Kantei

NH-0811 Rank 130

Tsuba · Yoshimichi

美道 (Yoshimichi)

Polished shibuichi tsuba signed 美道 (Yoshimichi) of Mito, depicting the battle of Ishibashiyama in high relief with coloured inlays. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

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

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Upright round tsuba, signed 美道 (Yoshimichi) beside the central opening. The biography quoted by the original seller identifies the maker as Hida Yoshimichi, a craftsman of Mito in Hitachi province, active in the late Edo period. The subject is an episode from the battle of Ishibashiyama (1180): the defeated Minamoto no Yoritomo and his men hide in a cave while their pursuers pass by. On the front, armoured warriors peer out from the rocks, with faces of copper and shakudō and gilded armour, beneath leaves of shakudō and gold, with a silver bird in flight and bamboo in gold and silver. The back shows a pine with a copper trunk, a waterfall scattered with gold and more bamboo. The paper describes the work as 四分一磨地 (shibuichi migaki-ji), 鋤出高彫 (sukidashi takabori) and 象嵌色絵 (zōgan iroe). The original seller states that the figures in the cave move by means of a mechanism; the photographs cannot confirm this. The photographs show the inlays complete, with no cracks or rust. They also show a rubbed halo around the seppa-dai, some patina spotting on the back and a small nick on the rim. The central opening carries white-metal fillers (sekigane). NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper no. 2007638, dated 14 July 2021, confirming the signature.

Strong points

  • Signature 美道 (Yoshimichi) confirmed by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper
  • Narrative scene of the battle of Ishibashiyama across both faces
  • Polished shibuichi with high relief and inlays of gold, silver, copper and shakudō
  • Finely carved warrior figures with faces in different metals

Points to bear in mind

  • The moving-figure mechanism is stated by the original seller and cannot be verified in the photographs
  • Patina spotting on the back and a rubbed halo around the seppa-dai
  • Small nick on the rim
  • White-metal sekigane in the central opening

Score breakdown

59.5/100

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 15 of 20 Notable 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 2.5 of 10 Rank 171 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest