Tsuba: Umetada “Budō-mon no tsuba”
Signature/mei: Umetada
Material: shakudō ground, various soft metals
Era/jidai: Edo
Dimension(h/w/rim): 66.8 x 61.1 x 4.1 mm
Custom made box with cushion
NBTHK: Tokubetsu Hozon (2022)
Price: €9375 / $10350 / ¥1500000
About the Umetada School
The Umetada School has existed since the end of the Muromachi period and has worked for the Ashikaga Shogun’s family for several generations. The Umetada masters were very versatile; In addition to swords, they also made habaki, seppa, fuchi kashira and tsuba. The Umetada were also responsible for shortening blades and creating kin-zogan signatures, as well as engraving Horimono.
Menuki, kogai and kozuka are not known from the Umetada, which is mainly because the masters of the Goto school were commissioned with this work.
The design “Budō-mon no zu tsuba” translates to “tsuba with the design of grapevines”, a design, for which some artist of the Umetada school are famous for. A tsuba with a similar design “Budō ni kochō-mon no zu tsuba” (see comparison 1) by Umetada Myōju is even designated as jūyō-bunkazai. Both tsuba have nearly the same size and are made from a polished shakudō plate, in which the grapes are inlaid in a technique called hirā-zōgan.
The shape of the tsuba is tatemaru-gata (oval) with a fukurin (rim) made also from shakudō.
The tsuba has one hitsu-ana and some sukashi elements. Umetada tsuba are known to have sukashi elements, particular also for this design, for example as the ito-sukashi on the tsuba in comparison 4.
The sukashi on the presented tsuba are placed very delicately below the hitsu ana and underline the design very tastefully. A true masterpiece with the signature “Umetada”.
(Please also note this tsuba by Umetada Shigeyoshi.)
Tsuba comparison 1:
“Budō ni kochō-mon no zu tsuba”
Designated as jūyō-bunkazai and signed “Umeta Myōju”
futatsū-mokkōgata, polished shakudō, hira-zōgan, iroe, dote-mimi, one hitsu-ana
Figure taken from “Tosogu Classroom” by Fukushi Shigeo
Tsuba comparison 1:
“Budō ni kochō-mon no zu tsuba”
Figure taken from “Tosogu Classroom” by Fukushi Shigeo
Tsuba comparison 2:
“Budō-mon no zu tsuba”
Signed “Umetada Shichiza”
Early Edo period (1624-1644)
Very simlar to the presented tsuba, but without sukashi and in futatsū-mokkōgata
Figure taken from “Tosogu no Kansho II”
Tsuba comparison 2:
“Budō-mon no zu tsuba”
Figure taken from “Tosogu no Kansho II”
Tsuba comparison 3:
“Budō-mon no zu tsuba”
Signed “Umeta Myōju”
futatsū-mokkōgata, polished suaka, hira-zōgan, iroe, dote-mimi, one hitsu-ana
Simlar to the jūyō-bunkazai tsuba shown above but in suaka instead of shakudō
Figure taken from “Tosogu Classroom” by Fukushi Shigeo
Tsuba comparison 3:
“Budō-mon no zu tsuba”
Figure taken from “Tosogu Classroom” by Fukushi Shigeo
Tsuba comparison 4:
“Budō-dana ni budō no zu tsuba”
Signed “Umeta Shichizaemon Tachibana Shigeyoshi saku”
tatemaru-gata, polished shakudō, ito-sukashi, hira-zōgan, iroe, shakudō-fukurin, two hitsu-ana
Figure taken from “Tosogu Classroom” by Fukushi Shigeo
