). Copper sekigane. Iron bones (tekkotsu) on the rim.Size: 80.4 x 75.8 x 5.2 mm
NBTHK Certificate №454567, allegedly saying that it is Akasaka School, Muromachi period. A look-a-like tsuba in Robert. E. Haynes Catalog #7, 1983 on page 57 under №48 is described as follows: "A masterpiece second period Owari sukashi tsuba. The plate is of beautiful color and quality almost like velvet. The design is very hard to discern, it might be the horse trappings, or even a moon. The style and type of Owari tsuba shows the great tradition of the Momoyama period and why it was the renaissance in time, as well as the arts produced, through the long history of all Japanese art. Ca. 1580. Ht. 7.7 cm, Th. (center) 5.5 mm, (edge) 5.25 to 5.75 mm."I believe we can safely attribute this tsuba to Owari School, c. 1580.
Robert. E. Haynes Catalog #7, 1983, p. 57, №48.
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Isoda Koryūsai (礒田 湖龍斎, 1735–1790), flourished: 1769 to 1790. The print lacks signature (signature erased).Attributed definitely to Koryūsai: Jacob Pins, #491 [p.202] - Saigyo Hoshi admiring Mount Fuji. Signature erased but convincingly attributed to Koryusai. Tikotin Museum, Haifa. Catalogue raisonné: Allen Hockley: A3-J-5 (p. 261).
Saigyō Hōshi (西行 法師, 1118 – March 23, 1190) was a famous Japanese poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura period. -
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Artist: Horst Graebner positively attributes the drawing to Utagawa Kunisada II [歌川国貞] Japanese, 1823 – 1880) a.k.a. Toyokuni IV, though Israel Goldman attributes it to Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III. Title: Geisha with a watch / Preparatory drawing for a fan print. Media/Technique: Ink and colour on paper. Signed: Toyokuni hitsu [豊国筆]. -
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with a deer and maple leaves in positive silhouette openwork (ji-sukashi), with details finely carved in low relief (kebori). Nakagō-ana plugged with copper fittings (sekigane). Traces of lacquer on the surface.
NBTHK: Hozon, №424947.
Design: An autumnal tsuba with an allusion to Kasuga Shrine in Nara.
Attributed by NBTHK to Shoami. Age: Probably the Momoyama period (1574 – 1603) or early Edo period (1603 – 1650), but judging on the item's substantial size (diameter 86.6 mm) and considerable thinness (3.4 mm) may be attributed to earlier times (late Muromachi period, 1514 – 1573). -
Superb Edo pictures illustrating dances (Odori keiyô Edo-e no sakae): Interior of an imaginary theater with a performance of Shibaraku 「踊形容江戸絵栄」. Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Publisher: Nōshūya Yasubei (Japanese, fl. c. 1851 – 1870). Year: 1858 (Ansei 5), 7th month. Size: Vertical ôban triptych; 36.9 x 75.7 cm. Signed: 一陽斎雛獅豊国筆(年玉印) – Ichiyôsai Hinashi Toyokuni ga (on left sheet only). Censor's seal: Horse 7 [午七 彫師]. Subject: Shibaraku. Ref.: MFA impression: 11.44263a-c; Robert Schaap. Kunisada (2016), p. 101 [LIB-1212.2017]. Ref.: [LIB-1197.2016] Arendie and Henk Herwig. Heroes of the kabuki stage: an introduction to kabuki with retellings of famous plays, illustrated by woodblock prints. — Amsterdam: Hotei Publishing, 2004; p. 38.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847), seal: San [三] (Marks 11-001 | 127c). Block carver: Matsushima Fusajirō [松嶋房次郎] (Japanese, fl. 1843 – 1850); seal [彫工房] – Hori kō Fusa (Gordon Friese № 134). Double nanushi censor seal: Kunigasa & Watanabe (1849-50). Actor: Iwai Hanshirō VIII [岩井半四郎] (Japanese, 1829 – 1882); other names: Iwai Shijaku II, Iwai Kumesaburō III [岩井粂三郎], Iwai Hisajirō II. Play: Yukari no Hana Iro mo Yoshiwara [紫花色吉原], performed at the Kawarazaki Theater (Edo) from the 5th day of the 5th lunar month of Kaei 3 (1850) (see Kabuki Playbill at MFA (Boston) № 11.27996).
A famous Yoshiwara courtesan named Manjiya Yatsuhashi [万字屋 八ツ橋] was killed by a provincial commoner Sano Jirōzaemon [佐野次郎左衛門] (on the second sheet of the pair):
Another Kunisada's print with the same characters in the same play and same performance can be seen at MFA (Boston) № 11.40190.
SVJP-0298.2019: Ichikawa Ebizō V as Sano Jirōzaemon.
SVJP-0297.2019: Iwai Kumesaburō III as Manjiya Yatsuhashi
One more example can be seen in the two upper images at Waseda University Cultural Resources Database, № 006-2707:
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Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (1798 – 1861). A beauty leaning on a fence and watching a dragonfly hovering above a flowering plant. Signed: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga (一勇斎 國芳 画) in a double gourd-shaped red cartouche. Publisher: Maruya Jinpachi, seal Jin [甚] (Marks 08-088 | 294d). No date/censor seal. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 234 x 301 mm. -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (Japanese, c. 1776 – 1862), seal Marks 21-216. Double nanushi censor’s seals: Hama & Magome (1849-53). Title: Wisteria in Kameido [亀戸乃藤] (Kameido no fuji). An uncut fan print (uchiwa-e), depicting a young woman coming down Taikobashi bridge at Kameido Tenjin Shrine. -
Iron tsuba of oval form with design of iris and plank bridge (yatsubashi) in openwork (sukashi). Rounded cornered rim. Unsigned. Attributed to Jingo - 3rd generation Shimizu, 2nd generation Jingo (1691-1777) [M. Sesko, Genealogy..., p. 94]. Edo period: Late 18th century (Hohreki / Meiwa era). Height: 69.5 mm. Width: 65.2 mm. Rim thickness: 4.6 mm. Center thickness: 4.8 mm. Provenance: Sasano Masayuki Collection, № 251: "Shimizu. Third generation Jingo (died at 87 years of age in the sixth year of An-ei, 1777). The eight-section bridge with irises are arranged to create the design of 'yatsubashi'. The features are unique for the Shimizu school and show no influence of the Hirita, Nishigaki or Hayashi schools". The design visually resembles a butterfly. As described in Family Crests of Japan by Stone Bridge Press [Family Crests of Japan; Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley, CA, 2007], and also in Japanese Family Crests by Yuzuru Okada [Yuzuru Okada. Japanese Family Crests // Series: Tourist Library: 37. Board of tourist industry; Japanese Government Railways, - 1941], there is a special technique used in construction of family crests, called 'reshaping' by the former and 'reconstruction' by the latter: "reconstruction is realized when a motive has its general shape composed of the detail of entirely different motive as, for instance, the crest of a butterfly formed of pine-needles. [...] The fanciful and ingenious forms evolved in this way may be represented by the kasiwa-giri or 'oak-leaf-paulownia', the ogi-bisi or 'fan-lozenge', the matuba-zuru or 'pine-needle-crane', the omodaka-kotyo or 'water-plantain-butterfly', etc." In our case we can call the motif yatsubashi-chocho or 'Iris-and-Bridge—Butterfly'. -
Iron tsuba of oval form carved and inlaid in gold and copper with cormorant fisherman in disguise. Unsigned. Dimensions: 67.7 mm x 61.5 mm x 3.8 mm (at seppa-dai) Edo period: 18th century. "Since Nara period, Japanese fishermen in small boats have used cormorants (u) to catch river fish at night, binding the necks of the birds so that the fish are not swallowed. [...] The bird and the work it performs are symbols of selfless devotion to one's master and keen eyesight." - from Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001; p. 104. See also TSU-0212 and TSU-0096 -
Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769–1825) Actor Matsumoto Kōshirō V plays the role of Ikyû in the drama "Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura". The roles of Sukeroku and the courtesan Agemaki are played by Ichikawa Danjûrô VII and Iwai Hanshirô V". Ichimura Theater in Edo in 2nd lunar month of 1811. Publisher: Chōjiya Kichi (1811-1826); Marks' "Publishers" № 028, p. 103. Size: Vertical ôban Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. Signed: Toyokuni ga My print is the right sheet of a triptych (see: Rare books exhibition in January 2013).
