Jakushi Tsuba
TS0582
sold
A tsuba signed Kiyo (Nagasaki) Jakushi. The style of cutting the signature is characteristic of the later Nagami family Jakushi artists, like Koremitu or Koretaka. 7.5 cm x 7 cm x 7.4 mm. Very fine iron, good color and condition. The kozukana is filled with a deep blue black shakudo sekigane.
James McElhinney wrote: There is a possible Obaku influence. Ming-Qing style landscape image. The design which is based on the precepts of Chinese Nanga (southern picture) landscape painting embodied in The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting published in 1679 and again in 1701, which was based on the teachings of the late Ming painter Li-Liufang. The book was published in Japan and was very influential in transmitting Nanga principles to Japanese art.
Obaku Zen Buddhism had been established by Yinyuan Longqi, aka Ingen Ryuki, who had arrived in Nagasaki in 1654. Yinyuan was an accomplished calligrapher who inscribed paintings by Kawamura Jakushi, Watanabe Shuseki, and others. On land given to him by Tokugawa Iyetsuna, Yinyuan established Manpuku-ji themple on mount Obaku in Uji. The new Zen sect grew in popularity, promoting the way of Sencha (steeped tea), Chinese art, culture, and medicine. While the maker of this tsuba is yet to be identified, it embodies Nanga values and aesthetics. $600