| Nakagawa Itteki [中川一的] was born in Tsuyama, Mimasaka Province in 1835. His early name was Katsuyoshi [勝好] and Katsutaka [勝敬]. His elder brothers were Nakagawa Issho [中川一匠] and Shoami Katsuyoshi [正阿弥勝義]. In 1861, through discussion among his father and brothers, he became the successor to the Nakagawa lineage, inheriting the 9th and becoming an official craftsman by the Matsudaira family of Tsuyama Domain. In the Meiji period, through the intermediation of his older brother Issyo, he became a disciple of Goto Ichijo [後藤一乗], and was allowed to use his master's character and take the name Itteki [一的]. He was skilled in the Ichijo school's leading styles of kebori, kou-sukibori, and flat inlay. This tsuba is a beautiful piece with the nakago-hitsu-ana hole still intact. A plum tree was skillfully carved using kou-sukibori technique. It has passed the Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu shinsa in 2024. |
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