A rare kogatana?

[Nobody]

This kogatana might be very rare.

Made by Kano Natsuo (加納夏雄).

1,500,000 JPY

 

Ref. http://www.iidakoendo.com/info/item/b026.htm

[Eric H]

Without doubt an extremely rare work by Natsuo at an exorbitant price ...

 

Eric

[b.hennick]

As a result of earlier discussions of the work of Natsuo I bought a book on his work from Craig at Bridge of Dreams (great sale BTW) In any case there is no mention of him making a kogatana. There is a picture of a couple of pipes which I found unusual. Ford's posting of photos of his work led me to buy the book. Thanks for the contribution Nobody San.

[Bugyotsuji]

Are you going to buy it, Kenji san?

[cspage]

I hope I'm not out of line here, but as a newbie, could I ask that someone give a brief explanation of the who, and why of this "rare" piece? Nothing extensive, just a brief background for us that know nothing. Or a point to reference material. Much appreciated. Thanks.

 

Colin

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Colin,

 

Kano Natsuo (1828-1898) is considered my many connoisseurs to be one of the, if not the, finest artists in the kinko tradition.

 

He seems to have been a good businessman and ran a very productive studio. Many of his assistants/students went on to become celebrated Meiji period artists in their own rights. Natsuo was appointed "Teishitsugigeiin" to the Emperor's court, this was the sort of position that would eventually be better known as "Ningen Kokuho", the holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Asset.

 

His workmanship, from a technical point of view, is always flawless and incredibly sensitive and delicate. He had a very refined, elegant and understated aesthetic which for many epitomises the highly cultured court life of the Heian period.

 

I've seen a few kozuka by him but I suppose they are a bit of a rarity. The inscription is in a clerical script that evokes a strong antique feeling, and would have done so even when it was new. I'd suggest that the quality of the piece lies as much with the actual carving of the kanji as with the calligraphy. What I mean is, this would be a fine piece of calligraphy even if it was "merely" painted on paper....all the more impressive that it's carved, so perfectly, in steel.

 

It's very easy to overlook much of the real beauty of work like this, particularly when only viewing a photo, but there is a great deal more here than first meets the eye. It's this sort of subtle and sophisticated chisel work, almost regarded in an abstract way, that is most highly prized by the Japanese connoisseur, whereas in the West the most commonly appreciated aspect is the subject matter.

 

Hope that sheds a little light on the matter,

 

regards,

 

Ford

 

p.s. If you'd like to study another genuine example here's one of

his classic tsuba with carp.

Once you run your cursor over the downloaded image you'll get a much bigger image to see. It's worth looking closely at the rim. Note how sensitively he has worked it and how organic and natural it seems...it defies the actual material in a way.

[cspage]

Excellent, Ford. I see what you mean. Thank you so much. The bio and critique are really helpful. Little bits like this reinforce the oft repeated manifesto of "quality, quality, quality." And, of course, the straight info is good for us neophytes as it just adds to our knowledge base. As I said, much appreciated.

 

Colin

[Markus]

  Ford Hallam said:

The inscription is in a clerical script that evokes a strong antique feeling, and would have done so even when it was new. I'd suggest that the quality of the piece lies as much with the actual carving of the kanji as with the calligraphy. What I mean is, this would be a fine piece of calligraphy even if it was "merely" painted on paper....all the more impressive that it's carved, so perfectly, in steel.

 

I just have to emphasize Ford´s observations with a double-underline, and I take the liberty to add something for the context.

The clerical script (reisho) which was chosen by Natsuo was especially in fashion at that time (from the mid-19c into the Meiji period).

It was Ichikawa Bei´an (1779-1858) who gathered and systemized rubbings from Chinese monuments and bronze. He worked

for the Toyama fief as well as for the Maeda in Kaga (which is present-day Ishikawa, the neighboring prefecture of Toyama, and Toyama

is where my girlfriend works, so that´s maybe brutal off-topic but the explanation why I spent some time with this subject ).

So because of this "boom", we find also - frequently would be exaggregated but from time to time - Shinshinto blades with a reisho (or parts

in reisho) signature on the tang.

 

BTW: The meaning of the (nostalgic) poem is (maybe Koichi can correct me if wrong): "When I raise my head, I can see the moon from

beyond the mountains - and when I then bow down my head, I can recall my home village."

[Pete Klein]

Some examples from the 'Kano Natsuo Meihin Shu', Ikeda 2000:

 

[Nobody]

  Markus said:

BTW: The meaning of the (nostalgic) poem is (maybe Koichi can correct me if wrong): "When I raise my head, I can see the moon from

beyond the mountains - and when I then bow down my head, I can recall my home village."

Thanks Markus, there is nothing I can correct.

I found that the poem on the kogatana is a part of a poem composed by Li Bai (李白).

The full text of the poem is this.

 

靜夜思 (On a Quiet Night)

牀前看月光 - I saw the moonlight before my couch，

疑是地上霜 - And wondered if it were not the frost on the ground.

擧頭望山月 - I raised my head and looked out on the mountain moon，

低頭思故郷 - I bowed my head and thought of my far-off home.

(TR. By 小畑薫良)

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Markus,

 

that some great info there. I was vaguely aware of the appeal things antique about that time but didn't know any of the specifics regarding Reisho.

 

Thanks also for the translation of the poem, and Koichi's additional material.

 

regards,

 

Ford

[Carlo Giuseppe Tacchini]

Thanks to all contributors.

[Bazza]

  Ford Hallam said:

Hi Markus,

that some great info there. I was vaguely aware of the appeal things antique about that time but didn't know any of the specifics regarding Reisho.

Thanks also for the translation of the poem, and Koichi's additional material.

regards,

Ford

G'day All,

I particularly enjoyed Ford's discourse on the aesthetics of the Kanji and Markus' additional information. I thought of the beautiful inscriptions we find on Meiji metalwork where the chisel work takes one's breath away.

 

Of course, one can follow lines of discussion to the nth degree, but I did find a further comment on Reisho script that i thought was useful:

http://www.stockkanji.com/info/Glossary.htm

"Reisho (Clerical Script) is a simplified version of the tensho script that is dominated by horizontal and vertical lines. This is sometimes called the "Clerical Script" and in the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220AD) served to simplify the tensho script and therefore make it more appropriate for practical purposes. The overall shape is rectangular with a height to width ration of two to three. Today this simplified version of the tensho style is used only for newspaper names and in stone carving (e.g. grave markers)."

Regards,

Barry Thomas.

[Guido]

one question is that stuff by natsuo available for under £ 250? it dont look that special but maybe i should have one just for reference no snipes by the usual know-it-alls or I'll give up posting for at least 5 minutes!

 

Sorry, I know I'm evil, but I simply couldn't resist ...

[Ford Hallam]

...but take care to avoid those pieces he cast...easily recognisable by the "made in Japan" stamp inside the nakago ana.

[Brian]

  Guido Schiller said:

Sorry, I know I'm evil, but I simply couldn't resist ...

Did you at least try?

Bad dog! No cookie for you.

 

Brian