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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: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (Japanese, c. 1776 – 1862). Signed: Kunisada ga within a double toshidama. Date-kiwame seals: Bunsei 11 (1828). -
Copper (suaka) tsuba of oval form carved in relief, pierced and inlaid with soft metals (gold, shakudō, shibuichi or silver) with a cormorant fisherman (ushō) and moon motif on the face and a boat among the bank reeds on the reverse. Signed: Nagatsune. Box inscription: Tsuba with cormorant fishing, made by Nagatsune. Dimensions: 62.7 mm x 53.2 mm x 4.2 mm (at seppa-dai) Edo period: 18th century. Nagatsune (1721-1787), 1st generation master of Inchinomiya School in Kyoto, adopted son of the gilder Nagayoshi, student of Yasui Takanaga [M. Sesko 'Genealogies', p. 26]. Detailed account of the school is given at The Japanese toso-kinko Schools.// Lulu Inc., 2012 by Markus Sesko, pp. 104-108. Nagatsune's biographical sketch can be found there on pp. 104-106. "What Sōminis in the East (Edo), Nagatsune is in the West (Kyōto)." “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 in this collection: TSU-241 and TSU-0096The design was popular among the tsuba makers. We find one in the Alexander G. Moslé collection [Japanese Sword Fittings from the Alexander G. Moslé Collection; Sebastian Izzard LLC, 2004, page 90, №123] signed Nagatsune with kaō: Tsuba with cormorant fisherman, moon, and boat. Squared-oval shibuichi plate, slightly raised rim, engraved, pierced, and inlaid with soft metals in relief. 6.7 x 5.8 cm.
Alexander G. Moslé collection №123.
Another reference: Lundgren Collection, 1990, page 86 №207: Sword guard with design of ushō (person who fishes with cormorants). Signed by Nagatsune. Ichinomiya school. 6.45 x 5.95 x 0.40 cm. Polished shibuichi taka-bori relief, gold and silver inlay. Edo period, 18th century.
Lundgren Collection №207:
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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. -
Iron tsuba of round form with two overlapping triangles (uroko) motif in openwork (sukashi). Triangle patterns usually associate with 'fish scale', mon of Hojo family (and others). Edo period or later.Size: 71.4 x 70.2 x 5.2 mm.
An association with the Star of David is doubtful if not impossible. -
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 could have been trimmed with brass now lacking. Nakago-ana of triangular form, possibly enlarged, with copper sekigane. All typical emblems with bellflower, two variations on suhama theme, and 3, 4, 5, and 6-poinitng mon variations. A distinctive character of this tsuba is a mon at 12 hours depicting water plantain (omodaka).
“Omodaka was also called shōgunsō (victorious army grass); because of this martial connotation, it was a design favored for the crests of samurai families” [Family crests of Japan, Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley, California]. Yoshirō school (Kaga-Yoshirō). The Momoyama or early Edo period, beginning of 17th century. Size: Height: 81.4 mm; width: 81.2; thickness 3.8 mm at seppa-dai. -
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: Mikawaya Heiroku [三川屋平六] (Japanese, fl. c. 1848 – 1856); seal: Mihei [三平] (Marks 11-016 | 325a) Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863), seal: 彫竹 – Hori Take. Date seal and aratame censor seal: [辰正] Ansei 3, 1st month (1856). Inscriptions: Right cartouche: Three good fortunes of the present day [当世三福対] (Tosei sambuku tsui) Center cartouche: Ubuge no Kintaro [産毛の金太郎] (うぶげのきんたろう) According to Horst Graebner, the play is Tomigaoka koi no Yamabiraki (or Tomioka Koi no Yamabiraki [富岡戀山開], according to kabuki21.com, common title Ninin Shinbē [二人新兵衛]); Kintarō might be Nakamura Fukusuke I [中村福助], the female role might be Mikuni Kojorō [三国小女郎] (or Mikuni no Kojorō). Nakamura Shikan IV [中村芝翫] (Japanese, 1831 – 1899); other names: Nakamura Fukusuke I, Nakamura Masanosuke I, Nakamura Komasaburō, Nakamura Tamatarō I. -
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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Artist: Utagawa Sadahide [歌川 貞秀], a.k.a. Gountei Sadahide [五雲亭 貞秀] (1807 – c. 1878/9). Signed: Gountei Sadahide ga [五雲亭貞秀画] Pubisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, 1815 – 1869) Date-aratame seal: Bunsei 13 / Tenpō 1 (1830). Ref: Ritsumeikan University # Z0172-587. Title: Tangled Hair and the Evening Braided Hat [乱髪夜編笠] (Midaregami Yoru no Amigasa). The open book starts with the chapter title that reads Amigasa. This play was performed together with Kisohajime Hatsugai Soga [着衣始]初買曽我]. See the playbill for the performance at Moritaza at MFA (Boston) № 11.27208. 乱髪夜編笠（みだれがみよるのあみがさ。「夜の編笠」「白さぎ」とも）– one of the main melodies in katōbushi (河東節) type of jōruri [浄瑠璃]. For a detailed explanation in Japanese, see also HERE). A series of three prints is dedicated to a katōbushi performance of the Soga-themed plays.
They all have a background of hail patterns (Arare-ko-mon) [霰小紋], similar to Kunisada’s Iwai Kumesaburō II as An no Heibei [SVJP-0304.2019], see below.Yukari no Edo-zakura The tatami night robe of Iwao Tangled Hair and the Evening Braided Hat 
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Katsukawa Shunshō ( 勝川 春章; 1726 – 19 January 1793).SIZE: 12.5 x 5.75 in.
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Mokkō form iron tsuba carved in relief and inlaid with soft metals (copper, gold, silver) with the design of a cormorant fisherman on the face and a boat on the reverse. Unsigned. Dimensions: 77 mm x 69 mm x 3.0 mm (at seppa-dai) Edo period: 18th or 19th 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 in this collection TSU-0212 and TSU-0241. -
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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Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)Promotional fan for a hairpin shop, with a poem by Ichikawa Danjuro VII, signed Hakuen.
Date seal plus rectangular kiwame seal: Bunsei 8 (1825).
Size: Fan print. Uchiwa-e (27.5 x 21.1 cm) Publisher seal: Maru-To (2) (Marks U204). Date seal plus rectangular kiwame seal: Bunsei 8 (1825). -
Underglaze cobalt blue and white porcelain plate decorated with a falcon on a pine tree and rough waves beneath; rim with a stylized wave design; seven spur marks on the reverse. Diameter: 31 cm; Height: 5 cm; Diameter of the foot: 18 cm. -
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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An uncut fan print showing Otsu-e [大津絵] (Otsu pictures). Artist: Utagawa Sadahide [歌川貞秀] (Japanese, 1807 – 1879). Signed: Gountei Sadahide ga [五雲亭貞秀画] (Picture by Gountei Sadahide); characters on the Otsu-e. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, c. 1815 – 1869). Published: c. 1849. Inscription in a paper-weight shaped cartouche: [大津追 分絵の図] Ōtsu-oi wake-e no zu (Following Otsu – image of separate pictures) No date seal, no censor seal (privately printed?) Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 235 x 298 mm. -
Fuchi: 38 x 22 x 12 mm. Kashira: 32 x 17 x 11 mm Main material: shakudo; surface treatment: nanako-ji; other metals: gold, shibuichi and copper; decorative technique: iroe takazogan. Signed: Nyudo Jounishi 人道 乗西 (possibly) -
Iron tsuba of oval form with design of cherry blossoms in positive and negative silhouette openwork (ji-sukashi and in-sukashi). Details chiseled in kebori technique. Rounded rim. Copper sekigane. Higo school, Hayashi sub-school. Unsigned. Attributed to third generation Tōhachi (1723-1791). Edo period, 18th century (Hōreki / Meiwa era: 1751-1772). Height: 78.7 mm. Width: 72.2 mm. Rim thickness: 5.2 mm. Center thickness: 5.2 mm. Provenance: Sasano Masayuki Collection, № 289: "Hayashi. Third generation Tohachi (died in in the third year of Kansei, 1791 at the age of sixty-nine). Early 18th century (Hohreki / Meiwa era). " -
An unsigned print, presumably by Katsukawa Shunshō that presumably depicts a kabuki actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II. I was not able to find any reference of the image. Size: Hosoban. According to The actor's image. Print makers of the Katsukawa School. Timothy T. Clark and Osamu Ueda with Donald Jenkins. Naomi Noble Richard, editor The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Princeton University Press, 1994, Ichikawa Monnosuke II was born in 1743, in Ōji Takinogawa, Edo. He died on October 19, 1974. His specialities were young male roles (wakashu) and male leads (tachi yaku). He was considered to be one of the four best young actors of his day. -
Iron tsuba of oval form with the design of two immortals (Gama Sennin with the toad upon his head and Tekkai Sennin with his iron crutch) beside a waterfall carved in low relief with a high relief effect (takabori) and with details inlaid in gold. A waterfall carved on the reverse. Nakago-ana is plugged with copper sekigane. Unsigned. Allegedly, Mito School.
