Jakushi Kozuka which one?

[pcfarrar]

Hi,

 

I recently picked up an iron Kozuka signed Jakushi. The detail is very nice, much better than the photo below.

 

Does anyone have any idea which generation of Jakushi this might be?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Peter

[docliss]

Dear Peter

 

I have been hoping that another member would answer your query re the Jakushi kodzuka but, sadly, they have not, so here goes:

 

The identification of supposed Jakushi work is extremely difficult. There were several generations of the school, working from the early C18 until the mid C19, together with numerous copyists, and almost all of these signed their work simply with the two-kanji Jakushi, as on your kodzuka. This difficulty is compounded, I am afraid, by the quality of your photograph. Most of their work was ita-tsuba. Your kodzuka does, however, resemble Jakushi work, appearing to be kusarakashi applied to an iron background; with nunome-zÅgan on the higher parts of the metal; and depicting a Chinese scene of mountains and trees. The inscription is OK, bearing a resemblance to that illustrated on p.162a of KinkÅ Meikan.

 

And that’s as far as I can go, I am afraid. Is it by a member of the Jakushi school or by one of many copyists, I know not. As to identifying ‘which Jakushi’ ... sorry! You might get an answer to your query by submitting your kodzuka to shinsa, but my inclination would be to save my money and to enjoy the piece.

 

Regards, John L.

[pcfarrar]

Hi John,

 

Thank you very much for your help!

 

Regards,

 

Peter

[docliss]

Dear Peter

 

As a post-script to my earlier comments on your Jakushi kodzuka, one noticeable feature is that the nunome-zÅgan highlighting on the trees is in the form of small and discrete, rectangular blocks. A fellow collector has in the past pointed out to me that this is a feature seen on some ShÅami copies of Jakushi work. But whether this feature is one that is shared between the two schools, or is an indication of a ShÅami provenance, I am afraid that I know not.

 

Regards, John.