Item number: X64

Year: AD 1873-1938

Material: Copper Alloy

Size: 89.5 x 56.2 mm

Weight: 238 g

Provenance: Osaka Minami Art Museum Co., Ltd. 2008

This object is a ichirin-zashi (single-flower vase) in copper alloy.

The body of the vase is slightly oblate and spherical, with rope-like sculpted ornaments cascading down both shoulders. The neck is longer than the body, extending from the shoulders to the rim in a widening, straight contour. The mouth structure comprises two tiers, where only a narrow circular aperture in the center provides access to the interior. This type of narrow-necked vessel is designed specifically for Ikebana (the Japanese art of flower arrangement), employing a minimal amount of floral material to manifest a Zen aesthetic, hence its alternative designation as ichirin-ike (single-bloom arrangement). Ten horizontal lines are chased on the neck near the rim. On one side near the shoulder, a small circular motif is present; it resembles the contour of two overlapping circles with one of them removed, evoking a crescent moon motif (tsuki-mon). The body features designs akin to various Kamon (family crests), though they appear apocryphal. On the side of the body corresponding to the moon motif on the neck, the left section displays two star-and-moon motifs (hoshizuki-mon) in black and red, both styled with a crescent moon encompassing a circular star. While moon motifs were prevalent in the Tohoku region of Honshu, no precise correspondence to a specific surname (myoji) has been verified. The central motif remains unidentified but bears a resemblance to the clove motif (choji-mon) prevalent in Kyushu. The right section closely approximates a shippo-hanakaku (cloisonné flower-angle) motif accompanied by stars; it utilizes a background of shippo (cloisonné) patterns composed of interlocking circles aligned in four directions, featuring a diamond-shaped floral angle in the center and circular stars attached to the upper, lower, left, and right vertices. The shippo motif was predominantly utilized by descendants of the Uda-Genji clan, whereas the shippo-hanakaku variant with stars was associated with families such as Hanagata, Takashina, and Kume. The reverse side of the body features a triple tortoise-shell motif (mitsukikkou-mon) consisting of three hexagons, a design widespread from Shikoku to the Tokyo region. In the center of the tortoise-shell pattern lies a motif resembling a six-leaf feather (rokuyo-bane), the provenance of which remains unestablished.

The base of the vase consists of a ring foot, with the inscription “Yamakawa Sei” (Made by Yamakawa) incised in the center. Among the prominent modern Japanese brassware masters bearing the name Yamakawa are “Yamakawa-do”, which specialized in tsuiki copperware (hand-hammered metalwork), and the lineage of Yamakawa Koji, renowned for Kaga zogan (a metal inlay technique akin to Chinese cuojinyin, or inlaid gold and silver). This piece lacks the distinctive hammer marks (tsuchime) characteristic of tsuiki copperware and is decorated with pattern inlay, suggesting a closer association with Yamakawa Koji. Given that all three generations of Yamakawa Koji signed their works as “Yamakawa Koji Zo” (Created by Yamakawa Koji), pieces inscribed with “Yamakawa Sei” that feature relatively simplified designs are deduced to be export-oriented products manufactured by the Kanazawa Doki Company (Kanazawa Bronze and Copperware Corporation)—of which Yamakawa Koji was a leading member—under his technical supervision.

Following the abolition of domains and the establishment of prefectures in AD 1872, the artisans of the saikushodokoro (workshop) and the purveyors to the lord, previously under the patronage of the Kaga Domain, abruptly lost their stipends and commissions, thereby precipitating a livelihood crisis. To relieve these unemployed craftsmen and facilitate local industrial transformation, the Meiji government and local authorities actively promoted the Shokusan Kogyo (Increase Production and Promote Industry) policy. Concurrently, Europe and America were experiencing the height of the “Japonism” phenomenon, which generated a substantial surge in demand for Japanese art and craftwork, rendering handicrafts an essential tool for overseas export and diplomatic representation. Against this backdrop, Hasegawa Junya, the then Chief District Officer of Kanazawa, established the “Doki Kaishe” (Copperware Company, later reorganized as the Kanazawa Doki Company) in February AD 1877, adapting traditional metal carving (chokin) techniques previously used for weaponry and sword fittings into the manufacture of high-grade export copperware tailored to Western aesthetic preferences.

Kaga zogan represents one of the most definitive metalworking techniques of Kanazawa. It originally developed as a highly sophisticated method for decorating weaponry under the protection of the Maeda family’s saikusho workshop during the domain administration period. Its origins trace back to celebrated masters recruited from Kyoto, Fushimi, and other locales during the Momoyama and early Edo periods. Kaga zogan belongs primarily to the category of hira-zogan (flat inlay). The process involves carving grooves or recesses into the surface of the base metal (jigane), such as iron or bronze, according to the desired pattern, and subsequently inserting dissimilar metals, including gold, silver, shakudo (gold-copper alloy), or shibuichi (silver-copper alloy), until they are flush with the surface. Its two most historically celebrated characteristics are: first, the application of an exceptionally meticulous retention method called aritate (dove-tailing), whereby the grooves are deliberately carved to form a dovetail channel (ari) that is wider at the base than at the opening, ensuring that the inlaid metal never detaches or suffers damage even upon impact, a feature lauded as Kaga-gake; second, the mastery of the highly challenging yoroi-zogan (armor inlay) technique, which enables the multi-layered overlapping of inlays upon previously embedded metals, thereby exhibiting highly dimensional, opulent, and narrative patterns.

The first generation Yamakawa Koji was a master craftsman of Kaga zogan active from the late Edo period through the Meiji Restoration. Due to his superb and vividly dimensional metal-carving prowess, he was retained by Maeda Nariyasu, the thirteenth lord of the Kaga Domain, during the twilight years of the domain administration, and acquired the alternative sobriquet of “Kaga Somin” as an artisan. Following the institutional reforms of the Meiji Restoration, he joined the Doki Kaishe in AD 1877 as the fuku-munatori (assistant director or technical superintendent), serving in the capacity of director and supervisor. In this role, he led dozens of master craftsmen from the former domain to produce various refined copper vessels, securing numerous accolades at the First National Industrial Exhibition as well as at international World’s Fairs. However, Yamakawa Koji met an untimely demise in AD 1882, failing to witness the era in which Kaga metalwork transitioned toward the status of individual fine artistry. Concurrently, under the impact of the severe deflation induced by the Matsukata fiscal policies in AD 1881, the Kanazawa samurai class and financial capital suffered widespread bankruptcy. Compounded by stagnation in overseas markets caused by the proliferation of poorly manufactured goods and the waning of the Japonism craze, the Kanazawa Doki Company underwent multiple periods of suspension, transfer, and restructuring. Ultimately unable to withstand the macroeconomic decline, the corporation dissolved in AD 1894. The hereditary name of the artisan Yamakawa Koji, sustained over generations, finally ceased to be transmitted after the third generation Yamakawa Koji passed away in AD 1938.

物件編號: X64

年代: 公元 1873-1938 年

材料: 銅合金

尺寸: 89.5 x 56.2 mm

重量: 238 g

來源: 大阪南美術会館 2008

這是一個銅製一輪生花瓶。

花瓶的瓶身呈稍扁的球形，兩側肩部有繩狀雕飾垂落。瓶頸長過瓶身，自瓶肩至瓶口，呈漸寬的直線。瓶口有兩層，僅中央的窄口圓孔可通至瓶內。這種窄口瓶是專為花道設計，使用極少的花材展現禪意，又稱為「一輪生」。瓶頸近瓶口處鏨刻有十道橫紋，近瓶肩處一側有一小圓形圖案，似兩圓相疊的輪廓去掉其中一圓而成，類似月紋。瓶身上則是類似各式家紋的圖案，但似是而非。瓶頸有月紋一側的瓶身，左側為一黑一紅兩星月紋，均為彎月包含圓星的構圖，月紋流行於本州東北地方，但查無圖案確切對應的苗字。中央紋樣不明，但類似流行於九州的丁字紋。右側則近似星附七寶花角紋，以圓圈四方相疊的七寶文為底，中央為菱狀花角，上下四方則點附圓星，七寶紋使用者多為宇多源氏後人，使用星附七寶花角紋的則有花形家、高階家、久米家。瓶身另一側則有三個六邊形組成的三龜甲紋，流行於四國至東京地區，龜甲紋中央則有類似六葉羽紋的紋樣，出處不明。