Edo period, ca. 1700.
Size: Height: 87.0 mm; Width: 82.8 mm; Thickness: 4.4 mm; Weight: 179 g.
No longer available. -
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. -
Artist (attributed, no signature): Suzuki Harunobu [鈴木 春信] (Japanese, c. 1725 – 1770). The title is taken from [LIB-1478.2013] Gian Carlo Calza, Stefania Piotti. Poem of the pillow and other stories. — Phaidon Press, 2010; pp. 148-9. Alternative title: Man sucking woman's breast and a cat sitting under a bonsai tree. The open book beside the couple reads 子春 (Koharu). Woodblock print from the series Mirror Picture of Japan (Wakoku kagami); Size: Horizontal chuban; 21 x 26 cm. -
A young woman playing a four-string musical instrument with a bow (kokyū). Series: Assortments of Beauties Accomplishments [美人芸盡] (Bijin gei-zukushi). Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kochoro Kunisada ga [香蝶楼 国貞画] in a red double gourd cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Kyūbei [伊場屋久兵衛] (Japanese, 1804 – 1851); seal: Hanmoto, Kyū [板元久] (Marks 19-040 | 126e) Date seal: Bunsei 12 (1829). Censors' seal: Kiwame. Size: Fan print (uchiwa-e). -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Ōju Toyokuni ga [応需豊国画], in a toshidama cartouche. Double nanushi censor seals Mera & Murata (1846-50). Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei [小嶋屋重兵衛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1797 – 1869). Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII [市川団十郎] (Ichikawa Ebizō VI, Ichikawa Shinnosuke II, Japanese, 1823 – 1854) watches the sunrise over Mount Fuji. The complete set of series Moon, Sun, Stars [月日星] (tsuki-hi-hoshi/boshi), three sources of light (sankō) [三光]: -
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (1798 – 1861). Kabuki actors Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII and Arashi Rikan III as sumo wrestlers Nuregami Chōgorō (L) and Hanaregoma Chōkichi (R), respectively. Signed: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga (一勇斎 國芳 画) in a double gourd-shaped cartouche with Yoshi Kiri seal. Publisher: No seal. Date seal and double nanushi censor seal: Mera & Watanabe, 1852. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 231 x 295 mm. Theme: Nine-act drama (11 scenes) Futatsu Chōchō Kuruwa Nikki [双蝶々曲輪日記] (A Diary of Two Butterflies in the Pleasure Quarters) written by Takeda Izumo II, Namiki Senryū I, Miyoshi Shōraku (7/1749) as puppet play Bunraku [文楽], adopted for Kabuki theatre by Arashi San'emon IV. “The sumo wrestler Nuregami Chōgorō is trying to ransom the courtesan Azuma for Yogoro, in whose debt he stands. Hiraoka Goemon, who is at odds with Yogorō and Azuma, is the patron of the amateur wrestler Hanaregoma Chōkichi. Chōgorō purposely loses to Chōkichi and then asks the latter to stop Goemon's ransoming of Azuma; Chōkichi refuses, however, and they quarrel. Admonished for his dissipation by his sister Oseki, Chōkichi is going to commit ritual suicide (seppuku) as an apology for his behavior, but Chōgorō, who happens along just then, prevents him. The two men swear blood brotherhood. […] The confrontation between Chōgorō and Chōkichi in the Sumōba scene, acted in the exaggerated style called aragoto, is a major highlight of the work. The scene in Yohei's home, known as Hikimado, presents the unfolding of Kabuki's eternal conflict between duty and feelings, here represented by the act of opening the skylight (hikimado) to which Chōgorō is tied”. [Samuel L. Leiter. Kabuki Encyclopedia: an English-language adaptation of Kabuki Jiten. — Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press, 1979, pp. 70-71]. See also James R. Brandon and Samuel L. Leiter. Kabuki plays on stage, vol. 1, pp. 234-258. — Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2002. Actors: Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1823 – 1854); other names: Ichikawa Ebizō VI, Ichikawa Shinnosuke II. Arashi Rikan III [嵐璃寛] (Japanese, 1812 – 1863); other names Arashi Tokusaburō III, Arashi Kicchō I, Onoe Wasaburō I. Another print in this collection with the same theme: SVJP-0331.2020.
Reference images:
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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 Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863), seal: 彫竹 – hori Take. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845 – 1847). Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 230 x 295 mm. Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: Ansei 6 (1859). Title: Princess Sotoori [衣通姫] (Sotoori-hime) – Sotoori-hime was a concubine of Emperor Ingyo (reigned AD 412-53), and one of the Three Gods of Japanese Poetry [和歌三神] (Waka sanjin). Series: Chronicles of Elegant Women [風雅女史傳] (Fūga joshiden). The sign on the torii (Shinto shrine gates) reads: Mountain king shrine [山王宮] – it is the Sannō Shrine at the Nagata Riding Grounds in Edo. A print with these gates is at MFA (Boston) # 21.9853.
