Shakudo tsuba by Ichijio School with NBTHK Hozon Tosogu. Gotō Ichijiō was one of the greatest tosogu artist in Japanese history. While being part of a Gotō family he created his own distinctive style that was passed to his students. This type of snowflake tsuba was one of his iconic images. There are many signed and unsigned examples of very similar works.   

Gotō Ichijiō was born in 1791 as a son of Gotō Jūjō, 4th generation master of Shichirōemon line (side line of Gotō family). Due to his superb craftsmanship in 1805 he was appointed as a new successor to Hachirōbei line (side line of Gotō family). In 1862 he received an order for tachi koshirae from Emperor Kōmei, for which he was promoted to the rank of Hōgen in 1863. He died in 1876 at the age of 86.

This tsuba showcase many of Ichijō School major characteristics. It is made of blue coloured shakudo with polished ground, that has been altered with very small ground surface finish. In this particular case there are 3 distinctive sizes of the ground finish. From very small that is almost invisible, through medium size to large one that creates visual effect equal to snowflakes. Raised rim is another characteristic often seen on Ichijō School tsuba.

This particular piece unfortunately has some damages to it. There are deep scratches on the upper left side of the back and damages on the rim. Those were made long ago and patina is not damaged in those places. Mostly on and around seppa dai there are very small screeches made recently, probably in a very unprofessional attempt to clean it. Those new scratches did not remove the patina, so there are no spots where unpatineted shakudo is visible. 

This tsuba is more glossy than other of this type I have seen. I do not know the reason for it, however it is not covered with lacquers or oils. 

Made in 19th century. 

Size: 79 mm x 73 mm 

In custom made kiri box.