| Chokaku was a metalworker of the Aizu Shoami school. According to tradition, he was Shoami Nobushige, one of the craftsmen who moved from Iyo Province to Aizu when Kato Yoshiaki was transferred there in Kan'ei 4 (1627). This tsuba is made of beautifully finished polished shakudo with an excellent color and luster. The omote side is simply decorated with a small boat and seven birds flying through the air, delicately rendered in kebori (fine-line engraving), while the ura side is plain. Made entirely of shakudo without any decorative inlay or contrasting metals, this mu-shaku tsuba may have been mounted on a sword worn on formal occasions. Judging from the delicate style of the signature and the fine-line engraving, this tsuba is thought to be a work from Chokaku's later years, dating to around the Genroku era (1688–1704) of the middle Edo period. In 2014, this tsuba passed the NBTHK Hozon Tosogu shinsa. |
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