Kantei

NH-0997 Rank 285

Tsuba · Hayashi

An iron Higo tsuba pierced with cherry blossoms and scattered with gold-inlaid karakusa scrolls, attributed to the Hayashi school by an NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.

TsubaMid-Edo (1688–1781)Mid-Edo period (18th century)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

An unsigned (mumei) iron tsuba of tatemarugata form (round, slightly taller than wide) with a marumimi rim, attributed to the Hayashi school of Higo, one of the four great metalworking families of that province together with the Hirata, Nishigaki and Shimizu. The design, ōka-sukashi karakusa-chirashi-zu, combines negative openwork (ji-sukashi) of cherry blossoms around the central opening with small karakusa tendrils inlaid in gold and scattered over both faces. According to the original seller it measures 7.89 × 7.51 cm, 0.82 cm at the seppa-dai, and weighs 141 g. The photographs show iron with a granular surface and a dark, stable patina, free of red rust, with the gold firmly seated; the central opening is fitted with sekigane. The NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper, dated 10 October 2023, records it as mumei and attributes it to Hayashi. The piece is illustrated in Torigoe Kazutarō's Tsuba Kanshōki and comes with a wooden box bearing a handwritten inscription on the lid (hakogaki).

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu paper (2023)
  • Hayashi school, one of the four great metalworking families of Higo
  • Cherry-blossom openwork with gold-inlaid karakusa scrolls
  • Published in Torigoe Kazutarō's Tsuba Kanshōki
  • Wooden box with hakogaki

Points to bear in mind

  • Unsigned: the paper attributes it to the Hayashi school without naming a specific master.
  • The Tsuba Kanshōki plate catalogues it as third-generation Nishigaki work of the mid-Edo period; the later paper attributes it to Hayashi. The dating is taken from that publication.
  • A few isolated gold strokes may reflect small losses to the inlay.
  • The box inscription has not been fully read and its author has not been identified.

Score breakdown

51.1/100

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 9 of 25 Attributed to a school only
  2. Workmanship 10 of 20 Good work
  3. Condition 14 of 18 Good condition
  4. Period 7 of 12 Mid-Edo (1688–1781)
  5. Paper 4 of 10 NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu
  6. Extras 2 of 5 Adds: box inscribed by an expert (hakogaki)
  7. Price 5.1 of 10 Rank 112 of 228 by price among pieces of its type, from the most affordable to the dearest