159. AN EXCEPTIONAL NAMIKI MAKI-E LACQUER PEN DECORATED WITH TSUBA AND SAKURA
Japanese, mid-1920s The red maki-e raden ground inlad with iridescent aogai shell and decorated with sakura blossom, five different tsuba (sword-guards) in high relief using a variety of maki-e and lacquer techniques, a red seal kao hidden amongst the decoration of the fifth, with Namiki 6 14k nib, a masterpiece in superb condition, and a large size.
est. £10000 – £20000
In the Japan of the past it was often said that the sword was the soul of the samurai. Only the samurai and certain specially designated people were permitted by law to wear swords. When they put on their weapons, they did so in such a way that the tsuba (sword guard) came almost exactly in the centre of the body. Consequently the tsuba not only ornamented the sword, but also served a similar function for the man himself. It added much to the samurai's dignity and symbolised his personality, education and family background. Because of this aspect of the sword guard it is only natural that great care and attention went into its design. On the other hand, such attention lavished on something that is fundamentally a warrior's weapon is surprising. Among the various types of sword guards those with open-work designs, or sukashi-tsuba, are the simplest and most typical of both the samurai and of Japan, and, although they are small, their designs are highly sophisticated. (1)
Tsuba are commonly divided into two types; tetsu made largely from iron, and kinko made from 'soft metal' copper or brass alloys with gold, silver, zinc, lead and other metals. Both types can have the extensive cut-out designs of sukashi, the design depicted in either 'positive' or 'negative' silhouette. They can also have a variety of carved or applied decoration using the great variety of metalworking techniques perfected in Japan.
The making of open-work sword-guards began in the second half of the fourteenth century and continued until the imperial edict forbidding the use of swords was promulgated in 1871. Close combat and infantry fighting grew common during the early and middle Muromachi periods in Japan (1339-1477), a period of devastating civil wars and the breakdown of central government. High-class warriors came to prefer a shorter and lighter sword that could be wielded with greater speed and used for surprise attacks, and famous swordsmiths began forging blades for leading members of the military class. Naturally the mountings had to be of a similar quality since they symbolised the prestige and the power of the samurai wielding the weapon; and as the demand for speed increased, sword mountings had to be made lighter. Although it is true that piercing and open-work guards are fundamentally ornamental, it may be that they arose from the necessity to reduce the weight of the sword. (2) Swords at this time were wielded one-handed, although over the following centuries changes in the way of the warrior, both tactically and under the influence of Zen, and later Confucius, alongside changes in the society and structure of Japan, all played their part in influencing the continually evolving designs of swords, sword furniture, and of course, tsuba.
Both lacquer artists and sword-guard makers share common elements of this long history. The production of sword furniture is to the Japanese a miniature art which equals that of miniature lacquer work in artistic creativity, and the soken-shi, a special class or artisan, had developed independently from the sword blade forgers to make sword fittings and guards. Occasionally ornamental lacquer objects, such as inro, were made in conjunction with the lacquer artists. Their combined talents enabled lacquer to decorate a metal surface, and a metal to be encrusted into a lacquer surface; (3) whilst the two groups of artisans came to understand the techniques that each employed.
Among the many disciplines a lacquer artist needs to master are the variety of techniques that enable lacquer to imitate texture, textiles and natural materials, from cloth and leather to bark and stone. Of these, sabiji is the name for the technique imitating metals. Occasionally, purely for decorative purposes, tsuba and kozuka were made entirely of lacquer simulating the various types of metal and metal grounds. Quite often large lacquer storage boxes were decorated in takamaki-e with such imitation tsuba, which gave the appearance of actual tsuba embedded into the lacquer ground. (4)
These tsuba-decorated storage boxes are one of the likely inspirations for lacquer design on this pen, albeit with the tsuba reduced to a miniature scale and with the added complexity of needing to be wrapped around a curved surface.
The tsuba on this perfect miniature work of art are so highly detailed, so lifelike, that it seems as if the master maki-e artist had them on his desk as he worked on the pen, conveying the physical presence of three-dimensional objects in a fashion so realistic that could never be emulated on paper or by a drawing. Their designs date to the Momoyama (1573-1615) and Edo (1616-1867) periods, the 250 years of peace and stability that followed the establishment of the Tokogawa shogunate in 1603. Peace brought a shift in the way of the warrior as the samurai class shed their self-centred attitudes arising from the Japanese interpretation of Zen, and adopted the teachings of Confucius as more suitable for the unification of the nation. This was reflected in both tsuba design and iconography; iron open-work guards reflecting the ideals of the samurai as a gentleman and Confucian sage, the more elaborately ornamented kinko guards representing the samurai as the eulogist of peace. (5)
The choice of five different tsuba is unlikely to be a coincidence; Japanese culture having various superstitions surrounding such abstractions as numbers. In general, odd numbers are considered good omens and are lucky, they also represent the yo or male principle. Five is considered as especially auspicious number as it represents the five basic elements. The tsuba on this pen are as follows:
1 ~ Stream and Waterplant:
At the top of the cap is a conventional round, or rounded oval, maru-gata shape tsuba, with a thick silver-coloured rounded raised rim of the form known as wa mimi. It is an excellent design and well composed: The hira, or flat body, is decorated in black and silver with a meandering stream and waterplants; on the left a large, ribbed lotus leaf and, on the right, the arched flower-bearing bracts of shogungusa (water plantain). Gold hiramaki-e is used for sword-shaped blades of the waterplants. The central seppa-dai, which surrounds a sharply tapered nakago-ana, or hole for the tang of the sword-blade, is depicted in nashiji with a slightly raised outline, and flanked by two hitsu-ana, a half-quatrefoil shape for the kogai (a small pointed implement used by warriors for a number of personal functions) and a half-moon shape for the kozuka, another accessory.
The lotus is a variety of water lily, which grows and thrives in shallow, muddy ponds. The major symbolic symbol of the lotus is purity; a plant unsullied by its muddy environment, its strength likened to a virtuous man who rises above his sordid surroundings and remains pure. The quiet waters of the running brook, along whose shores flowers grow in abundance symbolises a calm, contented life which, like the twisting contours of the brook, avoids most obstacles by diverting from the straight path and going gracefully around them. Combined, they are likely to symbolise the samurai and the new-found harmony in Japan.
2 ~ Eight Squares:
At the bottom of the cap is a four-lobed, or quatrefoil, mokko-gata shape tsuba, sometimes regarded by collectors as a better for mounting on a sword than the maru-gata; however the small number of extant guards in this quatrefoil shape suggest that it has never been as popular. (6) The hira has ko-sukashi, or limited openwork, with eight square openings arranged as a pair in each of the lobes, their geometric rhythm offset by the surrounding oki-hirame mosaic of irregular gold flakes. Sabiji, a lacquer technique imitating ironwork, is used on the borders surrounding each of the squares and also for the thick raised rim with rounded edges known as dote mimi. The seppa-dai is depicted in a deliberately dulled tsuya-keshi variation of nashiji.
Eight is an auspicious number and, since samurai were apparently strong believers in luck and portents, may be regarded as a symbol of good luck. It is possible that this tsuba design may therefore belong to the Muromachi period, as much as to the Edo.
3 ~ Chrysanthemum:
On the cap-end of the barrel is a traditional rounded-square kaku-gata shape tsuba, decorated with both sukashi and carved or inlaid work. The hira is composed of three large chrysanthemums depicted in kage-sukashi, (where only an outline remains through the use of negative silhouetting within positive silhouetting) and panels of ten-petal flowers. These round petals, skilfully worked with inlaid silver leaves, not only resemble perfect miniature flowers, but also recreate the effect of decorative metalworking, providing contrast with the openwork that surrounds it. The maru mimi, or flat, round-cornered, rim serves to enhance this contrast; the outline of the kage-sukashi chrysanthemum form an integral part of the rim, which also acts as a border, delineating the space occupied by the smaller flowers. This graceful tsuba has a seppa-dai depicted in nashiji similar to the first, however the nagako-ana has parallel sides.
The chrysanthemum has been used to represent the peace brought to Japan, and the Confucian ideals of the Samurai during the Edo-period. The three large sukashi half-chrysanthemums resemble the rays of the rising sun appearing over the edge of the guard and therefore have great significance in the eyes of Japanese people whose ancient culture stressed sun-worship; the smaller chrysanthemum flowers symbolise peace and nobility and, as they never loose their petals, also stand for long life and consistency.
4 ~ Crane
The middle sukashi tsuba on the barrel is the iconic Tsurumaru design of a crane with wings outstretched to form a circle, made famous by the master sword-guard maker Hayashi Matasichi (1608-91). Known as either 'Crane Circle' or 'Dancing Crane', this displays the characteristic delicate open work, lofty designs, and gentle dignity that has lead Hayashi-school works to be regarded as one of the flowers of open-work design. (7) The seppa-dai is incorporated as the body of a Manchurian red cap crane seen in yo-sukashi (positive silhouette), decorated in oki-hirame and with an iridescent aogai eye; the wings of the bird are outlined in kage-sukashi and their beautiful stylised design forms the hira and gives shape to the gently indented curves of the flat maru mimi rim. This is the only guard of the five that does not have hitsu-ana.
