A Black Tachi Koshirae with Silver Mounts of Dragons

EDO PERIOD (19TH CENTURY)

Details

A Black Tachi Koshirae with Silver Mounts of Dragons
Edo period (19th century)
The matching silver mounts comprising: kabutogane, fuchi, rim of saya, ashi-kanamono, taikogane, semekanamono and ishizuki-kanamono, all decorated with dragons in clouds and lightning, the details gilt and takabori; the fuchi signed Ikkosai Tokuoki and with kao; an iron aoi tsuba with a gilt bowl and a dragon in shishiai-bori, signed Kinryusai Hidekuni [Kawarabayashi Hidekuni (1825-1891)]; a pair of gold menuki of stylized dragons, attributed to Goto Koran; the saya in the center decorated with Chinese lions in breaking waves in gold hiramakie, sea-spray in mother-of-pearl; the rest of the saya finished in gold hirame on a roiro-nuri ground; the hilt covered in sharkskin and white strings
40 1/8in. (102cm.) long
With a certificate of registration designating this set as the Juyo tosogu (Important Sword Fitting) issued by the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Art Sword)

Provenance

The Museum of Japanese Sword Fittings, Tokyo
By repute the Matsudaira family, Izumo Province
Mitsumura family, Kobe

Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
Tokyo Bijutsu Club, ed., Aoyama-so shozo token kodogu (Kobe Mitsumura ke shozo) nyusatsu (Aoyama swords and sword fittings of the Mitsumura family of Kobe) (Tokyo: Tokyo Bijutsu Club, 1937), no. 4.

Kawarabayashi Hidekuni (1825-1891) was born in Hoki Province (present-day Tottori Prefecture) and moved to Kyoto at the age of 18 to study under Kawarabayashi Hideoki (1788-1851), of the Otsuki school. He married Hideoki's second daughter and became his successor.
Sasayama Tokuoki (1813-1891) began to study under Kawarabayashi Hideoki at the age of 15 and married Hideoki's eldest daughter ten years later. In 1863, he made tanto fittings for Emperor Komei and was given the name Ikkosai.

For a tsuba by Hidekuni, see lot 167.

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