| Mogarashi Soten [藻柄子宗典] was a metal worker active during mid to late Edo Period in Hikone, Omi Province. He specialized in subjects such as historical figures in Japan and China, dragons, flowers and birds. He developed a unique style using techniques of rich carved ground openwork and high carved inlay color gilding, which made him very popular. This tsuba depicts the Showing Special Courtesy to Persuade to Take a Post by probably the Mogarashi Soten school. During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei Xuande of Shu personally visited Zhuge Kongming, who had retired to a hermitage to escape the war-torn world, three times to persuade him. The scene shows Liu Bei and his confidants Guan Yu and Zhang Fei heading to Kongming's hermitage. Moved by Liu Bei's enthusiasm, Zhuge Kongming lived up to expectations as Liu Bei's military strategist. The reverse side is interesting as it depicts a horse-mounted Samurai warrior in a different scene. |
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