A lookalike triptych by Kunisada can be found in Ronin Gallery:
Data from Kabuki21:
Stage names:
Matsumoto Kôshirô V, Ichikawa Komazô III, Ichikawa Sumizô I
Guild: Kôraiya
Line number: GODAIME (V)
Poetry names: Kinshô, Kinkô
Existence: 1764 ~ 10th day of the 5th lunar month of 1838
Connection:
Father: Matsumoto Kôshirô IV
Sons: Matsumoto Kôshirô VI, Ichikawa Sumizô II
Disciples: Matsumoto Kojirô, Matsumoto Kingo I, Matsumoto Hidejûrô II
Matsumoto Kôshirô V was one of the Kabuki giants, a senryô yakusha, during the Bunka, Bunsei and Tenpô eras. In his 20's he was a tachiyaku actor excelling in nimaime roles like Soga Jûrô Sukenari in sogamono dramas. He started to perform jitsuaku roles from the 11th lunar month of 1798 and quickly became one of the best actors for villain roles, especially in Tsuruya Nanboku IV's kizewamono. He had a considerable influence on actors like Onoe Kikugorô III or Ichikawa Danjûrô VII. The kata he deviced for some of the most famous roles in Kabuki history, like Gonta ("Sushiya") or Nikki Danjô* ("Meiboku Sendai Hagi") are still used nowadays. "The fifth Kôshirô had a very large nose and his eyes were close together, two facial defects the print artists were fond of depicting, so that this Edo actor is easily picked out in the pictures illustrating the theatre of this time." (Zoë Kincaid in "Kabuki, the Popular Stage of Japan")
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Iron tsuba of mokko form with slanting rays of light (shakoh) Christian motif (Jesuit's IHS symbol) in openwork (sukashi). Traditional description of this kind of design is called "tokei", or "clock gear". Owari school. Edo period.Size: 83.4 x 83.1 x 4.4 mm
NTHK certified KANTEISHO ("Important Work"). In a custom wooden box. For information regarding shakoh tsuba see article 'Kirishitan Ikenie Tsuba by Fred Geyer at Kokusai Tosogu Kai; The 2nd International Convention & Exhibition, October 18-23, 2006, pp. 84-91. -
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with dragonfly (tombo) and comma (comma-like swirl, tomoe) in openwork (sukashi) outlined with brass wire. The plate decorated with 5 concentric circular rows of brass dots in ten-zōgan. Center of the plate outlined with the inlaid circular brass wire (sen-zōgan). Ōnin school. Unsigned. Mid Muromachi period, middle of the 15th century. Dimensions: Diameter: 89.5 mm, thickness: 3.1 mm. Notes regarding design: "According to various sources, the dragonfly (tombo) is emblematic of martial success, as various names for the insect are homophones for words meaning "victory". The dragonfly is also auspicious because references in the Kojiki and Nihongi link it in both name and shape to the old kingdom of Yamato." [Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001, p. 108]. "The dragonfly (tonbo), was also called kachimushi in earlier times, and due to the auspicious literal meaning "victory bug" of the characters of this word it became a popular theme on sword fittings." [Iron tsuba. The works of the exhibition "Kurogane no hana", The Japanese Sword Museum, 2014, p. 13]. Helen C. Gunsaulus' description of the dragonfly emblem is as follows: "This motive, the dragon-fly (akitsu), is generally accepted as a symbol of the kingdom of Japan, and the origin of the idea is traced to the legend recounted in the Kojiki and Nihongo of the Emperor Jimmu's view of the island from mountain top. He is said to have thought the kingdom looked like a dragon-fly touching its tail with its mouth. From this it received its name Akitsu-shima... etc." -
Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. 1815 – 1869). Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863), seal: 彫竹 – Hori Take. Date seal and aratame censor seal: May of the Year of Dragon [辰五] (Tatsu-go) (5/1856) (Not in Marks).
Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e) depicting Onoe Kikugorō IV as Karukaya Dōshin parting from his son, Ishidomaru (played by Ichimura Uzaemon XIII), and Kawarasaki Gonjūrō I as Yamazakiya Yogoro in the kabuki play Karukaya Dōshin Tsukushi no Iezuto [苅萱桑門筑紫𨏍], written by Namiki Sōsuke [並木宗輔] (Japanese, 1695 – 1751) and performed at Ichimuraza [市村座] in 05/1856.
Media: Fan print [団扇絵] (Uchiwa-e); size: 235 x 305 mm.
Actors:
Onoe Kikugorō IV [四代目 尾上菊五郎] (Japanese, 1808 – 1860); other names: Onoe Baikō IV, Onoe Eizaburō III, Onoe Kikue, Nakamura Tatsuzō, Nakamura Kachō.
Onoe Kikugorō V [五代目尾上菊五郎] (Japanese, 1844 – 1903 other names: Onoe Baikō V, Ichimura Kakitsu IV, Ichimura Uzaemon XIII [十三代目市村羽左衛門], Ichimura Kurōemon.
