JAPAN - SHOWA period (1926 - 1989) - Lot 215

JAPAN - SHOWA period (1926 - 1989) Openwork iron maru gata in kage-sukashi of the face of kabuki actor Mitsugoro VII and dedicated to the actor near the seppadai. The mimi is extra thick. Signed Tadao (Seiryûken Hidenobu) and inscribed Mitsugoro VII. H. 9.5 cm This tsuba is a portrait of Morita Jusaku (1882-1961), the famous kabuki actor known as Bando Mitsugoro VII from 1906. Such was his talent that he was nicknamed "Odori no kamisama", the god of dance. Some prints and photographs attest to the resemblance of the period. Featured in the exhibition Samurai. Guerriers et esthètes, Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire, Strasbourg, March 11 - July 13, 2022, and is reproduced in the exhibition catalog, no. 116, p. 131. Reproduced in Patrick Liebermann, Tsuba. Itinéraires d'une collection, 2016, n°86, p.132