瓶底為環座，中央有銘｢山川製｣。近代日本經營銅器的名家，以山川為名的，有專營鎚起銅器(即手工鍛打)的「山川堂」，以及以加賀象嵌(類似錯金銀的金屬鑲嵌技術)知名的山川孝次一族。本件無法辨識出鎚起銅器特有的鎚目紋，又以圖案鑲嵌為裝飾，應與山川孝次較為相關。而三代山川孝次均於作品署名「山川孝次造」，因此，署銘「山川製」，且圖案較為簡約的作品則應為山川孝次為領銜者之一的金澤銅器公司所出，由山川孝次監製，專供外銷的產品。

明治五年(公元1872年)廢藩置縣後，加賀藩過去庇護的細工所職人與御用工匠頓時失去俸祿與訂單，面臨生計危機。為了救濟失業工匠並促進地方產業轉型，明治政府與地方積極推動殖產興業政策。適逢當時歐美正值「日本主義(Japonism)」熱潮，對日本美術工藝品需求大增，手工藝品因而成為重要的海外輸出與外交展現工具。在此背景下，時任金澤總區長的長谷川準也於明治十年(公元1877年)2月創立了「銅器會社」(後改組為金澤銅器會社)，將傳統武具與刀裝具的雕金技術，轉化為生產迎合西方審美的高級外銷銅器。

「加賀象嵌」是金澤最具代表性的金工技法之一，本是藩政時期在前田家細工所保護下高度發展的武具裝飾技術。其淵源可追溯至桃山與江戶初期從京都、伏見等地招攬的名匠。加賀象嵌主要屬於「平象嵌」，工序是先在鐵或青銅等地金表面依圖案雕刻出凹槽，再嵌入金、銀、赤銅或四分一(朧銀)等異質金屬，使其與表面齊平。其最具歷史盛名的兩大特點在於：第一，採用極其精細的「嵌金法(アリたて, aritate)」，在雕刻凹槽時會特意形成內寬外窄的燕尾槽(アリ, ari)，使嵌入的金屬在遭遇撞擊時也絕不脫落毀損，因而被譽為「加賀掛」；第二，擁有高難度的「鎧象嵌」技術，能在已鑲嵌的金屬上層層重疊象嵌，展現出極具層次感與華麗的故事性紋樣。

初代山川孝次是江戶末期至明治維新時期的加賀象嵌名工，因其高超且立體生動的雕金力量，在藩政晚期便獲得十三代藩主前田齊泰的登用，作為工匠，更擁有「加賀宗珉」的異名。維新改制後，其於公元1877年加入銅器會社擔任副棟取(副廠長/技術總監)，負責指導/監製(director)，帶領數十位舊藩名工製作各類精緻銅器，並在第一回內國勸業博覽會及海外萬國博覽會上屢獲大獎。然而，山川孝次於明治十五年(公元1882年)英年早逝，未能親眼見證加賀金工走向個人藝術家地位的時代。與此同時，受到公元1881年，松方財政政策引發的嚴重通貨緊縮影響，金澤士族與金融資本大舉破產，加上海外市場因粗製濫造與日本熱的退燒而陷入停滯，金澤銅器會社幾經休業、轉讓與重組，最終不敵大環境的衰退，於明治27年(公元1894年)解散，數代傳承的工匠山川孝次之名，也在三代山川孝次於公元1938年故去後，再無傳承。