Kantei

NH-0710 Rank 145

Tsuba · Umetada Mitsushige

埋忠光重 (Umetada Mitsushige)

Round polished-iron tsuba pierced as a maple leaf with inlaid twigs, signed 埋忠光重 (Umetada Mitsushige), with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu papers.

TsubaLate Edo (1781–1868)Edo periodNBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

A marugata tsuba of the Umetada school, signed 埋忠光重 (Umetada Mitsushige) on the seppa-dai of the front face. The motif is a maple leaf, kaede-sukashi, pierced in positive silhouette (ji-sukashi) and joined to a slender outer ring; the leaf veins are opened with very fine cuts (ito-sukashi). Three twigs in yellow metal are inlaid between the lobes, and two polished plaques of dark metal are set in hira-zōgan on either side of the central opening, one oval and one cloud-shaped. The iron has a polished surface (migaki-ji) and the rim is square with a slight rounding (kaku-mimi ko-niku). The original seller gives 8.18 × 8.16 cm, 0.47 cm thick and 116 g. The photographs show a stable dark patina with no active rust or cracks, a few lighter mottled areas in the centre and sekigane in the central opening. The NBTHK paper, dated 2020, grades it Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu and describes the piece as 楓透鍔 (kaede-sukashi tsuba), 銘 埋忠光重 (mei Umetada Mitsushige). It comes in a wooden box.

Strong points

  • Signature 埋忠光重 (Umetada Mitsushige) accepted by the NBTHK paper
  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2020)
  • Kaede-sukashi design with ito-sukashi leaf veins
  • Inlaid twigs and plaques in zōgan on polished iron

Points to bear in mind

  • Some lighter mottled areas on the iron, possibly from an old cleaning
  • Sekigane in the central opening
  • Neither the paper nor the signature gives a precise date within the Edo period

Score breakdown

59/100

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.

  1. Maker 19 of 25 Genuine signature of a known maker or school
  2. Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 5 of 12 Late Edo (1781–1868)
  5. Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
  6. Extras 0 of 5 No complete set by the same maker and no inscribed box
  7. Price 7 of 10 Rank 68 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest