Opinion on Muromachi Tsuba Hoan school

[Lexvdjagt]

Dear Tsuba collectors,

 

Today I was in Utrecht for the Japan Art Expo, and I bought a Tsuba for the first time for my collection. It was mostly an impulse buy, I am a koto collector for Japanese blades. So I feel most attracted to older items for my display. This Tsuba was advertised as Muromachi period Hoan school. The NBTHK papers attribute it to Hoan as well, it unfortunately is mumei. I want to know if you believe this tsuba is Muromachi jidai and any other info about the Tsuba.

 

From what I understand the Hoan school was active during the Muromachi period in Owari province, and later moved in the edo period. (I am not 100% sure about this so please point out if I am wrong)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lexvdjagt]

Thanks to everyone for their input,

 

 

Greetings,

Lex van der Jagt

[ROKUJURO]

Lex,

I found this online:
 

HOAN TSUBA inherit their name from the founder of the Hoan school, SABUROEMON HOAN, who worked in OWARI province. It is believed that he died in 1614, and is buried at KOKUZANJI Temple.
After 1600 the school moved to KII province and became retainers to the ASANO clan. They received a stipend of ten KOKU of rice (which is very little).  Haynes lists eleven generations, ranging from early Edo to the beginning of the twentieth century. 

The second generation was known as HISATSUGU, KANENOBU, and YOEMON.  Born in 1600, he was the son in law of the first generation HOAN. In 1619 he went with ASANO NAGAAKIRA (1619–1632) to HIROSHIMA.  He succeeded his father as head of the family in 1645.  He later worked for a branch of the TAKEDA DAIMYO family. Works signed HOAN KANENOBU are not rare, but they seem younger than the dates given to the second HOAN master

The third generation was HISATSUGU, as were the next nine generations. The fourth generation also worked for the ASANO DAIMYO, and received a stipend of 800 KOKU of rice.  Starting with the sixth generation, it appears they were no longer making sword fittings, but were ship builders.  It seems that the tenth generation did make some fittings in the HOAN style, but were primarily ship builders.

 

 

[Lexvdjagt]

16 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

Lex,

I found this online:
 

HOAN TSUBA inherit their name from the founder of the Hoan school, SABUROEMON HOAN, who worked in OWARI province. It is believed that he died in 1614, and is buried at KOKUZANJI Temple.
After 1600 the school moved to KII province and became retainers to the ASANO clan. They received a stipend of ten KOKU of rice (which is very little).  Haynes lists eleven generations, ranging from early Edo to the beginning of the twentieth century. 

The second generation was known as HISATSUGU, KANENOBU, and YOEMON.  Born in 1600, he was the son in law of the first generation HOAN. In 1619 he went with ASANO NAGAAKIRA (1619–1632), to HIROSHIMA.  He succeeded his father as head of the family in 1645.  He later worked for a branch of the TAKEDA DAIMYO family. Works signed HOAN KANENOBU are not rare, but they seem younger than the dates given to the second HOAN master

The third generation was HISATSUGU, as were the next nine generations. The fourth generation also worked for the ASANO DAIMYO, and received a stipend of 800 KOKU of rice.  Starting with the sixth generation, it appears they were no longer making sword fittings, but were ship builders.  It seems that the tenth generation did make some fittings in the HOAN style, but were primarily ship builders.

 

 

Thank you greatly Jeann for your help!

[Bugyotsuji]

Hoan seem to be famous today for their use of acids in the treatment of the tsuba surface, but I do not know when that aspect of their work began.

[Steve Waszak]

Kawaguchi Saburoemon Noriyasu (Noriyasu can also be read "Hoan") was the Shodai of the Hoan group.  He died in 1614, as Jean notes.  He worked therefore in the Momoyama Period, not the Muromachi.  It is believed he was originally of the Buke, but due to political misfortune (the assassination of Oda Nobunaga in 1582), his status shifted, and he became an armorer, and then, a tsubako.  It is, of course, difficult to know the truth of this narrative, but this is what is generally accepted about this smith. 

 

Shodai Hoan tsuba are rarely encountered.  HIs best works are masterpieces in iron, combining a powerful yakite-kusarashi effect on the surface of the plate, a beautiful "rippling" of the metal in the forging process known as "uwabamigane" (I believe this translates to something like "python skin"), and sensitively-rendered sukidashi-bori to express motif elements.  His sword guards often carry that peculiar Momoyama vitality that infuses so many of the arts of that specific time.  

