Shakudo nanako “kingfisher” tsuba

[Matsunoki]

Hello again from a chilly UK. Hope you’re all good.

This tsuba turned up a few weeks ago in a Kyoto shrine market and has found its way to me. Apparently it was the “pride and joy” of a very old dealer gentleman and much haggling was involved. Rich black shakudo with exceptionally fine nanako. Delicate inlay of a kingfisher by a river. Looks in perfect original condition.

Mei Ishiguro Masatoki (thanks for the help with the Mei @Shugyosha!)

7.8 x 7.0cm

All the best. Colin

[DirkO]

It's a nice tsuba, but that name (石黒改時) doesn't appear in the Toso Kinko. Now that can happen, seeing it will be a later lesser master, however, there's a comprehensive school genealogy in the book "The Ishiguro school of Japanese sword fittings artists" and there's no Masatoki there either? This makes me think either the 'Ishiguro' part of the mei got added later, or it was a legitimate maker called Masatoki - 改時 who made a piece in the style of Ishiguro and signed it as such. Also the Kanji for Masa 改 is not the one used for the Masa's in Ishiguro, there it's 政. This is strange, seeing that 1 kanji is usually handed down to students to show their lineage.
eg. for Ishiguro 政常 - Masatsune -> 政美 - Masayoshi -> 是美 - Koreyoshi

[Matsunoki]

@DirkO Hi Dirk, thanks for looking. There is a rather confusing entry in Haynes on p951 and also under ref H04536 which has him working 1830-43 ish. Maybe used more than one name? Who knows…..another mystery!