| This work is a Tanke (Dānxi) Scene tsuba by Tamagawa Yoshihisa. The design is based on the famous episode from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in which the hero Liu Bei, fleeing from a plot against him, was driven to the Tanke River and escaped danger by leaping across the raging torrent on his beloved horse, Dilu. The rushing waters of Tanke and the tense figure of Liu Bei mounted on Dilu are rendered in usuniku-bori and shishiai-bori. Gold and silver inlay and iroe provide striking accents and bring definition to the overall composition. The carving extends even onto the rim of the tsuba, demonstrating the meticulous workmanship devoted to this piece. The artist, Tamagawa Yoshihisa, belonged to a distinguished line of Mito metalworkers that continued for six generations from the late Edo period into the Meiji era. The first Yoshihisa studied initially under Tamagawa Joju and later under Yatabe Michitoshi, and founded the Tamagawa school. Successive generations of the Tamagawa family were active in Mito and served as official metalworkers to the Mito domain, establishing the Tamagawa school as one of the leading traditions of Mito metalwork. Based on the kao, this work is by the second-generation Yoshihisa, the son of the first generation. He succeeded to the name Yoshihisa after his father’s death and passed away in Tenpo 6 (1835) at the age of 57. This tsuba passed Hozon Tosogu Shinsa in 1984. |
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