 

I believe the reason the NBTHK assigned a "Hoan" ascription to your tsuba, Lex, is that on the lower left quadrant of the omote, something akin to an uwabamigane effect may be seen.  In cases where a mumei guard presents with this detail, especially in combination with well-done sukidashi-bori and the yakite-kusarashi surface treatment (sort of a "melty" effect), the NBTHK will often default to a "Hoan" ascription.  Personally, I am not convinced, however.  I believe that there was another group of tsubako, likely working in Kyoto, that worked in this style (perhaps along with other styles), where acids were applied to the sukidashi-bori elements to achieve the appearance of a slightly melted surface.  Such tsuba are predictable in their details:  in addition to the above-mentioned use of acids, sukidashi-bori, and sometimes a "rippled iron" (uwabamigane) presentation in the metal, they always have a round sugata, the same or similar sort of "hourglass" tegane around the nakago-ana, and the same shape to the hitsu-ana we see in your tsuba here.  They will also often (if not always?) have a very small mark on the right side of the seppa-dai, sometimes on the omote, sometimes on the ura -- not a mei, but a sort of "shop mark" or some such -- that is very easy to miss, owing to its being rather tiny and subtle.  These tsuba are never signed, in my experience.  I think I may see such a shop mark on the upper right seppa-dai of the omote of your tsuba, Lex.  

 

I do not believe these are Hoan tsuba.  Hoan had become a pretty big name by the late-Momoyama and into the early-Edo Periods.  Signing one's works had become a tradition of sorts for many tsuba-making groups by the early-Edo years, and this is certainly true of the Hoan group.  While not circulating in abundance, post-Shodai Hoan guards are found with enough frequency to confirm that they are signed as a matter of course.  But the tsuba I describe above -- with their specific and predictable characteristics, and which I am confident your tsuba is one of -- are not signed.  Because of this anonymity, and because they bear a superficial resemblance to key features found in Shodai Hoan tsuba (they also are missing important details), the NBTHK default to a "Hoan" reading on these.  This is not to disparage this group's work or your tsuba, though, Lex.  These are really well-made pieces with a great deal of aesthetic merit, in my opinion.  Their combination of acid-etching and sukidashi-bori achieves a beautiful effect.  But the peculiar personality of Shodai Hoan is not present in these pieces.  If you'd like to see a good example of one of these sword guards, let me know, and I can provide a link.    

[Tim Evans]

The paper is a bit interesting because it says mumei tsuba, Hoan. Most of the mumei attribution papers will either say Hoan den or kodai Hoan. The use of acid etching was introduced to Japan by the Europeans and there are a number of tsuba shops that utilized this technique.  I have seen signed etched tsuba with both Jingo and Umetada mei, and I think most of the tsuba papered to Hoan Den are really one of these two groups. However, low relief acid etching and sukidashi bori can be sometimes hard to tell apart. Here is a brief description of the Hoan group:

 

Shodai Hoan is a mysterious figure. He used Hoan as a personal name, whereas the later Hoan smiths used Hoan as a family name. What little information we have tells us that he was of a Buke family and was initially named Kawaguchi Hoan. He was adopted by Takada Sakyo, who was the lord of Kunotsubo castle in the Kasugai district in Owari Province. Sasano noted in the publication, Tosogu Yuhin Zufu (third edition) that according to Hoan family tradition, “when the the Oda family diminished, Sakyo’s child became an armor maker. He also made tsuba.” The diminishment of the Oda family in Owari can probably be traced to Oda Nobuo being removed from Owari Province in 1590, after quarrelling with Hideyoshi during the Odawara campaign against the Hojo. After losing his position as the heir of Takada Sakyo, Hoan reverted back to the Kawaguchi surname and became a metal worker for the Asano family in Kai Province. The Shodai Hoan is known for his unique and artistic treatment of the iron including a very visible coarse folding of the iron (uwebamegane), acid etched designs, and high heat melting of the the finished surface to create patterns. 

 

There is a statement in the Nihonto Koza (Afu translation) concerning the establishment of the Hoan family name: “Upon command of his lord (Asano), he (the Nidai) was called HOAN HISATSUGU, and his decendents also used this name”. What is implied here is that a family line was established in memory of Kawaguchi Hoan. This Hoan familly continued to serve the Asano as iron workers for several generations and apparently were employed in making iron fittings for ships. The Asano were moved from Kai province to Aki and the Hoan group went with them. The later Hoan continued to make tsuba and these are usually signed Hoan Hisatsugu. Also seen are tsuba signed Hoan Kanenobu. It is uncertain as to where he fits in the geneaology. 