The iconography of the crane is especially apt for a warrior, as it symbolises not only loyalty or constancy (the crane is a monogamous bird) but also longevity, or good life. The maki-e master who created this pen must surely have appreciated the significance of the positioning of this tsuba; a work of beauty placed in the middle of the pen, just as just as sword-guard rests against the middle of the Samurai.
5 ~ Flowering Plum with Waves and Crescent Moon:
Nearest the post on the barrel is an unusual five-lobed, or cinqfoil, gomokko-gata shape tsuba. Stylised billowing waves in a gold kage-sukashi fill one third of the hira, whilst braches of prunus with gold, silver and aogai plum flowers are placed on a nashiji ground cut with a crescent moon in yo-sukashi. This tsuba also has a flat maru mimi rim and the seppa-dai is depicted in a deliberately dulled tsuya-keshi variation of nashiji. This is a particularly charming sword-guard, and one where the large 'solid' area of the prunus bushes has enabled the artist to use a greater variety of maki-e techniques than on the other guards adorning this pen.
The tsuba is rich in symbolism, drawn both from the natural elements and from nature. The stylised waves are one of the five elements and represent water, the giver of life; the crescent moon is the mirror image of the arches of the waves and symbolises the end of life, to be viewed with regret. Between the two are flowering branches of plum, the ancient, twisted blossoming tree branch symbolic of strength, endurance and old age.
The lacquerwork on this pen is extraordinary. The choice of a red background is itself unusual, a statement of intent, burnished and inlaid with iridescent shell in the raden technique, with a gold and black panel under the lever. The background is decorated with gold sakura (cherry) blossom, the stamens of the flowers highlighted in red, the buds at the back in green. The choice of sakura is an appropriate accompaniment to the sword-guards, as cherry is the national flower of Japan. The tsuba themselves are made using a variety of raised lacquer techniques, both to give height and to provide borders for further decorative effects. The designs of each tsuba has been achieved using different techniques of sprinkled lacquers and metal powders, gold and silver inlay, burnishing and lacquering, the complexity enhanced by a different combination of techniques for each of the tsuba. In all, possibly as many as twenty different lacquer techniques were required to create the design of this pen in a breathtaking display, a virtual masterclass in the skills of one of Japan's finest maki-e artists.
The use of tsuba as a decorative motif on this pen is extremely unusual, indeed almost unique (only the Dunhill museum has another example, and that is on a black C-grade pen with four simple tsuba). This is surprising as the two 'industrial arts' native to Japan are metalwork and lacquerwork, and a combination of the two would encapsulate Japanese traditional culture in a 'portable Japan'.
However, during the 1920s and 1930s, there was the growth of what would now be termed a 'modernising' movement amongst the expanding artistic community of Japan. Where art was once state-sponsored and state-structured, stressing the traditional aspects of Japan, the new movement sought to place individual artistic expression over claims of national identity.
The earliest Namiki works, of which this is an outstanding example, are frequently higher quality than those made during the late 1920s and 1930s. Their themes are drawn from Japanese history and culture, their artists' sense of national identity evident in the choice of the name Kokko-kai for their lacquerworkers guild. Kokko-kai literally means "Light of the Nation" and can be interpreted to mean that lacquer work adds brightness to the nation. Significantly, there is also a second, parallel, interpretation: Namiki is a light shining out from Japan, a beacon showing the whole world the glory of Japanese art and culture through her lacquer. The tsuba-design pen must be seen in this second context; the highest possible standard of Japanese lacquer art performing an ambassadorial role for the nation's art, culture and history.
Surprising though it may seem, the fact that this pen is not fully signed indicates that it was a very special work. As Julia Hutt & Stephen Overbury and Tomihiro Murakami have observed in their books on Namiki, special commissions, custom made pens and prototypes are among the articles that seem not to have signatures. Indeed, of the works attributed to Matsuda himself, none are signed, and this present pen is certainly of the same quality. It is, without a doubt, one of the finest Namiki pens ever to have been offered for sale.
Literature :
Masayuki Sasano: “Early Japanese Sword Guards - Sukashi Tsuba" Robert G Sawers, London, 1974
Melvin and Betty Jahss "Inro and Other Miniature Forms of Japanese Lacquer Art " Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., London, n.d.
Tomihiro Murakami: "Dunhill-Namiki and Lacquer Pens" Shibunkan/Battersea Pen Home, 2000
Julia Hutt and Stephen Overbury "Namiki, The Art of Japanese Lacquer Pens" Pens Unlimited, 2000.
Notes:
(1) Sasano, ppix-x
(2) Sasano, p7
(3) Jahss, p135
(4) Jahss, p130
(5) Sasano, p10
(6) Sasano, p282
(7) Sasano, p229