NH-0614 Rank 92
Tsuba · Haruta Hirotsugu
春田広次 (Haruta Hirotsugu)
Round iron tsuba with chrysanthemums in pierced relief, signed by Haruta Hirotsugu of the Haruta school of Echizen, with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers.
Photographs
Photographs by the seller at origin.
Description
Marugata iron tsuba signed 春田広次作 (Haruta Hirotsugu saku) on the obverse, on either side of the central opening. Hirotsugu is one of the representative makers of the Haruta school, an Echizen lineage that, according to the original seller, began as a workshop of armour makers. The design is a dense spray of chrysanthemums with leaves and stems, worked in nikubori jisukashi: the ground is pierced away and the flowers and leaves stand in relief, with engraved veins, finely hatched flower centres and small worm-eaten holes in the leaves. The rim is kaku-mimi ko-niku, plain and slightly rounded. The photographs show an even, dark brown iron patina with no cracks or breaks, and a few small spots of superficial, stable rust on the seppadai and inside the hitsu-ana. The NBTHK paper 特別保存刀装具 (tokubetsu hozon tōsōgu), no. 2011768, dated September 2025, describes it as a 菊花透鐔 (kikka sukashi tsuba) and accepts the signature. Dimensions stated by the original seller: 8.36 × 8.32 cm, 132.7 g. It comes in a plain paulownia wood box without inscription.
Strong points
- Signed by Haruta Hirotsugu, signature accepted by NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers
- Chrysanthemums in nikubori jisukashi with good volume and detail
- Iron with an even dark patina, no cracks
- Recent (2025) paper photographed
Points to bear in mind
- The paper does not state a period; the mid-Edo dating is the original seller's
- A few spots of superficial rust on the seppadai and in the hitsu-ana
- The signature is finely cut and somewhat softened, though legible
Score breakdown
61.4/100
The score shares out 100 points: Maker 25 · Workmanship 20 · Condition 18 · Period 12 · Paper 10 · Extras 5 · Price 10. It is computed from the record, not from an opinion. Maker, workmanship, condition and period are judged from the photographs and the paper; price is compared only with fittings of the same type.
- Maker 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
- Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
- Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
- Period 7 of 12 Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
- Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
- Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
- Price 7.4 of 10 Rank 60 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest