Mitokoromono by Goto Teijo

9th Mainline Shirobei Master
with Origami by Goto Hojo

The Goto school is preeminent in the history of sword fittings. With the establishment of the first generation, Goto Yujo to work for the Ashikaga Shogun, Yoshimasa, the hereditary mainline continued for another 16 generations until the end of the Edo period. This service to the Shogunate was also somewhat hereditary as Yujo was in the service of Ashikaga Yoshimasa and when the Ashikaga fell from power, the Goto family then turned to work for Oda Nobunaga when he had conquered more provinces of Japan. Power again transferred from Nobunaga to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, thus the Goto once again shifted their service. With the subsequent defeat of Hideyoshi and consolidation of power by the Tokugawa clan, the Goto were left in a precarious position, but were accepted as craftsmen to the Shogunate via the delicate and nimble negotiations of Goto Chojo.

Goto Teijo

Teijo was born in 1603. His civilian adult name was Mitsumasa (光昌), and also he went by Mitsutada (光伊). He was the oldest son of Goto Kenjo, the seventh mainline master. Kenjo had split his work locations between Kyoto, and Kaga province, and his cousin, Kakujo, also worked for the Maeda Daimyo of Kaga province. Teijo moved to Kaga at the invitation of Kakujo and was eventually retained by Maeda Toshitsune who provided him a mansion in Kanazawa. The origins of what we see as “Kaga Goto” works flow from Kenjo, Kakujo, and Teijo working under the Maeda clan. As a mainline master, Teijo also was directly employed by the fourth Tokugawa Shogun, Ietsuna.

Teijo was actually not slated to be the 9^th master of the school. His cousin, Sokujo (see my other listing for a Sokujo work) was the 8^th master and it was his son that was the legacy. However, Sokujo died at the very young age of 32, leaving his 4 year old son far too young to assume the head of the school. Teijo assumed the position of 9^th mainline master and took the boy who would eventually become Goto Renjo, the 10^th mainline master, into his care. Although Teijo and Renjo are cited in some sources as “uncle” and “nephew” respectively, in following the genealogy Renjo was actually Teijo’s first cousin once removed. The developmental years of Renjo’s life were placed in Teijo’s hands and in 1646, Teijo passed the head of the line to Renjo thus establishing him as the 10^th mainline master. Teijo lived and worked about another 27 years and passed away on September 17^th, 1673, at the age of 71.

The workmanship of Teijo is everything you would expect of a Goto master. His thematics ranged from powerful and menacing to delicate and elegant. This mitokoromono (things for three places) consists of a kozuka, kogai, and a pair of menuki (the pair being considered as one the three things). The theme of folding fans with blossoms are sculpted in shakudo base metals with lustrous gold elements. There is also a small mix of silver blossoms, and even one shakudo blossom to carry more variety of colors. Each blossom is masterfully shaped and detailed with tiny incisions that invite the viewer ever closer to the work. On the leaves of the vines we can see small drops of water. Close inspection of the details confirms the nanako ground work on the jiita (ground plate) of the kozuka and kogai is carried even into the small negative spaces of the vines and fan ribs that rest upon it.

The Theme

It never ceases to amaze me that just about every sword fitting theme has some allusion, parable, allegory, or legendary reference that are most times illustrated in wordplay of the Japanese language, called “kotoba asobi”. The theme on this set tells us a parable with a very valuable moral lesson in the end.

As the story goes, a famous warrior named Ota Dokan was traveling when he was suddenly caught out in a torrid rainstorm. As he was without a raincoat (called “mino”蓑in Japanese), he stopped at a humble farmhouse to borrow one before continuing his journey. Around this farmhouse grew an abundance of brilliant gold Yamabuki (Kerria Japonica, aka: Japanese Rose) flowers. He approached the house and a woman appeared to whom he asked if he could borrow a raincoat. The woman disappeared inside and then returned with a folding fan upon which was placed a Yamabuki blossom. She knelt before him in a deep bow, raising the fan and flower high above her head. Ota was incensed and angry that she would be so impudent to return without a raincoat, and offer him something for which he had not asked and was of no use to his need. He stormed away. Later, he remembered (or in another version of the story, he was later informed by one of his retainers) a poem that related to the lady’s offering;

Nanae yae
hana wa sakedomo
yamabuki no
mi no (mino) hitotsu dani
naki zo kanashiki.

The yamabuki blossoms are abundant with petals.
Despite this,
Sad to say
They bear no fruits (straw raincoat)

Dokan was greatly embarrassed and regretful of his actions toward the woman, and began his devoted study of poetry for his self-improvement.

