The Allure of Higo Kinko series 3 — The Nishigaki School: A Lecture at the Naniwa Kodōgu Kenkyūkai
- gallery陽々youyou
- Dec 29, 2025
- 7 min read
At the Naniwa Kodōgu Kenkyūkai held in Osaka, a lecture on Higo kinko was delivered by Mitsuru Ito at Ikukunitama shrine. Following the first two chapters on the Hirata and Shimizu families, this third installment in The Allure of Higo Kinko series focuses on the Nishigaki family. In this chapter, we take a closer look at Nishigaki and introduce their work in an accessible and focused manner.
This four-part series explores the aesthetic principles and distinctive characteristics of the four main schools of Higo kinko—① Hirata, ② Shimizu, ③ Nishigaki, and ④ Hayashi & Kamiyoshi—over four consecutive days. The final series will revisit a small bidding-style kantei exercise conducted during the lecture. You are invited to approach it intuitively, as a way of sharpening the eye.♡
The Appeal of Higo Kinko
Each of the four principal schools of Higo kinko possesses a strong individual character. In many artistic traditions, close master–disciple relationships or shared regional backgrounds can result in similar styles. Yet Higo kinko works stand apart for their artistic diversity, with each school developing its own distinctive voice.
Rooted in the philosophy of samurai culture, Higo kinko encompasses a wide range of expression—from highly refined and meticulously controlled works to compositions that feel almost abstract, reminiscent of modern art. The histories of these schools are relatively well documented through texts preserved by families such as Kamiyoshi, Shimizu, and Hirata, as well as through records connected to the Hosokawa and Matsui clans.
Another appealing aspect of Higo kinko lies in the number of surviving works. The abundance of extant pieces makes this field particularly rewarding for collectors. The enjoyment extends beyond individual fittings to complete mountings, offering a broad and engaging scope for appreciation.
The Nishigaki Family
As Mitsuru Ito notes in his book “Nishigaki”, the lineage of the Nishigaki family is relatively clear thanks to documents such as the “Senzobetsu” (genealogical record) of the 5th generation Kanzayemon and the “Higo no Kuni Tsubakō Jinmei-shirabe” (a historical registry of tsuba artisans in Higo Province) compiled by the 8th Shirosaku-ou [ou is an honorific title of great respect]. Unfortunately, all of these original documents are now lost. Fortunately, essential passages were excerpted and preserved in publications such as “Tsuba no Kai” (1919) and “Higo Kinko Taikan” (1964), where they are introduced in detail.
I enjoy imagining the personalities of the artisans through surviving works by Nishigaki Kanshirō, the 2ndKanshirō Nagahisa, the 3rd Kanshirō Jinzō, and Kanpei, the younger brother of the 2nd Kanshirō. I find it equally fascinating to explore who influenced them, which artists were active in their time, how cultural trends shifted, and where exactly they worked. This process of inquiry is one of the pleasures of studying tosogu.
The 1st (shodai) Nishigaki Kanshirō and Shimizu Jinbei were both disciples of Hirata Hikozō. Kanshirō continued working in Fukuro-machi, Yatsushiro (previously introduced in the series 2, the Shimizu School)—where Shimizu Jinbei, Hikozō’s nephew, also lived and worked—until shortly after the death of Hosokawa Sansai. According to “Higo no Kuni Tsubakō Jinmei-shirabe”, Kanshirō relocated to Kumamoto after Sansai’s passing, which places the move in Shōhō 2 (1645), when Kanshirō was 32 years old.
My father was told by local researchers during his research trip for “Nishigaki” that the Nishigaki workshop in Kumamoto was located on the right side of the castle moat at Kumamoto Castle. This March, as part of the dearest friends’ project titled “Visiting Musashi,” We were able to visit the areas where the four principal Higo kinko schools once operated. Today, the Nishigaki workshop area has become a bustling commercial district.
First Generation: Nishigaki Kanshirō
Born in Futamata Village, Tango province, he was the younger brother of a Shinto priest and used the name Yoshihiro (吉弘). He was born in Keichō 18 (1613) and passed away in Genroku 6 (1693) at the age of 81. During the Hosokawa family’s time in Buzen Kokura, he became a disciple of Hirata Hikozō. When the Hosokawa clan entered Higo in Kan’ei 9 (1632), Kanshirō was 19 years old, and he later lived with Hikozō in Yatsushiro. When Hikozō died in Kan’ei 12 (1635), Kanshirō was 22 years old.
After the death of Hosokawa Sansai, Kanshirō moved to Kumamoto and was granted a stipend of twelve-person rations by the Hosokawa family. All of his known works are unsigned. His style is notably free and unrestrained: iron ground is often treated with yakite, his works lack the orderly refinement seen in the Hayashi school, and the hitsu-ana are deliberately asymmetrical. Kebori and inlay are applied with an improvisational spirit. His wave designs lack line engraving and are referred to as doronami (muddy waves). Materials include iron, brass, shakudō, kuro-shibuichi, and suaka. He is also highly regarded as an artisan of fuchi-gashira, with many outstanding examples surviving.
