Amida Yasuri no Zu 阿弥陀鑢図

Mumei tetsu ita tsuba attributed to Futagoyama Norisuke by the NBTHK 無銘 鉄板鍔 二子山則亮. This tsuba would date to the Bakamatsu period 幕末時代. Mokko gata 木瓜形, tetsu ji 鉄地 construction, this is very nice iron and is well forged with a dark and glossy patina. The mimi is Kan mimi kaku ko niku 環耳肉小角 (meaning a ringed square mimi with a small roundness). It is large and powerful and the iron is smooth and while giving the appearance of being a fukurin, is in fact masterfully carved from the iron plate. There are two hitsu ana (ryohitsu shitate 両櫃仕立) and both hitsu are filled with shakudo atagane 赤銅当金 that are finished with a very fine ishime 石目.

In regards to the theme, the motif is Amida Yasuri no Zu 阿弥陀鑢図. The radiating lines presented are cut from the centre out and this design has a strong Buddhist connection. Amida is another name for Buddha and this design represents Buddha’s aura radiating out to the world. These lines are extremely fine and are almost unditectable with the touch of the hand. The Norisuke masters were renound for making accurate copies of Yamakeichibei, Yagyu and other early Edo period works, but they also created their own design tsuba which were of a very high standard.

The Kan mimi (ringed rim) was common with both Niwa Norisuke 丹羽則亮 (shodai) and Iwata Norisuke 岩田則亮 (nidai) though in the book Futagoyama Norisuke Ko 二子山則亮考 by the NBTHK Nagoya branch there seems to be a leaning of this particluar variation to the shodai. With the theme of Yasuri though, this was very popular with the 2nd, and started larger and rougher at first, and becoming more refined as time went on.

In regards to these Owari artists, there are both a first and second generation using the same Norisuke signature. The first generation has the surname Niwa, and the second generation’s surname is Iwata and together, they are unique among the Bishu kinko of the Bakumatsu period. There are a large number of their products extant.

The first generation Norisuke was known by the personal names Jihei, Jihachiro and Jirouemon. He was born in the second year of Tenmei (1782), and he died at the age of 71 on the 17th of April, the fifth year of Kaei (1852) He was renound for his copies and forgeries of Nobuie, Yamakeichibei, Yagu and others with many close to their originals. He was also a masterful artist in his own right.

The surname of second generation Norisuke is Iwata, and his family name before that was Ito. He was known by the personal names Seisuke and Seibei. He was a student of first generation Norisuke, and he succeeded to the family as the second generation in December the fourth year of Kaei (1851) at the age of 35 at which time he inherited the name Jihei. He was born during the 14th year of Bunkyu (1817), and died at the age of 67 on the 22nd of June, the 16th year of Meiji (1883).

The dimmensions are 76mm x 69mm x 2mm (nagago ana) and 5mm (mimi)

Thank you for reading.

Richard