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1838 – 1903); other names: Kawarasaki Sanshō, Kawarasaki Gonnosuke VII, Kawarasaki Gonjūrō I, Kawarasaki Chōjūrō III.
Plot: It was a popular belief at one time that jealous women had their hair transformed into writhing serpents and Kato Sayemon Shige-Uji, a daimyo of Tsukushi, a much-married man, suffered from the delusion that his wife was so affected. He fled to the mountains to escape her and led the life of a hermit under the name of Karukaya Doshin [苅萓道心]. One day, on Mount Kōya (高野山, Kōyasan) Karukaya meets a young man who was wandering in the mountains. Being questioned, the youth tells his name, Ishidomaru, and elicits the information that he is seeking his lost father. Karukaya then recognizes the boy as his own son, but firm in the resolve to remain lost to the world, he refrains from disclosing himself, and bids the youth return home.
Provenance: Paul F. Walter (American, 1935 – 2017).
Ref.:
- [LIB-2110.2019] Samuel L. Leiter. Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre (Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts). / 2nd edition. – Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014; pp. 379-380.
- [LIB-2206.2019] Basil Stewart. Subjects portrayed in Japanese colour-prints. — London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd., 1922.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada, a.k.a. Toyokuni III (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) [歌川 国貞]. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847). Date aratame seal: Bunsei 12 (1829). Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga [五渡亭国貞画]. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e), 272 x 235 mm. Actor: Iwai Hanshirō VI (Japanese, 1799 – 1836); other names: Iwai Hanshirō VI, Iwai Kumesaburō II, Iwai Hisajirō I, Baiga [梅我] (poetry name), Shūka (poetry name). The background is Arare-ko-mon [霰小紋] hail pattern. Kabuki actor Iwai Kumesaburō II in the role of An no Heibei [安の平兵衛] in the drama Otokodate Itsutsu Karigane [男作五雁金] (Play, 7 acts. Produced 1742/09). From Lyon collection: The real An no Heibei (ca. 1672-1702): "In a gang with Kaitate no Kichiemon, Hote no Ichiemon, Mippiki Jihei and others as of the Seventh Month of 1697. Attacked people with a sword on the sixth day, Seventh Month, 1699, which he then secreted with Kichiemon. On the evening of the sixth day, Sixth Month, 1701, stabbed Kibei, an employee of Kawachiya Gohei of the residential quarter Kyuhoji, in the side with a dagger. A subsequent police investigation resulted in Heibei's arrest the following day. Beheaded at the execution grounds located at Sennichi Mae on the twenty-sixth day of the Eighth Month, 1702." Note: According to Horst Graebner, the actor's name below the series title in the cartouche is Baiga (梅我), the poetry name of Iwai Kumesaburō II. On the other prints in this series, the actors are also named on the other prints with their poetry names. In the red cartouche at the top left is the series title "Edo no hana – itsutsu Karigane" (江戸の花 五雁金), to be translated as "Flowers of Edo - the five Karigane blood-brothers" (or "the five Karigane gang members"). "Since there was no performance with the Karigane brothers from 1829, these must be mitate prints", states Mr Graebner. -
An uncut fan print shows a young woman holding a basket on a landscape background with hills and pines under a rising sun. Haruo Shirane: "Under the luni-solar calendar, the New Year coincided with the beginning of spring, making it the most important observance of the year for the aristocracy. In the Heian period, New Year ceremonies extended from New Year’s Day (Ganjitsu) to the Day of the Rat (Nenohi), which usually fell on the seventh day of the First Month, when courtiers went out to the fields (no), pulled up small pines, and gathered new herbs (wakana) as a prayer for long life. This ritual gradually spread to the provinces and to commoners, eventually resulting in the New Year practice of the gate pine (kadomatsu), in which a pair of small pines was placed at the gate of a house. A popular Heian-period painting topic representing the First Month was “prayers on the Day of the Rat” (Nenohi no asobi), which depicted the auspicious scene of pulling up small pines in a spring field. Both young herbs and gathering young herbs, particularly at Kasuga Field, became major poetic topics for the First Month, appearing in both the spring and celebration (ga) books of the Kokinshū (Collection of Japanese Poems Old and New, ca. 905). By the Kamakura period, the observance of the Day of the Rat had been abandoned at the imperial court, but the custom of gathering and eating young greens continued as the annual ceremony known as the Seven Grasses (Nanakusa). Note: The Heian-period ritual of pulling up the roots of small pines (komatsu ) on the first Day of the Rat derives from the homonyms ne (rat) and ne (root). Pulling up roots was auspicious, since it implied lengthening the year. The rising sun (hinode) was considered an auspicious sight, particularly at the beginning of the year". [Haruo Shirane, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons. Nature, Literature, and the Arts. — Columbia University, NY, 2012]. Title: Gathering of the young herbs on the Day of the Rat [子の日乃若菜] (Nenohi no wakana). Series: Three elegant sources of light [風流三光の内] (fūryū sankō no uchi); meaning the sun, the moon and the stars). Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a yellow toshidama cartouche. Publisher’s seal: Izuzen (Marks: seal 06-029 | U103b) Date and double nanushi censor seals: Mera and Watanabe, Kaei 6 (1853). A similar theme can be found in Kunisadai's triptych published in about 1844 (HARA SHOBO):
豊国三代「豊歳子日若菜摘ノ図」
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kochoro Kuisada ga [香蝶楼国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche Publisher: Enshūya Matabei [遠州屋又兵衛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1768 – 1881). Series: Fashionable Youths [流行若手揃] (Ryuko Wakate Zoroi). Actor: Bandō Minosuke II [坂東蓑助] (Japanese, 1802 – 1863); other names: Morita Kan'ya XI, Bandô Mitsugorō IV. Date-kiwame seals: Bunsei 13 / Tenpō 1 (1830). One more print from the same series (See Waseda 201-2125); not in this collection: Segawa Kikunojō V [瀬川菊之丞] (Japanese, 1802 – 1832); other names: Segawa Tamon I.
