Attractive Shakudo tsuba….but which legend/myth??? HELP PLEASE!

[Matsunoki]

Hello from a still very cold and damp UK

Couldnt resist this one in a rural auction. “Kosetsuken Tomonao” . Mid 19th C   I’m Still waiting for the postman to deliver but meantime…..

Please can anyone tell me the legend depicted? We have an attendant (of Ryujin?) emerging from waves on the back of a dragon offering a tama (one of the “tide jewels”?) to a mounted (hero?) who appears to be on a raft or pontoon. I simply can’t find it but it must be fairly well known to use it as a subject and put so much quality effort into it….imo

Many thanks in advance. All the best. Colin

 

[JohnTo]

Hi Colin,

Congratulations.  I went to see this tsuba as the auction house was nearby.  Like you I thought it was shakudo from the auction house photos (as you have copied and posted), but in fact the base metal was brown when seen in real life, i.e. shibuichi. The auction house said it was bronze. So my bid was much lower. The tsuba depicts the story of Choryo (Zhang Liang) a Korean(?) hunted by the Chinese Han government with Kosekiko (Huang Shigong, lit ‘old man yellow rock’) at the Yishuidi bridge.  The old man, Kosekiko, began teaching Choryo the art of war and to test him deliberately dropped one of his shoes in the river and ordered Choryo to retrieve it for him.  The shoe was grabbed by a water dragon, but despite the insulting order, Choryo retrieved the shoe, and placed the shoe back on Kosekiko’s foot.  The old man (Kosekiko) then arranged to meet Choryo on three occasions at the bridge; the first two occasions Choryo was late and was scolded, but on the third time he waited all night for the old man.  The old man then gave Choryo a book about military strategy (Taigon Art of War) telling him to return in 13 years time when the old man would appear as a yellow rock.  Choryo did return, found the rock and built a shrine to Kosekiko.

 

I have a similar, shakudo tsuba by Katsuhisa, and found a print of the scene by Kano Tsunenobu see attached.

The surface of the plate is essentially migaki-ji (polished), whereas the bridge, dragon and rock have been given an ishimi-ji (stone) finish. The design is cut in shishiai-bori (motif flush with the surface) mainly using a katakiri chisel (sloping on one side to look like brush strokes).  The design is picked out in gold and silver hira-,or hon-, zogan (inlay flush with surface) and is sometimes called Kaga-zogan as it was commonly used by Kaga craftsmen, including this artist.

The tsuba is signed using a fine chisel (kebori) Kuwamura Gen’emon Katsuhisa (桑村 **克久), with a kao.  Sesko (p 326) lists a Genzaemon Katsuhisa (same kanji) of the Kuwamura School in Kaga, born Genroku 7 (1694) who had the go ‘Jokyu’ and this would seem to be the maker of this tsuba.  He was still working in Horeki 8 (1758) and there is a work signed Kuwamura Jokyu at the age of 65 (1758).  Katsuhisa and his brother, Yoshihiro, were the sons of Matashiro (later Cho’emon) Morikatsu, who studied under Goto Kakujo and used the go ‘Sojun’ and was employed by the Maeda family.

 

[Matsunoki]

@JohnTo

Brilliant. Truly brilliant. Thank you so much. I was way off!! All I need now is the postman to arrive to see if it’s as nice as I hope. In your debt……I’d never have figured that one.  All the best. Colin.

[JohnTo]

Hi Colin,

Glad you liked my hurried reply (I was going out this evening).  Yes it was a nicely made tsuba and I fancied it to make a pair with mine to show the different techniques used.  I had looked up the artist in Haynes beforehand, so here is some more info on Tomonao.

Haynes number H 10001.0, Family: Kageyama.  Other names (you know how they liked to change their personal names) Kosetsuken, Ryuryuken, Seiryuken and Yoshiro.

Worked in Mito in Hitachi province.  Dated example 1846

Student of Hirano Tomomitsu (H 09967).

Two shibuichi tsuba described in Haynes.  One Mosle p.492 #1582 Ebitsu in the rain.  Other A. Beit, London boy playing flute riding on ox dated 1846.  Both signed Kosetsuken Tomonao. 

 

Hope you enjoy it when it arrives.

 

Best regards, John

[BrentC]

Hi Colin,

 

Very nice indeed and a terrific story as well!  you must be pleased,  congrats!

[Spartancrest]

A pretty coloured image of the story.-

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Interestingly the presence of a dragon is 'suggested' in the picture of Mt Fuji. 

[shakudo]

Hi IJohnTo,

Really appreciate your to this post and hopefully qe hear more from you. Great insight and research.

Many thanks

 

[JohnTo]

Hi Colin, 

One more bit of info for you.  The genealogy chart from Markus Sesko's Genealogies...... toso-kinko Artists (a book every tsuba collector should have) that shows Tomonao's fit in the Ichiryu School (looks like it may have loaded upside down, sorry, it was saved after rotating the right way up). 

 

Regards, John

 

PS I was not the underbidder who forced the price up, so don't blame me for the cost. 

 

 

[Infinite_Wisdumb]

Amazing analysis!  Thank you @JohnTo

[Matsunoki]

1 hour ago, JohnTo said:

PS I was not the underbidder who forced the price up, so don't blame me for the cost. 

I wouldn’t do that John. The only person responsible for the cost is me! 
As an aside, the ******* auctioneers had “forgotten” that I paid for it immediately and thus they haven’t even posted it yet. I wonder what we pay them a 3O% buyers premium for
Thanks again. Colin

[Matsunoki]

Just to round off the thread…..it’s just arrived and one of those that turns out far better than the images. Just a quick pic to show the height of the inlay and maybe a better idea of the plate colour…..as John says….shibuichi. Thanks to all for helping. All the best. Colin

[Ford Hallam]

Not a very common theme on tosogu I think but it's depicted on this Fuchi kashira set I restored some time ago.

 

Just for comparison;

 

[Stephen]

I certainly glad this post was brought back up, I must have been on my sabbatical.

Great tsuba I'd be stoked to.

One thing I don't get reference to a dragon in the Fuji sama picture

[Bugyotsuji]

Stephen, this is a classical Chinese story, but the scene in the print is Japan. One common theme in Japanese mythology and art is dragons and Mt Fuji. If you look at the cloud in the little picture, it suggests a dragon. By linking dragons and countries, I get the sense that the artist wished to say that the lessons of loyalty, learning etc. (in the legend mentioned by John above and other versions) are eternal and equally valid across cultures.