江戸後期　長門国萩
鉄地角丸形高彫
縦七六･五㍉　
横七〇･四㍉　
切羽台厚さ四･八㍉　
特製落込桐箱入
特別保存刀装具鑑定書

Late Edo
Hagi, Nagato province
Iron
Height : 76.5mm Width : 70.4mm
Thickness at seppadai : 4.8mm
Special Kiri box
Tokubetsu-hozon
​音声解説

The Chōshū school of tsuba makers is distinguished by its precise compositional treatment of botanical subjects, rendered in exquisitely refined and meticulously executed high relief. Isobe (Iobe) Yukimitsu, also known as Gennojū, was a master craftsman who left dated works from the Bunkyū to Keiō eras (1861–1868).

This piece is an outstanding example of compositional beauty, skillfully combining plants that color the fields from late summer into early autumn, arranged with the sensitivity of ikebana. Each element is carved in bold relief against a smoothly finished, flat ground, with the edges of the design rising sharply to give the flowers striking clarity. The leaf veins are rendered through fine line carving, achieving a heightened realism.

Even without the use of colored metals, the work conveys a strong sense of color, demonstrating the artist’s consummate command of form and surface.

　長州鐔工は植物の図を正確な構成で精巧緻密な高彫表現とするを特徴とした。磯部(五十部)幸光は源之充と称し、文久から慶応の年紀作を遺す名手。本作は、晩夏から初秋にかけて野を彩る植物を生け花のように巧みに組み合わせた、構成美に優れた作。いずれも肉高く彫り出して地を平坦に仕上げ、図の際を切り立つように仕立て花々をくっきりとさせ、微細な筋彫で葉脈を彫り表わし写実美を極めている。色金を用いなくても色彩が感じられる作品である。