A beautiful shakudo Tsuba by Uchikoshi Hiromitsu. The scenery is beautifully worked in shakudo, shibuichi, gold and copper with excellent detail and three-dimensionality.
The motif is taken from the Buddhist Oxherding pictures, here showing the fifth stage ‘Taming the Ox’, combined with a dragonfly.
In ‘Taming the Ox’, the seeker begins to guide the ox with discipline and effort. Though the ox resists, there is growing harmony between mind and nature.
In Japanese art, the dragonfly symbolizes courage, transformation, and clarity. In this context, it may represent the seeker’s growing focus and the inner change unfolding through disciplined practice.
A fine work from late Edo times in great condition.