Outline of the exhibition
OrganizerTakenaka Carpentry Tools Museum Corporation
Co-sponsorshipWoodworking Equipment Warming Association, National Cutting Association Kobe Tournament Executive Committee
CooperationKiya Co., Ltd., Shiraka Memorial Sake Brewery Museum, Asakura Sculpture Museum in Taito City, Tsuchida Knife Store, Nishimiyaichi
Exhibition PeriodApril 29 (Wednesday/holiday) - May 24 (Sunday), 2015
Opening hours 9:30 to 16:30 (entrance is until 16:00)
(Opening hours will be extended until 19:00 on May 5 and 17:00 on May 6)
ClosedMay 7 (Thu), May 11 (Mon), Monday, May 18
Chiyozuruzehide
(Chiyozuru Kohide)

His real name was Hiroshi Kato. He was born in 1874. His father was a swordsmith who served the Uesugi family of the Yonezawa clan, Nagaunsai Tsunatoshi. In 1876, he entered his uncle, Toshinaga Ishido, who switched from swordsmith to tool blacksmith at the age of 11. He carefully researches the skills of his predecessors, and combines the cultural skills of a prestigious swordsmith, creating many masterpieces. He died in 1957 at the age of 84.

Photo: Tadashi Fujiwara

 Contents of the exhibition

Chiyozuruzehide, a master craftsman who sublimated carpentry tools into the area of art. The life of a blacksmith, which he wrote in his later years, "Well, 70 years of living with iron," would have been anything. In this exhibition, about 60 of the highest peak works collected from tool holders nationwide will be exhibited in one hall, including Chiyo Tsuruzen's masterpiece, "Tencount", which will be unveiled for the first time in history. From the training era, after difficult times such as the disappearance of his successor, Taro, the eldest son, will follow the life of Korehide, which blooms after the war, along with materials related to works representing each era and poems written. In addition, the works of Kunihiro and Yoshihiro, who Korehide admired as genius blacksmiths, his master swordsmith, Toshinaga Ishido, his rival, Hideichi Ishido, his eldest son, Taro, and the blacksmiths who succeeded him. Explains the style in a multi-layered manner. We also focus on exchanges with a variety of cultural figures, such as tools of sculptor Fumio Asakura and grafted swords of Dr. Sakura and Shintaro Sasabe, known as models of Tsutomu Mizukami's "Sakuramori", approaching the world where supreme tools were created.

Exhibits
"Tencount" (owned by Tsuchida Knife Store)
Chiyo Tsuruzehide's engraving Kanna (owned by Tsuchida Knife Store)

Kanna by Chiyozuru Taro 'Unkotobuki' (owned by Tsuchida Knife Store)
Table: Chiyozuruzehide's handwriting 'White plum blooms in spring'
Cutting-out sword "Ichihana cost is a lifetime achievement"
(Nishinomiya City Sasabe Sakura Collection, Shiraka Memorial Sake Brewery Museum Deposited)
Cutting-out swords 'Kori fish or Aki fish' (owned by Tsuchida Knife Store)
Genno's 'Tame Asakura-sensei Nagaun' (collected by Asakura Sculpture Museum) Tools photography: Minoru Akiyama



※Photography is prohibited inside the special exhibition venue. Thank you for your understanding.

※Notice of related exhibitions at other museums

Until May 27 (Wednesday), the Asakura Sculpture Museum (Taito-ku, Tokyo) features a special collection of Chiyo Tsuruzenehide, which Fumio Asakura loved.

The Shiraka Memorial Sake Brewery Museum (Nishinomiya City) will hold "Thank you for cherry blossoms-Odozakura-", which introduces the collections of Dr. Sakura and Shintaro Sasabe until June 1 (Monday).