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Iron tsuba of the round form (丸型, maru–gata), decorated with brass flat inlay (平象嵌, hira-zōgan) of bellflowers, leaves, and vines on both sides, inlaid brass is carved in low relief; wide rim (dote-mimi) also inlaid; the plate is pierced with hitsu-ana (probably original); nakago-ana plugged with copper sekigane. Dimensions: Height: 84.1 mm; Width: 82.0 mm; Thickness (centre): 2.8 mm; mimi is 11.8 mm wide and 4.7 mm thick. Produced at the end of the 16th century, in the Momoyama period (1674–1703). -
Hardcover volume, 35.3 x 27 cm, bound in grey cloth, blind stamped characters to front, brown characters to spine, in a glassine dust jacket, in a double slipcase, the outer case pictorial paper over cardboard, 36 x 28 cm, pp.: [4] [1] 2-88 (plates with photographs of 129 items), [2] 91-108 [3]. Seto ware [瀬戸焼] (Seto-yaki) – ceramics produced in and around the city of Seto in Aichi Prefecture. Yellow seto [黄瀬戸] (Kiseto) – a yellow glaze seto ware. Black seto [瀬戸黒] (Setoguro) – a black glaze seto ware. 日本の陶磁 – Japanese ceramics, series title. Contributors: Yasunari Kawabata [川端 康成] (Japanese, 1924 – 1972) – author. Tetsuzo Tanikawa [谷川 徹三] (Japanese, 1895 – 1989) – author. Seizo Hayashiya [林屋晴三] (Japanese, 1928 – 2017) – editor. Chūōkōron-sha [中央公論社] – publisher. -
Japanese lacquer writing box (suzuribako) with an eagle sitting on a pine tree over the see waves. Rectangular box with rounded corners, slightly convex overlapping lid. Lacquer on wood with maki-e decoration in gold powder. The lid decorated inside with pine cones and needles over gold maki-e. Edo or Meiji period, 19th century. -
Mori Sosen (1747-1821). A Monkey Seated on a Rock with an Infant Monkey. Hanging scroll painting. Ink and colour on silk. Signed: Sosen. Sealed: Sosen. 108.3 x 38.3 cm. Provenance: According to the box inscriptions, the painting was in the possession of Itakura Katsunao, a daimyo lord in present-day Gunma, in 1808. In 1881, the painting was subsequently acquired by Negishi Shôrei (1833-1897) a master swordsman who established the Negishi school of shuriken ("The only specialist school to have survived is the Negishi-ryū, which was founded by Negishi Shorei in the mid-1800s".) -
Iron tsuba of round form with slanting rays of light (shakoh) Christian motif (Jesuit’s IHS symbol) in openwork (sukashi). Traditional description of this kind of design is called “tokei”, or “clock gear”. Signed: On the face: Bushu ju Akasaka; On the back: Tadatoki Saku [Made by Tadatoki, resident of Bushu]. Probably, 4th generation of Akasaka School master Tadatoki (忠時), who died in 1746. Akasaka School. Edo period, first half of the 18th century. Size: 79.8 x 78.5 x 6.5 mm -
Iron tsuba of six-lobed (mutsu-mokkō-gata) form, with six wild boar's eye shape (inome) openings (sukashi). Hitsu-ana and the entire perimeter of tsuba have typical for this school raised rim. Lobes are decorated with landscape motifs in low relief carving (sukidashi-bori). On the obverse: A hut under a full moon, Shinto shrine gates (torii) with pines and a full moon, rocks, a large pine tree, and a temple (pagoda) surrounded by rocks and waves. On the reverse: waves, fishing boat, wild gees in flight under full moon, maple, hexagon (tortoiseshell, kikko) with a dot inside and a dot outside (inclusion/exclusion symbol), and chrysanthemum (the last two may be family crests, mon). Kamakura-bori school. Late Muromachi period (1514-1573). Height: 64.2 mm, width: 74.3 mm, Thickness at seppa-dai: 3.2 mm, at rim 2.6 mm. Weight: 62.8 g (light). NBTHK old green certificate №561: Tokubetsu Kicho - "Extraordinary Work". A look-a-like tsuba can be found at the Compton Collection, part II, pp. 14-15, №17, though his tsuba is more massive (80 x 84 x 4 mm).NBTHK paper says that the motif is Hakkei (八景), i.e. "Eight Views," so several interpretations are possible (the original Chinese ones, Omi Hakkei, etc.). However, most likely it is the 'Eight views of Omi' (近江八景 - 'Omi Hakkei'). Why the artist selected a 6-lobed form for depicting 8 views remains unclear, and thus we are in our right to raise the question whether the motif is indeed Hakkei. The term Omi hakkei (eight views of Omi) refers to painting or print sets which illustrate life on the shores of Lake Biwa in Omi (now Shiga Prefecture). The model for such paintings came from China, where, from the eleventh century onward, painters had produced eight views of the Hsiao and Hsiang lake areas of Hunan Province. The themes, which follow the original Chinese models, are: geese descending to land, returning fishing boats, clearing rain, a snow-covered evening landscape, the autumn moon, night rain, a temple bell at evening, and the glow of sunset. Japanese artists have also used the eight-theme approach for other parts of country - including cities - and applied it to subject matter other than landscapes. [Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001, page 308-9]. Japan Encyclopedia by Louis Frédéric also mentions Omi Hakkei as "Eight landscapes of Omi", and states that this theme was often cited in poetry after 1500. It is likely that the tsuba in focus is designed under the influence of the theme popularity in the 16th century. The theme was effectively exploited by prominent ukiyo-e artists Suzuki Harunobu and Utagawa Hiroshige in the 18th and 19th century, respectively. These are the eight scenes of the theme (see Wikipedia):
Compton Collection, part II, pp. 14-15, №17: Kamakura-bori tsuba, ca. 1450.
- Returning sails at Yabase (矢橋の帰帆) - Yabase. Yabase is an old harbour on the east side of the lake. Near the Tokaido, it was used for a shortcut to Otsu by boat.
- Evening glow at Seta (勢多（瀬田）の夕照) - The Chinese Bridge at Seta. The long bridge across the Seta was used by the Tokaido. In the background the "Fuji of Omi", the Mikamiyama. It is just above 400 m, but indeed well visible.
- Autumn moon at Ishiyama (石山の秋月) - Ishiyama Temple. The Ishiyamadera was located on a hillside next to the Seta River. It got his name form the strange rocks on which it is built, partly on supporting beams. A hut at the upper end of the site allows a view of the lake, and the moon.
- Clear breeze at Awazu (粟津の晴嵐) - Awazuhara. Awazu is well known for its pine wood, Awazu-ga-hara.
- Evening bell at Miidera (三井晩鐘) - Mii-dera. Miidera temple was built in the 8th century. Its famous bell is one of the "Three bells of Japan", the other two being those at Byoodo-in, Uji and at Jingoji, Kyoto.
- Evening rain at Karasaki (唐崎の夜雨) - Karasaki Shrine. Karasaki is a small cape with a single large pine tree, a hitsu-matsu.
- Wild geese returning home at Katata (堅田の落雁) - Ukimido. Alighting geese cannot be seen always, however the little temple near Katata in the square hōkyō-style, detached from the lakeside, connected by a bridge. The first part of the name uki is the same as in Ukiyo-e, meaning floating. Midō means temple.
- Evening snow at Hira (比良の暮雪) - Hira Mountains. The Hira mountains on the west side of the lake experience the hard winter, when the winter monsoon brings much snow from the continent.
