Umetada

Umetada is said to have been used by silversmiths since the Muromachi period [The Japanese Sword: A Comprehensive Guide (Japanese Arts Library) by Kanzan Sato (1997)p.68] . But in the Momoyama period, a certain Umetada Myoju (1558-1631) [Discovering the Arts of Japan: A Historical Overview by Tsuneko S. Sadao, Stephanie Wada, and Tomoko Miho (2003) p.196] [The Connoisseurs Book of Japanese Swords by Kokan Nagayama (1998) p.34] emerged to become the founder of the manufacture of so-called "new swords," or "shinto" [Collecting Japanese Antiques by Alistair Seton (2004) p.246] , and to rank with Kaneie and Nobuie as a great designer and maker of sword guards. Although he is said to have done metal carving for sword mounts, not a single sword guard that can safely be said to have been carved by him remains. Most of the things that do remain are works in inlay, (zogan) in copper, brass, and "shakudo" using designs that recall the colorful pictures of the Ogata Kōrin school. Umetada Myoju established the style and the fame of the Umetada name, which flourished greatly after his time. But he was not the first to make sword guards in the Umetada style. Both nameless craftsmen and a certain Mitsutada are known to have done this kind of work before Myoju [Lyle Official Antiques Review 2001 (Lyle) by Anthony Curtis (2000) p.456] . It seems likely that as was the case with Shoami guards - Umetada guards were first produced in the Muromachi period. Those which predate Myoju are based on Shoami ideas and are called Ko-Umetada, or old Umetada [Japanese Crafts: A Complete Guide to Today's Traditional Handmade Objects by Craft Forum Japan (2001) p.153] .

See also

* katana
* saya
* Shoami
* Aesthetics
* History of decorative arts
* Toreutics
* Cloisonné

References