Mid-Edo period, Musashi Province, Edo
Shakudo ishime-ji marugata katakiribori kinbukurin (Circular tsuba with stone-textured surface, one-sided carving, and gold-wrapped rim made of shakudo)
Height: 77.2mm, Width: 74.4mm, Seppa-dai thickness: 5mm

Featured in “Collection of Masterpieces of Sword Fittings” Yokoya Soyo II, also known as Tomotada, was the second son of Sozu, who studied under the first Soyo and became independent. Born in 1700 (Genroku 13), he had an older brother, the first Eisei. Having grown up watching his father’s work from a young age, he acquired metalworking skills early on. Through diligent practice with his brother and fellow disciples of the Yokoya school, he became highly skilled. In 1715 (Shotoku 5), at the age of 16, he was adopted by his master Somin. He continued to hone his skills, and when Somin passed away in 1733 (Kyoho 18), he succeeded as the fourth generation head of the Yokoya family (Note 1). As Somin’s right-hand man, he devoted himself to chisel work and bore great responsibility. He inherited the Yokoya style and left behind works that could be mistaken for his master’s. Kano Natsuo, in his “Kano Natsuo Chokin-dan,” highly praised Soyo’s skills, which were heavily influenced by Somin, stating, “His chisel work is similar to Somin’s and can be called quite masterful. Some of his works can be mistaken for Somin’s, while others are clearly identified as Soyo’s own, showing some inconsistency in style. This is a point that connoisseurs should consider carefully.” At the same time, he pointed out that Soyo also attempted styles different from his master’s (Note 2). The design on this tsuba, titled “Spring Horse,” is based on the White Horse Ceremony held on January 7th at the Shishinden in the Imperial Palace to ward off evil spirits. The White Horse Ceremony later spread to the public (it was also held at Kamo Wakeikazuchi Shrine in Kyoto, Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka, Kashima Shrine in Ibaraki, etc.) and evolved into the Spring Horse Dance, which was popularly performed as a New Year’s door-to-door entertainment. As Somin also created a tsuba with the same design (as seen in the White Horse Ceremony tsuba featured in “Ginza Information” No. 327, refer to the photo below), it likely depicts the ancient historical background and traditional events. Among the skills that samurai had to possess, horsemanship and archery were considered even more important than swordsmanship. These were called “kyuba” (bow and horse), and ultimately, kyuba came to symbolize the samurai themselves. As seen in the scene of the battle for the vanguard between Sasaki Takatsuna and Kajiwara Kagesue at the Battle of Uji River, known as “Ujigawa Sakigake,” during the Genpei era, on the battlefield, being the first to charge at the enemy and claim the vanguard was proof of a warrior’s bravery. Because carelessness or inadequate equipment could lead to loss of life, horses were considered an extension of a samurai’s body. Whether galloping across fields or jumping, they would move in sync with their horses and even breathe together. Nasu no Yoichi, who shot through a fan on a distant boat at sea, was also one with his horse. However, horses were not valued solely for their use in warfare and on battlefields. In civilian life, they were indispensable for agriculture. In the Tohoku region, there was a special housing structure called “magariya” (bent house) where stables were attached to the main house, and horses were treated as if they were family members. Horses were important to both samurai and farmers alike. This is why the Spring Horse Dance flourished among the common people (Note 3). The tsuba in question is a work that features a finely textured stone-like surface on a shakudo base, employing sharp one-sided carving to depict a healthy horse and its handler from the Imperial Stables in a dynamic manner. The official’s face shows a tense expression, likely as they are about to be led into the Shishinden. One-sided carving (katakiribori) is one of the carving techniques that Master Somin excelled at and perfected. Unlike the traditional hair-carving style with little variation, this technique varies the width and depth of the carving, allowing for detailed expressions of body movements and subtle facial features. Many metalworkers since Somin have taken on this technique. It is because this katakiribori technique spread to town metalworkers that Somin is also revered as the “founder of town carving.” This work by Soyo, who directly inherited his master’s carving technique, is, as Natsuo evaluated, of a quality that could be mistaken for Somin’s work. Although it differs in that it utilizes empty space on the right side of the reverse without depicting figures and horses, the facial features and expressions of the official, the horse’s body and coat, and their movements are strikingly similar. Moreover, the power felt in the curved and incised carving edges suggests that Soyo was conscious of surpassing his master. In ancient Chinese thought, the horse was considered a yang animal, and blue was also a yang color (Note 4). As scenes of horses running free or war horses were often depicted as themes for sword fittings, in the samurai era when the vitality and divinity of horses were favored, both Somin, who composed the original design, and Soyo, who created this tsuba, likely regarded the imperial court ceremony that served as the prototype as something more sacred. The concise yet fluid descriptive lines that compose the work exude a sense of life. Note 1: Somin was thought to be the second generation, but the existence of Sochi is now assumed between the first Soyo and Somin, making Somin the third generation and Soyo II the fourth generation of the Yokoya family (according to “Collection of Masterpieces of Town-Carved Sword Fittings” by Shigeo Fukushi).
Note 2: Refer to “Collection of Masterpieces of Town-Carved Sword Fittings.”
Note 3: There is a folk custom of worshipping Oshira-sama in the Tohoku region. It is said that the relationship between the Spring Horse and Oshira-sama has been studied in recent years.
Note 4: The reason for describing blue as white is unclear.