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Iron tsuba of round form with dam-shaped rim (dote-mimi) pierced with hitsu-ana and two udenuki-ana (probably cut later on) decorated in flat inlay (hira-zōgan) with vines and symbols of thunder or lightning (possibly - family crest, mon). Hitsu-ana and nakago-ana with copper sekigane.
Ōnin or Heianjō school, or, possibly Kaga or Umetada school. Momoyama period or earlier (Muromachi), 16th century. Unsigned.Size: 64.5 x 63.8 x 2.2 (center), 4.2 (rim) mm.
Provenance: Lundgren Collection: [Japanese sword-fittings and metalwork in the Lundgren Collection. Published by Otsuka Kogeisha Co., Ltd., Tokyo 1992], №31; The Lundgren Collection of Japanese Swords, Sword Fittings and A Group of Miochin School Metalwork. Christie's Auction: Tuesday, 18 November 1997, London. Sales "GOTO-5881". Christie's, 1997, №2. Lundgren's description at Christie's: Heianjo tsuba. Unsigned. The circular plate decorated in brass hirazogan with flowers, plants and symbols of thunder, dote mimi and udenuki ana, late Muromachi period (16th century). Tokyo 1992 description: Sword guard with design of flowering plants and frets in inlay. Unsigned. Heianjo inlay school. 6.35 x 6.3 cm, thickness of rim 0.40 cm. Iron. Flat brass inlay. Muromachi-Momoyama Period, 16th century. Provenance: The Second John Harding. A somewhat look-a-like pieces can be found in various catalogues. The one in Naunton Collection, №172, is signed: Umetada of Yamashiro: "Iron, small, almost circular, with raised oval rim, inlaid all over with leaves and scrolls in brass hirazōgan." -
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with design of pine tree mushrooms (matsutake) in openwork (sukashi). Hitsu-ana of elongated oval form. Raised rim (mimi) with iron bones (tekkotsu). Copper sekigane. Size: 84.5 mm x 85.1 mm; thickness: 3.0 mm (center), 5.6 mm (rim). Mid Muromachi period, 15th century. The shape and width of the rim, as well as the shape of the hitsu-ana, argue for earlier Muromachi. Tsuba is slightly wider than high, that might suggest middle of Muromachi age. According to Robert Haynes, circa 1450-1500. -
Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 231 x 300 mm. Title: A geisha eating edamame aboard the boat of the Atari-ya teahouse. Series: Three summer women [九夏三婦久] (Kyūka sanfuku). Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Artist: Utagawa Kunihisa II [歌川国久] a.k.a. Katsuda Hisatarō, Ichiunsai, Ritchōrō, Toyonobu, Yōryūsai, Yōsai] (Japanese, 1832 – 1981). Block cutter: Yokokawa Horitake [横川彫武] a.k.a. Yokokawa Takejiro [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1860s). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847) Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: 1860 (Ansei 7 / Man'en 1 from 18/III). Signed: Toyokuni ga in toshidama cartouche, and Kunihisa ga. Provenance: The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christie's, New York, 2017, lot 341; sol together with 5 other fan prints for $25,000. Before: Israel Goldman, Japanese Prints, Catalogue 9, 2003, no. 35. Ref: [LIB-1693.2018] The Collection of Paul Walter. — NY: Christie's, 2017, p. 363. Ref: Israel Goldman, Catalogue 2018, № 52: "Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) and Utagawa Kunihisa II (1832-1891) A Geisha Eating Edamame Aboard the Boat of the Atari-ya Teahouse. From the series Kyuka sanfuku (Three Summer Women). 1860. Fan print. 22.7 x 29.6 cm. Provenance: Israel Goldman, Japanese Prints, Catalogue 9, 2003, no. 35. The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christies, New York, 201, lot 341. Fine impression, colour and condition. The title is a pun on “kyuka sanpuku” meaning the hottest point of the summer. The background view is by Kunisada’s pupil Kunihisa." -
Utagawa Kunisada (Japanese: 歌川 国貞; also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III (三代歌川豊国); 1786 – 12 January 1865).A man with a shaved head (a monk), holding a paper lantern and an umbrella, walks with a young woman (a geisha) in the rain.
SIGNED: Gototei Kunisada ga [五渡亭国貞画]
Censor's seals: kiwame, futakata.
Blockcutter's mark: Seizô tô [改印：極、貳方]
MFA ACCESSION NUMBER 11.15150; MFA dating: about 1815–21 (Bunka 12–Bunsei 4);
Size: Vertical Ōban (382 x 260 mm). SOLD -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). An untrimmed fan print titled Fuji Tsukuba aiaigasa, shows the actors Ichikawa Ebizo V [市川海老蔵] and the onnagata actor Iwai Shijaku I [岩井紫若] sharing an umbrella against the wind. Tsukuba, about 50 kilometres from Edo, was an area where both Fuji and Mount Tsukuba could be viewed together. Mount Fuji being the female and Mount Tsukuba the male. An aizuri-e background (common to all the designs in this set). A play on images and words. Actors: Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1791 – 1859); other names: Ichikawa Ebizō V [市川海老蔵], Ichikawa Hakuen II, Ichikawa Shinnosuke I. Iwai Matsunosuke I [岩井松之助] (Japanese, 1804 – 1845); other names: Iwai Hanshirō VII, Iwai Shijaku I [岩井紫若], Iwai Komurasaki I. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburo [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845 – 1847). The publisher’s seal is on the umbrella. Date: circa 1832. Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga in a red double-gourd cartouche. From the series of fan prints:
Two more prints from the series 'Fuji and Tsukuba sharing an umbrella' (Fuji Tsukuba aiaigasa), not in this Collection:
SVJP-0341.2021
Kabuki actors Onoe Kikugorō III and Iwai Kumesaburo II. Year: c. 1832; Publisher: No seal; Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga From Kunisada Project. 
Kabuki actors Bandō Minosuke II and Iwai Shijaku I. Year: c. 1832; Publisher: No seal; Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga From Kunisada Project. -
Title: Third lunar month [弥生] (Yayoi no zu); Series: Fashionable Twelve Months (Imayo juni-kagetsu). Another version of translation: Modern Beauties of Twelve Months. Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [歌川豊国] (1769–1825). Pubisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, 1815 – 1869), seal: Dansendō [伊場仙]. Signed: Toyokuni ga and sealed with toshidama. Date-kiwame seal: Ushi (ox), Bunsei 5 (1822). Size: double-sheet uncut fan print ( aiban uchiwa-e), 219 x 295 mm.