Second Generation: Nishigaki Kanshirō Nagahisa 永久
Born in Kan’ei 16 (1639), he used the names Yoshimasa (吉當) and Nagahisa (永久), and died in Kyōhō 2 (1717) at the age of 79. He trained for 11 years under Gotō Kenjō and received formal transmission. According to “Nishigaki” by Ito, his age at the time he entered Kenjō’s workshop can be calculated from Hosokawa Tsunatoshi’s sankin-kōtai (alternate attendance system) dates, as summarized by Murakami Kōsuke in “Hosokawa Godai Nenpu to Tōken”. This places Nagahisa at either 14 or 16 years old—both plausible ages given coming-of-age practices at the time.
By that point, Kenjō was already elderly, and his eldest son, Teijō (程乗) was serving the Maeda family in Kaga. As a result, Nagahisa’s instruction was likely carried out by Kenjō’s adopted son Kanjō (寛乗) (Mitsunaga 光永), along with Injō (殷乗) and Senjō (仙乗). Over ten years, Nagahisa would have mastered the full range of Gotō techniques, including high relief carving, suemon, iroe, nanako, kebori, and the forms of kozuka and kōgai, even sogitsugi (a technique for invisibly joining separately worked metal parts.)
It was customary for a master to grant a character of his name to a disciple. The “naga” (永) in Nagahisa (永久)’s name is thought to derive from Kanjō (寛乗) (Mitsunaga 光永), founder of the Hachirōbei line of the Goto, and was later passed on to Shimizu Jingo Nagatsugu (永次), a disciple of Nagahisa.
Nagahisa lived in Kumamoto, and three tsuba signed “Nishigaki Kanshirō Nagahisa” (西垣勘四郎永久) are known. His works include pieces that inherit the 1st generation’s tradition, as well as refined works reflecting his training in the Gotō school. Most of his iron tsuba have polished surfaces called migaki-ji without yakite. According to "Higo Kinko Roku" (肥後金工録), his gold nunome-zōgan recalls the style of Hayashi Matashichi. His wave designs feature kebori in the Gotō manner, with groups of three crests within a single wave unit. Materials include iron, brass, shakudō, kuro-shibuichi, and suaka. Among the Nishigaki lineage, Nagahisa is considered the most technically accomplished kinko.
I would like to introduce 2nd Kanshiro’s work alongside a kozuka by Gotō Kanjō. He is the founder of the Hachirōbei line, whose 5th generation master is the celebrated late-Edo artisan Gotō Ichijō.
Third Generation: Nishigaki Kanshirō Jinzō 仁藏
Born in Enpō 8 (1680) as the son of Nagahisa at age 41, he also used the names Yoshinori (吉教・良教), with Jinzō as his earlier name. He died in Hōreki 11 (1761) at the age of 82. Given his long working life, many works must once have existed, yet relatively few clearly identifiable pieces remain today. Surviving examples include tsuba and fuchi bearing his signature.
His style reflects a more restrained development of the 2nd generation’s aesthetic. He appears to have favored wave designs on brass ground, and surviving tsuba tend to be slightly smaller in size. From the 4th generation onward, the name Kanshirō was no longer used, and details of later works remain unclear.
Nishigaki Kanpei
Kanpei was the younger brother of the 2nd Kanshiro Nagahisa. According to the Amiya edition of “Higo Kinko Roku”, his signature appears as either “Nishigaki Kanpei saku” (西垣勘平作) or simply “Kanpei saku,”(勘平作)with signed works becoming more common in his later years. The 8th generation Shirōsaku-ou recorded in “Higo no Kuni Tsubakō Jinmei-shirabe” that many signed sukashi tsuba exist and that Kanpei represented a branch family of the Kōraimon line in Higo. Active in the same period as his elder brother, the 2nd Kanshiro Nagahisa, Kanpei likely used signatures to distinguish his branch from the main line. One important kantei point is that his signatures are typically carved on the reverse side of the tsuba.
Closing thoughts:
At the Naniwa Kodōgu Kenkyūkai, Mitsuru Ito presented a comprehensive overview of the allure of Higo kinko. In this blog series, however, we examine each of the four principal schools individually. This third chapter has focused on the Nishigaki family, founded by Nishigaki Kanshirō, a disciple of Hirata Hikozō—the only Kinko known to have received direct instruction from Hosokawa Sansai. The Nishigaki family continued producing sword fittings through 7th generations. The concept of ichigo ichie, transmitted from Sansai to Hikozō, can also be felt in Kanshirō’s work. By the 2nd Kanshirō Nagahisa created elegant, dignified works that combined warmth with echoes of the Gotō tradition. The Nishigaki school’s unrestrained creativity and gentle, flexible approach continue to resonate deeply with us today. In the next chapter, we turn to “The Allure of Higo Kinko series ④ — The Hayashi & Kamiyoshi School.” Until then stay tosogu & sword minded.
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