江戸時代中期　武蔵国江戸
赤銅石目地丸形片切彫金覆輪
縦77.2mm　横74.4mm　切羽台厚さ5mm
『刀剣金工名作集』所載

横谷宗與(二代)は友貞と称し、初代宗與に学んで独立した宗壽の次男で元禄十三年の生まれ。兄に初代英精がおり、幼い頃から父の作業を見て育ったものであろう早くに金工の技術を身に付け、兄や横谷同門の弟子などとも切磋琢磨した甲斐があって技量が高く、正徳五年、十六歳の時に師宗珉の養子に迎えられている。その後も研鑽を積み、享保十八年に宗珉が没すると横谷宗家の四代目を継いでいる(注①)。
　宗珉の片腕として鏨使いに心血を注ぎ、その重責を担ったものであろう、横谷の作風を踏襲して師に紛れる作品を遺している。加納夏雄は、『加納夏雄彫金談』において、宗珉の影響を多分に受けた宗與の技量を「…鑚行きは宗珉に似て中々に名手なりと云うべし、而して其作品には宗珉と見誤れる物もあり、又純然たる宗與の作と鑑定せらるるものありて作柄一定せざる所あり、是鑑評家の一考を煩はすべき点ならん」と高く評価していると同時に、師とは異なる作風をも試みていたことを指摘している(注②)。
春駒と題されているこの鐔の図は、古くは邪気を祓うために宮中紫宸殿において正月七日に行われた白馬節会を想定して作品化したもの。白馬節会は後に民間に広まり(京の賀茂別雷神社、大阪住吉神社、茨城の鹿島神社等でも行事とされた)、さらに春駒踊に変化して正月の門付け芸として盛んに行われたものと考えられており、宗珉が同図の鐔を製作しているように(『銀座情報』三二七号掲載、白馬節会図鐔、下写真参照)、往古の時代背景と伝統的な行事を偲んで描き表したものであろう。
　武士が備えていなければならない技術には、剣術を超える位置付けで馬と弓があった。「弓馬」と呼ばれるものであり、突き詰められて弓馬は武士そのものをも意味している。
宇治川の合戦での佐々木高綱と梶原景季による先陣争いの場面『宇治川先陣』にもあるように、源平の時代、戦場では、誰よりも早く相手に切り込んでゆき、先駆けの名乗りを上げることが勇者の証であった。油断や装具の不備によっては命を落としかねないことから、武士にとって馬は自らの身体の一部であったと考えられる。野を走らせる場合はもちろん、跳躍の時も馬に合わせ、さらに呼吸を同じくしたであろう。遠く海上に揺れる小舟の扇を射抜いた那須与一も馬と一体になっていた。
だが馬は、武に徹した、戦場などでの用のみに重んじられていたわけではない。民間にあっては農耕に欠かせないことから、東北地方では曲がり家と称される母屋に接して厩を設けた特殊な構造の住居形態とされ、まさに馬が家族であるかのように大切に扱われていた。武士と農民とを分け隔てることなく、馬は重要な存在であった。それが故に民間に春駒踊が隆盛したとも言い得る(注③)。
表題の鐔は、赤銅地を細やかな石目地に仕上げ、切り込みの鋭い片切彫を駆使し、健やかに育った馬と、これを引き連れた馬寮の官人を動感豊かに彫り描いた作。この後に紫宸殿に引き出されてゆくのであろう、官人の顔も緊張感の窺える表情とされている。
片切彫は師宗珉が得意として完成させた彫技の一つ。この技法は、古伝の変化に乏しい毛彫風の彫様と異なり、彫幅や深さに強弱変化が付いているため、殊に身体の動きや微妙な顔まで細やかに表情を生み出すことから、宗珉以降は多くの金工が挑んでいる。この片切彫の技術が町彫金工に広まったが故に、宗珉が「町彫の祖」とも仰がれているのであろう。
　師の彫技をそのまま受け継いだ宗與のこの作は、夏雄の評価通り宗珉に紛れる出来。裏面の右に人物と馬を描くことなく空域を活かしているところが異なるものの、官人の顔つきや表情、馬の身体毛並み、それらの動きはもちろん酷似している。さらに屈曲して切り込まれた彫際に力が感じられ、師を超えようとする意識が備わっていたものとも思われる。
　古代中国の思想では、馬は陽の動物であり青もまた陽の色(注④)。放馬図や軍馬図が装剣小道具の題として盛んに描かれているように、馬が備えている活力と神性が好まれた武士の時代、元図を構成した宗珉も、この鐔を製作した宗與もその原型である宮中行事を題に採る上で、より神聖なるものと捉えたのであろう。作品を構成する簡潔でしかも伸びやかな描写線に生命が感じられる。

注①…宗珉は二代目とされていたが、初代宗與と宗珉の間に宗知の存在が想定され、宗珉は三代目、二代宗與は横谷家四代目となる(福士繁雄著『刀装具町彫名品聚成』 )。
注②…『刀装具町彫名品聚成』参照。
注③…東北地方にオシラサマを祀る民間習俗がある。近年、春駒とオシラサマの関係性が研究されているという。
注④…青を白と表記する理由は不明。