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Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a yellow toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Unknown, seal [久] Kyū (Japanese, fl. c. 1851 – 1861); (Marks 07-023 | U176a, possibly Sagamia Kyūzō). Block carver: Koizumi Minokichi [小泉巳の吉] (Japanese, 1833 – 1906); seal: Hori Mino [彫已の] (Gordon Friese № 38). Date seal and double nanushi censor seals: Fuku & Muramatsu, Kaei 6, 2nd month (2/1853). Inscription in a red cartouche: (Purple of Edo // Purple of the Bay Capital) [江都むらさき] (Edo Murasaki), alluding to Murasaki Shikibu [紫 式部] (Japanese, c. 973/8 – c. 1014/31), the author of Genji Monogatari [源氏物語] (The Tale of Genji), a Heian period novel which was the source of a parody Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji [偐紫田舎源氏] (Fake Murasaki’s Rustic Genji) by Ryutei Tanehiko [柳亭種彦] (Japanese, 1783 – 1842). According to Horst Graebner: The actor is most probably Segawa Kikunojō V. Segawa Kikunojō V [瀬川菊之丞] (Japanese, 1802 – 1832); other names: Segawa Tamon I. One of the series of Kunisada's fan prints in this collection: -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). No publisher seal, no date or censor seal; probably a private printing. Signed: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double gourd cartouche. Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 231 x 294 mm, with the use of mica and black lacquer. -
Fuchi-kashira made of shakudō carved and inlaid with gold and red copper with the design of a bat and a fruit (persimmon?). Nanako surface.
Fuchi: 37 x 19 x 7 mm. Kashira: 34 x 16 x 5 mm. Main material: shakudō. Other metals: gold and copper. Surface treatment: nanako-ji. -
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with eight circular emblems of flowers and/or family crests (mon) made of cast brass, pierced and chiseled in kebori, as well as with flat brass inlay (hira-zōgan) of vines, leaves, and flowers all over the plate. Yoshirō school (Kaga-Yoshirō). The Momoyama or early Edo period, 17th century. Size: diameter 80 mm, thickness at seppa-dai 3,6 mm. Symbols: [12:00 o'clock] - Wood sorrel (katabami) and swords ; [9:00] - Cherry blossom (sakura); [7:30] - Bellflower (kikyō), kamon of Toki clan; [3:00] - possibly, a six-petal Chrysanthemum (kiku) or a Passion flower (tessen); [1:30] - Hemp (asanoha). The symbols at 6:00, 10:30, and 4:30 o'clock seem to be geometrical patterns of auspicious meaning: a cross in a square, a four pointing star, and a diamond, respectively. Alternatively, we may look at this piece as purely decorative, with patterns at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 o'clock in negative openwork (in-sukashi), and at 1:30, 4:40, 7:20, and 10:30 o'clock - in positive openwork (ji-sukashi, or yō-sukashi). Markus Sesko in his Handbook of sword fittings related terms [Herstellung und Verlag: Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt, 2011] discriminates this type of openwork in a separate class: Ranma-sukashi: "This term is applied to circular sukashi with family crests to their inside, which are arranged running along the rim area. The description goes back to the opened boards (ranma) between the sliding doors and the ceiling of Japanese rooms. Ranma-sukashi are mostly seen on old Heianjō- or Yoshirō-zōgan-tsuba but also on works of Hayashi Matashichi" [page 30]. -
Iron tsuba of round form with design of slanting rays of light (shakoh) or clock gear (tokei) in openwork (sukashi). Commonly considered a Christian / Jesuit motif. Copper sekigane. According to seller, Owari School. Haynes writes that most tsuba of this design are Owari (Tsuba. Aesthetic Study). Unsigned. Edo period. According to F. Geyer, diamond-shaped vertical posts and long rays suggest that this tsuba was probably made between 1605 and 1630.Size: 76.9 x 76.0 x 5.4 mm
For information regarding shakoh tsuba see article 'Kirishitan Ikenie Tsuba by Fred Geyer at Kokusai Tosogu Kai; The 2nd International Convention & Exhibition, October 18-23, 2006, pp. 84-91. -
Ippitsusai Bunchō [一筆斎文調] (Japanese, 1725 – 1794). Size: Vertical Hosoban. As the Library of Congress put it: "Print shows the actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II, full-length portrait, facing left, standing on the snow-covered veranda". Actor: Ichikawa Monnosuke II [市川門之助] (Japanese, 1743/56 – 1794); other names: Ichikawa Benzō I, Takinaka Hidematsu II, Takinaka Tsuruzō. According to Heroes of the Kabuki Stage [LIB-1197.2016] Ichikawa Monnosuke II was active from 11/1770 to 10/1794. Play: Chūshingura [忠臣蔵] (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers), played at Nakamuraza in the 4the month of Meiwa 8 (1771). The actor played in a variety of roles and performances and was the subject of multiple woodblock prints by many famous ukiyo-e artists, including Bunchō, Katukawa Shunkō, Katukawa Shunshō, Katsukawa Shun'ei, Tōshūsai Sharaku, and many others. Ref: Vever (1976), vol. 1, № 242, p. 227.
Katsukawa Shun'ei. The Actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II in an Aragoto Role. LACME.
Actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Date no Yosaku Artist Tôshûsai Sharaku (Japanese, active 1794–1795), Publisher Tsutaya Jûzaburô (Kôshodô) (Japanese) 1794 (Kansei 6), 5th month. MFA.
Ippitsusai Bunchô. Actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Tsunewakamaru. Play: Iro Moyô Aoyagi Soga Theater: Nakamura. MFA.
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[SOLD]Iron tsuba of slightly elongated round form carved and inlaid in gold and shibuichi with a long-armed monkey hanging from a pine tree branch reaching for the reflection of a crescent moon in the stream. A pine tree carved with details inlaid in gold on the reverse. The design seems to be inspired by Kaneie work (Compton III, p. 10, №6a; Tsuba no bi, 1947, p. 33, №56).
Dimensions: 76.8 x 74.2 x 3.6 mm. Mid-Edo period. Unsigned.
Compton III, p. 10, №6a
Tsuba no bi, 1947, p. 33, №56.
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Kanmuri - a classic court cap, made of lacquered wood and paper. It is traditionally made by creating a skeleton, or harinuki, of paper on a wooden form. The outside of the hari-nuki is lacquered so as to keep its shape, and then the body of ra silk is layed on top. The entire thing is lacquered stiff.Size: Height:20cm; Width: 21cm; Depth: 20cm.
Probably Taishō period (1912-1926), or later. Certain information is provided at http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/garb/garb.html In a wooden box without inscriptions. -
The print lacks signature. It is attributed by some to Suzuki Harunobu and by the others to Isoda Koryūsai.Attributed to Koryūsai: Pins #517/p.209, c. 1775 [AIC II: Clarence Buckingham Collection, 1925.2772], Ukiyo-e Taisei IV; Vignier & Inada, 1911; Ritsumeikan University Z0165-239.
