| This tsuba is made of well-forged iron, shaped in a round form, with four large stylized itomaki (thread spools) rendered in ji-sukashi openwork. A round rim encircles the tsuba, while slender curved sections of iron extend inward from the rim, creating a well-balanced geometric design. Without any additional decoration, its appeal lies in the blackish iron and the elegant beauty of the flowing curves formed by the openwork. Although mumei, the orderly composition of the openwork, the treatment of the round rim, and the blackish iron suggest a work of the Shoami school. In particular, Akita Shoami is known for refined ji-sukashi tsuba skillfully composed of geometric designs, and examples of “round-rimmed itomaki openwork” are known by Shoami Denbei, the first-generation Akita Shoami master. For these reasons, I am inclined to attribute this tsuba to the Akita Shoami school. |
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