Sojobo/Tengu Fuchigashira (Hamano Sozui?)

[Jake6500]

I recently acquired a new fuchigashira (been in my possession for about a week now) that I wanted to share with the forum.

 

At this stage it is probably now the best piece in my collection and has been signed "Sozui". The mei appears to match one of the variations of Hamano Sozui's signature and from what I have read, Hamano Sozui would often create pieces with Japanese and Chinese folklore themes, so a Sojobo/Tengu design would fit his modus operandi.

 

The work is a pretty high quality with an inlaid stone used for the eye of the Tengu figure as well which leads me to believe this might be an actual Sozui piece and not gimei...

 

The pictures honestly don't do the piece justice as they were taken from my phone with 5x zoom and compressed to meet file size requirements but let me know what you all think!

 

 

[Jake6500]

Additional, better photos from the seller...

 

 

[kyushukairu]

Dear Jake, it's a nice set of fuchigashira and not out of line with what one would expect from the Hamano school. However, I don't think this set would paper to Shozui. Although the quality is good, I don't think it's good enough for Shozui, who was considered to be on par with the top Nara masters. There are also quite a few inconsistencies in terms of the mei. The top left hand stroke of 正 in 政, for example, floats higher than all of the examples in the meikan, and the third stroke is too long. In the second part of that kanji (攵) the third stroke isn't usually connected to the first two strokes. In general, that kanji lacks the balance seen in all shoshin (papered) examples that I've seen. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news... It is a nice set though, and the glass eye is an interesting feature. In general, I'd avoid buying big names without papers from Japan. It is possible to find some treasures, but artists like Shozui (and Yokoya Somin, of whom there are also lots gimei examples) will sell for a considerable amount of money with papers, and in Japan it is fairly easy to submit for kanteisho. So if someone knows what they have there is the financial incentive to submit for papers and make a lot of money.

[Jake6500]

1 hour ago, kyushukairu said:

Dear Jake, it's a nice set of fuchigashira and not out of line with what one would expect from the Hamano school. However, I don't think this set would paper to Shozui. Although the quality is good, I don't think it's good enough for Shozui, who was considered to be on par with the top Nara masters. There are also quite a few inconsistencies in terms of the mei. The top left hand stroke of 正 in 政, for example, floats higher than all of the examples in the meikan, and the third stroke is too long. In the second part of that kanji (攵) the third stroke isn't usually connected to the first two strokes. In general, that kanji lacks the balance seen in all shoshin (papered) examples that I've seen. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news... It is a nice set though, and the glass eye is an interesting feature. In general, I'd avoid buying big names without papers from Japan. It is possible to find some treasures, but artists like Shozui (and Yokoya Somin, of whom there are also lots gimei examples) will sell for a considerable amount of money with papers, and in Japan it is fairly easy to submit for kanteisho. So if someone knows what they have there is the financial incentive to submit for papers and make a lot of money.

 

Thanks for your insight Kyle!

 

I did notice the connection in the stroke of the mei as a potential albeit minor inconsistency in the mei. The floating stroke in the top left however is something I hadn't considered before. I had actually purchased this item based on the quality of the workmanship and the design alone, the possibility of it being a work from an elite artist was always just an added bonus.

 

Here is the authenticated mei for context, for anyone else reading the thread:

 

 

I still do think it is a pretty close match to the mei in the bottom right...

 

This piece is probably still the best in my collection right now whether it is gimei or not.