Page 65 - Fine Japanese Art Bonhams London May 2018

149 *
A FINELY MOUNTED MINO AIKUCHI
(SHORT SWORD)
The blade by Kanetsuna, Muromachi period
(1333-1573), late 15th century, the fittings
by Shoami Katsuyoshi (1832-1908), Meiji era
(1868-1912), dated 1875
The blade of hira-zukuri form, medium suguba
of nioi with profuse nie and a section of
notare, tight mokume-hada, the ubu nakago
with one mekugi-ana, signed Kanetsuna;
koshirae (mounting): the saya of black lacquer;
the en-suite fittings of silver, engraved in
katakiri and kebori with bamboo, the kozuka
signed Katsuyoshi with a kao, dated Meiji
hachi koyomi kinoto-i chuto kore o saku
(made in November 1875), the wari-kogai
signed Kaiguzoroi Shoami; with two silk bags.
The blade 21.5cm (8½in) long. (5). (signatures)

£15,000 - 20,000
JPY2,300,000 - 3,000,000
US$21,000 - 28,000

Accompanied by a NBTHK Hozon certificate
issued in August 2006 for the blade.

One of the greatest metalworkers of the
Meiji era, Katsuyoshi was born in Mimasaka
Province (present-day Okayama Prefecture).
He received his early training from his father
Nakagawa Katsutsugu, but was adopted
at age 18 by a local branch of the Shoami,
a dynasty of sword-fitting makers active all
over Japan, and went on to work for the
Ikeda family in Bizen Province. Although he
remained in his home district for most of his
career, he developed his practice by studying
with his older brother Nakagawa Issho, from
whom he absorbed something of the style of
Issho’s teacher, the great Goto Ichijo. With the
onset of the Meiji restoration (1867–8) and the
Haitorei edict of 1876, which proscribed the
traditional samurai privilege of wearing two
swords, Katsuyoshi lost his traditional sources
of patronage but soon became exceptionally
successful at adapting his skills to new kinds
of production including tea-ceremony utensils,
flower vases, and incense burners. He also
exhibited frequently at major domestic and
international expositions, garnering no fewer
than 28 awards. Always keen to broaden his
artistic horizons, in 1900 Shoami Katsuyoshi
finally moved to Kyoto. Pieces by Shoami
Katsuyoshi are featured in several important
collections of Meiji-era art. Among the most
famous are a silver incense burner in the form
of a caparisoned Buddhist elephant in the
Khalili Collection and a large group in Kyoto’s
Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of
each Lot please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the FINE JAPANESE ART | 63
back of the catalogue.