Other prints from the same series in this collection:
SVJP-0343.2021 — Tamagiku:
SVJP-0400.2023 — Saiko:
Note: Special thanks to Horst Graebner, who helped decipher and understand the meaning.
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Iron tsuba of round form (width > height) decorated with a squirrel (on the face) and bamboo (on the reverse) motif in sahari flat inlay (hira-zōgan). Signed: Hazama (間) Size: 75.1mm x 75.9mm, thickness of seppa-dai 5.4mm. Early 18th century, mid Edo. Haynes/Torigoye: "There is another name for Hazama tsuba: the Kameyama school. In the period from Hōei to Kyōhō (1704-36) at Kameyama, in the province of Ise, the Kunitomo family made this style of tsuba" [...] The two artists who are best known for the sahari style of inlaid tsuba are Sadahide and Masahide" [...] The signature Hazama should be considered as that of Masahide". Sahari inlay is the distinctive characteristics of Hazama school. Sahari is an alloy of copper, tin, lead, zinc and silver. Hazama tsuba was carved patterns at first, then poured heated into the carvings on iron ground. Because it is an alloy, sahari shows different colors in each tsuba. According to Merrily Baird [Symbols, p. 163], "squirrels (risu) ... have no symbolic importance". NBTHK certificate №448388. -
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Iron tsuba of round form with a dense combination of symbols: slanting rays of light (shakoh) Christian motif (Jesuit's IHS symbol), also often described as "tokei" or "clock gear", wild goose in flight, bracken, and lozenges in openwork (sukashi). Copper sekigane. Edo period.Size: 76.0 x 72.6 x 6.2 mm
Unsigned.
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.
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Iron tsuba of round form decorated with eight roundels – circular emblems of flowers and/or family crests (mon) made of cast brass, pierced and chiselled in kebori, and with flat brass inlay (hira-zōgan) of vines or leaves all over the plate. Both hitsu-ana trimmed with brass. Nakago-ana of trapezoidal form. A distinctive character of this tsuba is a mon at 6 hours depicting tomoe (comma). Yoshirō school (Kaga-Yoshirō). Attributed to Koike Yoshirō Naomasa himself. Unsigned. The Momoyama or early Edo period, end of the 16th to the first half of the 17th century (1574-1650). Size: Diameter 82.0 mm, thickness 3.8 mm at seppa-dai, 3.4 mm at rim. -
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. Double nanushi censor seal: Kunigasa & Watanabe (1849-50). Actor: 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. 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).
Sano Jirōzaemon [佐野次郎左衛門] – provincial commoner who killed a famous Yoshiwara courtesan named ManjiyaYatsuhashi [万字屋 八ツ橋] (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 at the two upper images in Waseda University Cultural Resources Database, № 006-2707:
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Title: Fourth lunar month [卯月] (Uzuki 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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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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Utagawa Toyokuni (歌川豐國); 1769 – 24 February 1825. The actor Nakamura Utaemon as Ishikawa Goemon. Circa 1810. Size/Format: Oban, 9.75 by 14.5 inches -
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 -
[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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Shibuichi Kozuka carved in low relief (takabori, usuniku-bori) and inlaid in gold and silver with design of Shoko, reading by moonlight, thatch, pine rosettes, and fool moon. According to Henri L. Joly [LEGEND IN JAPANESE ART. London, 1908; LIB-1416 in this collection] Shoko was a Chinese student of Taoism who was so poor that he had no money to buy illuminating materials and read by moonlight. Shoko mentioned in the article about another Chinese character - Shaen, who was reading by the light emitted by glow-worms (see page 310). Signed on the back: Haruchika (春親) + kaō. Size: 97.3 mm (H) x 14.8 mm (W). Edo period, mid 19th century. NBTHK Certificate № 449542. Hamano Haruchika from Edo was a student of Haruyuki in 1848-54; Hamano School, Etchū Toyama Branch, according to M. Sesko's "Genealogy", page. 34. Most probably it is his work. Following the MFA data, it is also possible that "our" Haruchika is indeed Nara Haruchika or Tsuchiya Haruchika from Nara School; though I did not hind such artist in Markus Sesko books. However, in his "Toso-Kinko" on page 177 there is certain Shingorō who carried out his business under the name of Yanagawa Haruchika (1791-1857?)
