Rinsendo Mitsumasa Kozuka
臨川堂充昌
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
日本美術刀剣保存協会 特別保存刀装具
Dimensions;98.0mm (l),9.8mm (w), 5.0mm (t)
A wonderful shibuichi kozuka by Rinsendo Mitsumasa. This example shows Mistumasa's skill at katakiribori. Rinsendo Mitsumasa is a highly regarded maker. He is ranked at the Yuko level (優工) by Wakayama. The theme is children playing and dancing to music. The design has great movement. The skillful use of negative space and figure size create depth in the scene.
Mitsumasa was born in 1721 and lived in Kunitomo. His civilian name was Tsuji Genzaemon. He later changed his first name to Tanji. His brother was active as a gunsmith and it is assumed that this was also Mitsumasa's profession until he switched to making tosogu. Mitsumasa studied in Edo under the 2nd generation Yokoya Soyo and also studied in Nara. A trait of Mitsumasa was to inlay his craftsman name. In the case of this work, he inlayed his kao in gold. He passed away in 1777 at the age of 56.
Accompanied by a custom fitted kiri-bako and a NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper.
$1900
