Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 7.djvu/323



NE of the most illustrious artists of this century, or indeed of any century, was Kashiwaya Nagatsune (1750-1786), called in art circles Setsuzan or Ganshōshi. It is difficult to conceive a higher standard of force, accuracy, and grace than he attained. He seems to have worked almost entirely on shakudo and shibuichi bases, but he used gold, silver, and copper freely for decorative purposes. In his early days the objects that he preferred to chisel were frogs, snails, beetles, and so forth, and generally he added a tuft of the grass called tsukushi (a species of horse-tail). But he subsequently extended his range to dragons, figures, demons, masks, and other objects, and among his numerous works, all of which are highly valued in Japan, there is not one of inferior quality. His Deva Kings, chiselled in high relief in shakudo with gold decoration, may be compared to the celebrated wooden statues at the temple Kōfuku-ji. Japanese connoisseurs liken the nobility and purity of Nagatsune's style to "the moon rising over Obate mountain." In recognition of his exceptional talent he was honoured by the Kyoto court with the title of Daijo of Ichi-no-miya in Yechizen. His son, Naga-