[Steve Waszak]

Here is a link to the sort of tsuba I describe above.  Note the "shop mark" to the right of the ura seppa-dai (just about 3:00).  It is a beautiful tsuba, extremely well made, but not Hoan, in my opinion only, of course.    

 

https://www.tosoguya...oan_rinpo_tsuba.html

[Geraint]

Steve and Tim, thank you for these posts, really educational and what NMB does best.

 

All the best.

[Bazza]

13 or so years ago at the Sydney TAIKAI I remember a HOAN tsuba that either Gordon Robson or Jim Gilbert had in a display.  If I remember correctly (I am now 80+!!) it had a distinctly silver sheen, quite remarkable I thought.

 

BaZZa.

[Curran]

2 hours ago, Geraint said:

Steve and Tim, thank you for these posts, really educational and what NMB does best.

 

All the best.

 

Steve and Tim both nailed it out of the park.

As Tim said, *most* of the later generations paper to "Kodai Hoan". A "Hoan" paper implies fairly early in the school, just as Ko-Akasaka generally means first 3 generations of Akasaka.

 

Hizen tsuba also employed acid etching, but the iron and execution tend to be noticeably different.

No yakite or other surface melting affect.

 

[Lexvdjagt]

On 6/8/2024 at 7:48 PM, Steve Waszak said:

Kawaguchi Saburoemon Noriyasu (Noriyasu can also be read "Hoan") was the Shodai of the Hoan group.  He died in 1614, as Jean notes.  He worked therefore in the Momoyama Period, not the Muromachi.  It is believed he was originally of the Buke, but due to political misfortune (the assassination of Oda Nobunaga in 1582), his status shifted, and he became an armorer, and then, a tsubako.  It is, of course, difficult to know the truth of this narrative, but this is what is generally accepted about this smith. 

 

Shodai Hoan tsuba are rarely encountered.  HIs best works are masterpieces in iron, combining a powerful yakite-kusarashi effect on the surface of the plate, a beautiful "rippling" of the metal in the forging process known as "uwabamigane" (I believe this translates to something like "python skin"), and sensitively-rendered sukidashi-bori to express motif elements.  His sword guards often carry that peculiar Momoyama vitality that infuses so many of the arts of that specific time.  

 

I believe the reason the NBTHK assigned a "Hoan" ascription to your tsuba, Lex, is that on the lower left quadrant of the omote, something akin to an uwabamigane effect may be seen.  In cases where a mumei guard presents with this detail, especially in combination with well-done sukidashi-bori and the yakite-kusarashi surface treatment (sort of a "melty" effect), the NBTHK will often default to a "Hoan" ascription.  Personally, I am not convinced, however.  I believe that there was another group of tsubako, likely working in Kyoto, that worked in this style (perhaps along with other styles), where acids were applied to the sukidashi-bori elements to achieve the appearance of a slightly melted surface.  Such tsuba are predictable in their details:  in addition to the above-mentioned use of acids, sukidashi-bori, and sometimes a "rippled iron" (uwabamigane) presentation in the metal, they always have a round sugata, the same or similar sort of "hourglass" tegane around the nakago-ana, and the same shape to the hitsu-ana we see in your tsuba here.  They will also often (if not always?) have a very small mark on the right side of the seppa-dai, sometimes on the omote, sometimes on the ura -- not a mei, but a sort of "shop mark" or some such -- that is very easy to miss, owing to its being rather tiny and subtle.  These tsuba are never signed, in my experience.  I think I may see such a shop mark on the upper right seppa-dai of the omote of your tsuba, Lex.  

 

I do not believe these are Hoan tsuba.  Hoan had become a pretty big name by the late-Momoyama and into the early-Edo Periods.  Signing one's works had become a tradition of sorts for many tsuba-making groups by the early-Edo years, and this is certainly true of the Hoan group.  While not circulating in abundance, post-Shodai Hoan guards are found with enough frequency to confirm that they are signed as a matter of course.  But the tsuba I describe above -- with their specific and predictable characteristics, and which I am confident your tsuba is one of -- are not signed.  Because of this anonymity, and because they bear a superficial resemblance to key features found in Shodai Hoan tsuba (they also are missing important details), the NBTHK default to a "Hoan" reading on these.  This is not to disparage this group's work or your tsuba, though, Lex.  These are really well-made pieces with a great deal of aesthetic merit, in my opinion.  Their combination of acid-etching and sukidashi-bori achieves a beautiful effect.  But the peculiar personality of Shodai Hoan is not present in these pieces.  If you'd like to see a good example of one of these sword guards, let me know, and I can provide a link.    