Attributed to Harunobu: Pins #239/p.132.; BM 1906,1220,0.85;
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Iron tsuba of quatrefoil form with design of bamboo stems and leaves in openwork (sukashi) decorated with carving (kebori) . Copper sekigane. Early Edo period, late 17th century (Kanbun / Enppo era). First generation Kanshiro of Nishigaki school in Higo Province died in the sixth year of Genroku, 1693, at the age of 81). Height: 74.4 mm; Width: 74.2 mm; Centre thickness: 4.9 mm. Rounded rim. The design was quite popular among the Higo masters.
Kanshiro III, early 18th century (Sasano 1994 №267)
Matashichi I, late 17th century (Sasano 1994 №270)
The design of my tsuba closely resembles the one at the last example (Sasano 1994 №280), however, the form (mine is quatrefoil) and the execution (strength) are very different, which result in a very different spirit of my piece.
Shigemitsu II, early 18th century (Sasano 1994 №280)
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Publisher: Matsumura Tatsuemon [松村辰右衛門] (Japanese, fl. c. 1793 – 1832). Year: c. 1820–22 (Bunsei era). Signed: 五渡亭国貞画 – Gototei Kunisada ga. Censor's seal: kiwame 改印：極
SVJP-0179-6.2014
The Hour of the Dragon, Fifth Hour of Day (Tatsu no koku, Hi no itsutsu toki), from the series Twelve Hours of a Modern Clock (Imayo tokei jūniji) 「今世時計十二時 辰ノ刻 日ノ五つ時」 MFA impression: 11.15315. 
SVJP-0179-1.2014
The Hour of the Rabbit, Sixth Hour of Day (U no koku, Ake muttsu toki), from the series Twelve Hours of a Modern Clock (Imayo tokei jūniji) 「今世時計十二時 卯ノ刻 明六つ時」. MFA impression: 11.15317 
SVJP-0179-2.2014
The Hour of the Monkey, Seventh Hour of Day (Saru no koku, Hi no nanatsu toki), from the series Twelve Hours of a Modern Clock (Imayo tokei jūniji) 「今様時計十二時 申ノ刻 日ノ七つ時」 MFA impression: 11.39692 
SVJP-0179-8.2014
The Hour of the Horse, Ninth Hour of Day (Uma no koku, Hi kokonotsu toki), from the series Twelve Hours of a Modern Clock (Imayo tokei jūniji) 「今世時計十二時 午ノ刻 日九つ時」. MFA impression: 11.15314 
SVJP-0179-4.2014
The Hour of the Boar, Fourth Hour of Night (I no koku, Yoru yottsu toki), from the series Twelve Hours of a Modern Clock (Imayo tokei jūniji) 「今世時計十二時 亥ノ刻 夜四つ時」. MFA impression: 11.15552 
SVJP-0179-3.2014
The Hour of the Tiger, Seventh Hour of Night (Tora no koku, Yoru nanatsu), from the series Twelve Hours of a Modern Clock (Imayo tokei jūniji) 「今世時計十二時 寅ノ刻 夜七つ」. MFA impression: 11.15313 Ref.: Izzard. Kunisada’s world [LIB-2970.2022]. 
SVJP-0179-5.2014
The Hour of the Ox, Eight Hour of Night (Ushi no koku, Yoru no yattsu toki), from the series Twelve Hours of a Modern Clock (Imayo tokei jūniji) 「今世時計十二時 丑ノ刻 夜ノ八つ時」. MFA impression: 11.26906 
SVJP-0179-7.2014
The Hour of the Rat, Ninth Hour of Night (Ne no koku, Yoru kokonotsu toki), from the series Twelve Hours of a Modern Clock (Imayo tokei jūniji) 「今世時計十二時 子ノ刻 夜九つ時」. MFA impression: 11.15312 -
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with a ladle, pestle, mortar, and rice sickle in positive silhouette openwork (nikubori-ji-sukashi). Slightly rounded rim with iron bones (tekkotsu). Seppa-dai plugged with copper fittings (sekigane). Silver patina. The design resembles mochi-making utensils; mochi (rice cake) symbolizes longevity. Kanayama school, c. 1590 (Momoyama period). Note: unusually large size for a Kanayama tsuba: diameter 79.5 mm, thickness at seppa-dai: 5.5 mm, at rim: 6.0 mm. Concerning the design: While the ladle and pestle are clear, the mortar (under the seppa-dai), and the sickle (to the left) require certain imagination. -
Kabuki actor: Matsumoto Kōshirō V [五代目松本幸四郎] (Japanese, 1764-1838); other names: Ichikawa Komazō III, Ichikawa Sumizō I. Role: Nikki Danjo (仁木弾正): "Evil retainer Nikki Danjo who plots to overthrow his lord in the play Precious incense and the bush clover of Sendai (Meiboku sendai hagi)" [R. Kruml]. Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Block cutter: Horikō (Kiyomizu) Ryūzō [彫工 柳三]. Publisher: Ebisuya Shoshichi [恵比寿屋庄七], Kinshōdō (Japanese, fl. c. 1846 – 1883). Year: 1863 (Bunkyū 3), 7th month. Size: Vertical ōban, hōsho paper. Signed: Nanajuhassai (aged seventy-eight) Toyokuni ga within toshidama cartouche. Censor’s seal: date-aratame. This print is from a series of portraits that Kunisada undertook very late in life and has been named Kinshodo-ban yakusha okubi-e (Kinshodo’s Large-Head Actor Portraits) in reference to the publisher, Ebisuya Shochochi of Kinshodo. The series depicted great actors in their famous roles from the past and present. Ref.: (1) [LIB-1212.2017] Robert Schaap. Kunisada: Imaging, drama and beauty. — Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 2016, p. 118 and 167 (№ 42):
Ref.: (1) [LIB-1197.2016] Arendie and Henk Herwig. Heroes of the kabuki stage: an introduction to kabuki with retellings of famous plays, illustrated by woodblock prints. — Amsterdam: Hotei Publishing, 2004; pp. 243-249.
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Iron tsuba of the round form (maru gata) with a grey patina pierced with the design of slanting rays of light (Jesuit’s IHS symbol) and a pair of ginger symbols [茗荷] (myōga) at top and bottom, in positive silhouette (ji-sukashi). This design is often called “tokei” [時計] or “clock gear”. Rounded rim, large hitsu-ana, copper fittings (sekigane). Unsigned, unpapered. Owari school. Early Edo period, early 17th century.Size: H 71.9 x W 71.1 x Th (centre) 5.5 cm.
