"A masterpiece by the third generation Jingo. A round-rimmed tsuba (sword guard) with rounded corners, made of iron with a Takasago design, carved in relief, inlaid with a raised pattern, and colored enamel, with a box inscription by Mr. Torikoshi Kyodo. He was a Higo school sword fittings metalworker who was active in Yatsushiro, Higo Province (present-day Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture) in the early Edo period. The Higo school was a school of sword fittings metalwork that flourished under the patronage of the Higo Hosokawa family, and the four schools that represent the Higo school are Hayashi Matashichi, Hirata Hikozo, Nishigaki Kanshiro, and Shimizu Jinbei, each with their own first generation, with Shimizu Jinbei being the first generation to be active. Higo metalworkers handled all kinds of metalwork for sword fittings, such as tsuba, fuchi kashira, and menuki, and the first generation Shimizu Jingo is considered unique even among Higo metalworkers, and his works are characterized by their luxurious brass inlay.
The first Jingo Shimizu was given the name Kazuyuki and commonly known as Jinbei. He followed Hosokawa Tadaoki, the former lord of the Kokura Domain in Buzen Province, and moved to Yatsushiro in Higo Province with his uncle, Hirata Hikozo. After Hirata Hikozo's death, he inherited the residence in Fukuro-machi, Yatsushiro, and continued to create magnificent works of thick iron tsuba (sword guards) with bold inlaid designs of birds of prey and dragons. His works, with their unique designs reminiscent of Van Gogh and Picasso, have become a topic of discussion among researchers. This is a masterpiece with a superb iron texture, and the Takasago design is expressed with exquisite workmanship using sukidashi-bori, kohori-bori, and ikebana inlay.
The tsuba box has an inscription by Mr. Torigoe Ichitaro (Kyodo), who is also famous as the author of Tsuba Kanshoki, and the inscription identifies him as Jingo. This sword guard is undoubtedly a masterpiece, as it was authenticated by Mr. Ichitaro Torigoe (Ando) as a First Class Jingo." (Long)
7.60cm (height) x 7.28cm (width) x 0.40cm (thickness) |
