A JAPANESE EDO PAINTING BY TACHIBANA NAOTOSHI

£150 - £250

£50

TACHIBANA NAOTOSHI (C.1750–1780)
GATHERING FOR THE FUIGO MATSURI
EDO PERIOD, 18TH CENTURY

A Japanese kakejiku (hanging scroll painting), ink, colour and gold on silk, depicting three men gathered for the Fuigo Matsuri, one possibly a sword maker; signed Bunbaku Naotoshi ga and sealed Tachibana; with a tomobako (wood box), 31.5cm x 44cm.

Another painting by Tachibana Naotoshi is held at the Sword World Foundation (Token World collection, Nagoya), depicting the twenty-four Samurai vassals of Takeda Shingen.

Fuigo Matsuri is a traditional festival celebrating sword-makers, blacksmiths, and other professions involving fire. Usually held on 8th November, it was an opportunity to take a day off and clean the fuigo (box bellows), decorate it with straw ropes (shimenawa), and make offerings to the fire deities as a gesture of gratitude.

WITHOUT RESERVE