For information regarding this type of tsuba see the article 'Kirishitan Ikenie Tsuba by Fred Geyer at Kokusai Tosogu Kai; The 2nd International Convention & Exhibition, October 18-23, 2006, pp. 84-91. 
IHS emblem of the Jesuits
茗荷 Myoga or Japanese ginger
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Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (Japanese, 1798 – 1861). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847), seal: San [三] (Marks 11-001 | 127c). Carver: Matsushima Fusajirō [松嶋房次郎] (Japanese, fl. 1843 – 1850); seal [彫工房次郎] – Hori kō Fusajirō (Gordon Friese № 136) Signed: Chōōrō Kuniyoshi ga [朝櫻楼国芳画] in a red double gourd-shaped cartouche. Nanushi censor seal: Tanaka [田中]; V/1844 or II/1845. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 238 x 304 mm. Reference: Kuniyoshi Project. Series mentioned in Robert Schaap. Heroes and ghosts: Japanese prints by Kuniyoshi, 1797-1861.— Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 1998; p. 122 [LIB-1030.2016].
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UTAGAWA TOYOKUNI I (1769–1825) Ichikawa Danjūrō VII (Ebizo V) in a shibaraku costume bursting through a paper screen. Surimono. Colour woodblock print: shikishiban, 8⅛ x 7⅛ in. (20.7 x 18.2 cm) Signed: Toyokuni ga Poem signed: Sakuragawa Jihinari Provenance: Sidney C. Ward -
Iron tsuba with design of bamboo and sparrow (take-ni-suzume) in openwork (sukashi). Rounded rim. Copper sekigane. Akasaka school. Unsigned. Attributed to second generation Tadamasa Shōzaemon (died in in the fifth year of Enppo, 1677). Early Edo period: 17th century (Kan-ei / Kanbun era). Height: 79.0 mm. Width: 77.5 mm. Rim thickness: 5.5 mm. Center thickness: 6.6 mm. Provenance: Sasano Masayuki Collection, № 222: "It is believed that sparrows nest in a bamboo grove". According to Merrily Baird [Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001], "a bamboo grove is said to be emblematic of security as the bamboo is resilient even in the face of high winds and heavy rains. [...] The association of the sparrow (suzume) with bamboo is an old one found in Japanese poetry, paining, and design. The bird is said to be obsessed with its honor, especially the repaying of debts". -
Gomoku-zōgan tsuba. Iron, inlaid with brass scrap (gomoku-zōgan), and polished. Height: 75.3 mm; Width 74.9 mm; Thickness at seppa-dai: 3.6 mm. Weight 130.2 g. Edo, 18th century. Gary D. Murtha dedicates 10 pages to this type of tsuba: "...they were made by soldering brass overlay scraps to the iron plate". Actual gomoku-zōgan tsuba are seldom found in collections most likely because they have little if any artistic attributes. In addition, many have rough surfaces making them questionable for use on a sword. It is said that many of these were produced in Yokohama for export to the West during the late Edo period". G. D. Murtha then describes the technique of making gomoku-zōgan in every detail, and states that "The brass pieces are said to represent 'fallen pine needles', a description most likely created to add aesthetic value to help market the tsuba" [see:Gary D. Murtha. Japanese sword guards. Onin - Heianjo - Yoshiro. GDM Publications, 2016; pp. 160-161]. -
Artist: Kitagawa Utamaro [喜多川 歌麿] (Japanese, c. 1753 – 1806) "This uncommon half-size horizontal ōban ... is most likely one design from a set of twelve prints issued late in Utamaro's life" [Japanese Erotic Fantasies, Hotei Publishing, 2005, p. 143, pl. 47]. Half-size horizontal ōban must be 12.7 x 38 cm. Richard Waldman and Chris Uhlenbeck say it's tanzaku size (13 x 43 cm). In reality, the prints of this series measure 17 x 38 cm, which corresponds exactly to horizontal o-hosoban paper size. I managed to assemble 11 of allegedly 12 designs. 7 of them have genitals colored by hand. It's hard to tell whether it was done by the publisher on demand of a peculiar buyer, or by the owner of the prints who considered the black and white privy parts unnatural. My sequencing of the prints is arbitrary. Transcription of the text may help find the correct order.
As Japanese Erotic Fantasies put it: "a couple engaged in love-making, their stare fixed outside the picture plane". This is the only image of series that has a reference in available western literature, and the only one found in museum collections: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (RP-P-1999-2001-16); reference: Fukuda (ed.) (1990), pls. 11-2.
The scene of this print looks quite similar to that of the Kiyonaga's Sode no maki:
The woman is "a young lady-in-waiting of Shogun's Court or Daimyō's Mansion, enjoying a rare outing from her tedious chores" [Richard Lane]. She is fully dressed in her outer cloak (shikake), white paper hat (agebōshi or tsunokakushi), and toed socks (tabi). A book or maybe, onkotogami (roll of tissues known as 'paper for honourable act' ) is still in the folds of her kimono. She is holding an open fan, either to cover her and her lover's faces from an unsolicited witness or to bring some fresh air to their joined lips. The pair just started their sexual intercourse.
A scene from medieval times. A courtier in eboshi cap having sex with an aristocratic young woman with a long straight hairstyle (suihatsu).
Completely naked couple in the moment of ejaculation. Lavish garments with paulownia leaves on a yellow background counterbalance the white bodies on red bedding. The form of a woman's cheeks is telling, but I don't know about what. Maybe her advanced age?
The pose of the couple and the overall composition are similar to that of the previous sheet. Though the lovers are dressed, and the woman's hairdo is well kept. The male looks older and the woman - younger.
A man takes a young maid from behind. She clenches the sleeve of her kimono in her teeth; it's either the moment of penetration (beginning of intercourse) or of her orgasm (the end of it).
This seems to be a forced intercourse between a lackey with extensive bodily hair and a young maid from the same household.
This design is very much like the other one presented below, which is described at Japanese Erotic Fantasies on page 136 (pl. 43b) as follows: "The viewer peers through a mosquito net to see a child fast asleep, while his mother or wet-nurse moves towards her partner. On our print there is no child; instead of a sleeping baby, there is a roll of onkotogami. Fewer objects make the overall image concise, almost laconic in comparison with the Ehon hana fubuki (1802) design:
A young couple in a moment of true love. He is listening to the beating of her heart.
This is a moment of true love between an old monk and a young samurai. The latter even did not take of his socks (tabi).
From Japanese Erotic Fantasies: "Boats played a crucial role in the workings of Yoshiwara, as they were the primary means of transport to the district. During the hot summer months, trips on pleasure boats were also a favourite pastime. Sex aboard a boat is a recurrent theme in shunga".
The last print that I am currently lacking and hunting for:
I know where it is, but I cannot reach it... yet.