Hello Steve,

 

Thank you so much for your detailed description of the Tsuba, I have learned a lot! Your information is very valuable to me, as I am not a tsuba collector myself. The Jidai for the tsuba is not Momoyama right? Rather early edo? 

Please send me any links you would like to show me! I would love to see!

 

On 6/9/2024 at 2:40 AM, Tim Evans said:

The paper is a bit interesting because it says mumei tsuba, Hoan. Most of the mumei attribution papers will either say Hoan den or kodai Hoan. The use of acid etching was introduced to Japan by the Europeans and there are a number of tsuba shops that utilized this technique.  I have seen signed etched tsuba with both Jingo and Umetada mei, and I think most of the tsuba papered to Hoan Den are really one of these two groups. However, low relief acid etching and sukidashi bori can be sometimes hard to tell apart. Here is a brief description of the Hoan group:

 

Shodai Hoan is a mysterious figure. He used Hoan as a personal name, whereas the later Hoan smiths used Hoan as a family name. What little information we have tells us that he was of a Buke family and was initially named Kawaguchi Hoan. He was adopted by Takada Sakyo, who was the lord of Kunotsubo castle in the Kasugai district in Owari Province. Sasano noted in the publication, Tosogu Yuhin Zufu (third edition) that according to Hoan family tradition, “when the the Oda family diminished, Sakyo’s child became an armor maker. He also made tsuba.” The diminishment of the Oda family in Owari can probably be traced to Oda Nobuo being removed from Owari Province in 1590, after quarrelling with Hideyoshi during the Odawara campaign against the Hojo. After losing his position as the heir of Takada Sakyo, Hoan reverted back to the Kawaguchi surname and became a metal worker for the Asano family in Kai Province. The Shodai Hoan is known for his unique and artistic treatment of the iron including a very visible coarse folding of the iron (uwebamegane), acid etched designs, and high heat melting of the the finished surface to create patterns. 

 

There is a statement in the Nihonto Koza (Afu translation) concerning the establishment of the Hoan family name: “Upon command of his lord (Asano), he (the Nidai) was called HOAN HISATSUGU, and his decendents also used this name”. What is implied here is that a family line was established in memory of Kawaguchi Hoan. This Hoan familly continued to serve the Asano as iron workers for several generations and apparently were employed in making iron fittings for ships. The Asano were moved from Kai province to Aki and the Hoan group went with them. The later Hoan continued to make tsuba and these are usually signed Hoan Hisatsugu. Also seen are tsuba signed Hoan Kanenobu. It is uncertain as to where he fits in the geneaology. 

Hello Tim,

 

Thank you dearly for this information, I agree that the paper is quite interesting. I could only find Hoan to be attributed to either Den or Kodai Hoan. 

 

 

 

Greetings,

Lex van der Jagt

 

 

[Lexvdjagt]

If anyone could possibly give me an idea how much this tsuba would be worth approximately then that would be great, I hope I did not overpay for it. As I was promised a Muromachi Tsuba. 

 

 

Greetings,

Lex van der Jagt

[Tim Evans]

If you are looking for a Muromachi period tsuba then the types that are from that period are known by their group or school names, since there are extremely few signed examples. Here are some commonly available types from that period:

Iron

• Kotosho
• Kokatchushi
• Heianjo zogan (some of these are signed)
• Onin 
• Heianjo sukashi / Kyo sukashi
• Koshoami
• Kamakura bori

 

Softmetal

• Kokinko 

 

Masayuki Sasano has published a few books on early iron tsuba that would help you identify these Muromachi tsuba types. He also includes Owari sukashi and Kanayama tsuba as Muromachi period, but there are those of us who think these are Momoyama at the earliest. 

 

 

 

[Iekatsu]

Under soft metal you can also add, Tachi-kanagushi and Kagami-shi to the list.

[Spartancrest]

Could the five dot mon pattern be the Maeda Kamon?   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maeda_clan

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Definitely yes, Dale. 
The description says ‘Umebachi Mon’.