The words “Mi no” (実の) meaning “seed of” and “Mino” 蓑, meaning “raincoat” are central to the wordplay in the poem. By offering Ota the Yamabuki blossoms, she was striving to convey with embarrassment that while her home may have looked well-to-do from all the blossoming Yamabuki, it was actually quite poor as Yamabuki bear no fruit (i.e. no “seed”). Being so poor, they had no raincoat to offer, but did not wish to return to him empty handed. It’s a charming and lovely parable that extends a lesson of elegance and empathy. One should not be too quick to dismiss or become angry when confronted with a confusing situation, but give pause and consideration. The fans, blossoms, and water droplets (alluding to rain) on the items in this set tell a well-known story of a famous warrior, and teach us a valuable lesson in a touching, charming, and elegant manner.

There is yet another layer of detail to lend even deeper interpretation to this theme which extends from the legend of the origin of the Yamabuki flower. As this legend goes, it is said there was once a person who dropped some gold coins from which sprang the bright gold Yamabuki flowers. Thus, the flower is associated with gold coins, and there are other legends that associate it with wealth and fortune. In the Edo period, the term “yamabuki iro” was used to describe the color of a gold coin. Therefore, this flower in particular, growing so plentifully around a humble farmhouse could present a subliminal impression of a wealthy household to any passersby.

*My deepest appreciation to Mr. George Miller for his assistance with the identification and information of this theme.

But, who was Ota Dokan?

Ota Sukenaga was born in 1432, and took his Buddhist name, Dokan, in 1478. By accounts, he was regarded as a child genius. He was a vassal of a branch of the Yamanouchi Uesugi, reporting directly to Uesugi Sadamasa. In his lifetime, he successfully fought over 30 battles, and almost single-handedly saved the Yamanouchi clan from internal clan power struggles. He is a celebrated samurai in Tokyo where he was the architect of Edo castle built in 1457, which Tokugawa Ieyasu took over in 1590 at the direction of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Today the Imperial Palace in Tokyo is built upon Ota Dokan’s Edo Castle. One part of the extensive network of moats that Dokan constructed as part of the original Edo castle can still be visited on the Imperial Palace grounds. Today it is named “Shimodokanbori” and there is a small name placard posted adjacent to it.Ota Dokan died by the spear of Soga Hyogo on the grounds of the Uesugi Sadamasa’s palace grounds in Isehara, Kanagawa, as he exited from a bath. It is likely he was assassinated at the direction of Sadamasa who was suspicious of Ota, and probably not a little bit jealous of his intelligence and the favor he was granted within the Uesugi clan at large.

Kiwame – Making a decision

But kiwame were not limited to just the evaluation of an intact old work. It also extended to restoration. When a piece was damaged, the sculpting of the main thematic could be remounted into a new kogai or kozuka frame and perhaps a new jiita (ground plated on which the sculpture was positioned). In such a case, the Goto master performing the work would sign the kozuka and/or kogai with the inclusion of the kanji “mon”(紋) above the name of the maker of the theme sculpture. “Mon” means “design” or, “pattern”. Then the repairing/appraising master would sign their own name with perhaps their monogram in a lower position on the piece as well. This maintains that the original motif was by the hand of a prior master, and remounted by the master that restored and appraised it.

In cases where the entire original work was appraised without remounting or repairs, then the signature would include “tsukuru” (作 also “saku”) instead of “mon”, denoting that the entire piece was original in whole to the past master of note. Oddly enough, the accompanying origami will always be written as “Tsukuru” regardless of whether the item(s) had been repaired or not. Go figure… I’m still working on the “why” for that, but it probably has to do with mandates in the Goto traditions of writing the origami.

But wait, there’s more……

Kiwamemono can also include secrets; very small and difficult to see punch marks made in discrete locations on each piece to denote that the piece had been previously seen and appraised in its past. It’s my understanding (which is to say I need to verify the info I was given regarding this) that when an item was appraised and marked, the item was described and recorded into a master log, along with a notation of where the mark was made on the item. This served to securitize the process a bit from outside fraud. Unfortunately, the master logs have been lost to time and we have to rely on an entirely modern process of evaluation to authenticate both the items and their oshigata; shinsa.

This set carries both the kiwame tagane (appraisal marks) and origami written by the 16^th Goto master, Hojo.

Origami written by Goto Hojo
Dated September 7^th, 1838

Goto Hojo was born in 1816, assumed headmaster of the Goto school at 19 years old, and died in 1856. He wrote these papers when he was 22 years old. His living name was Mitsuaki (光晃) which is sometimes pronounced incorrectly as the kanji are “mitsu” and “akira”, but are properly read “Mitsuaki”. He received his art name, Hojo, posthumously.

NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu Certificate
Dated January 30^th, 1991

This set also holds a Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu certificate from the NBTHK declaring its quality, condition, and authenticity and includes an image and notation of the Goto Origami, which binds the papers to the set, and declares their authenticity as well.

This is a lovely and historic set and will grace any collection. It is held in a custom made box which also has a premium custom made shifuku (fabric slip cover).

Price $12,500.00 USD