| This tsuba, featuring a heron among reeds, has been attributed to the Hoan school. The reeds and heron in a waterside setting are rendered in shallow relief carving on an iron ground treated with yakite-kusarakashi (heat treatment and controlled corrosion). The first-generation Hoan was one of the Owari tsuba makers and is said to have been a disciple of Nobuie. He served Asano Danjo as a tsuba maker and accompanied his lord's transfers from Owari to Kai and later to Kii Province, continuing to produce tsuba. In his later years, he entered Buddhist religious life and adopted the name Hoan. He passed away in Keicho 18 (1613). From the second generation onward, his successors inherited Hoan as their family name. This tsuba displays a subdued, dark-toned iron surface with a rustic and refined character. The tsuba passed the NBTHK Hozon Tosogu shinsa in 2013, with an attribution to the Hoan school. |
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