江戸前期の装剣金工家。平田派の開祖。
江戸時代初頭に肥後(熊本県)で栄えた肥後金工の名工。
細川忠興に従って京都から移住したと伝えられる。主として鐔の制作に従事し,
「翁鑢梅花透鐔」「菊透鐔」(いずれも東京国立博物館蔵)などがある。
地金には山金,素銅,真鍮を用い,鉄は少ない。板鐔を透かしたものや唐草文などの彫込象嵌を好み,まれに七宝象嵌を施したものもある。彦三は2代目以降も明治まで続いた。
Hikozo Hirata was a sword ornament craftsman family in the early Edo period. The founder of Hirata school.
He was a master-hand of the Higo metalwork that flourished in Higo (Kumamoto Prefecture) in the early Edo period.
It is said that he moved from Kyoto after Tadaoki Hosokawa. He produced mainly sword guards, and his works include "Okina-yasuri Baika Sukashi Tsuba" and "Kiku Sukashi Tsuba" (both are preserved at the Tokyo National Museum).
Vein gold, crude copper and brass were used as ground metal, and iron was rarely used. He was fond of ita-tsuba (flat sword guard) with openings and engraved inlays such as karakusa-mon (arabesque). Rarely, but tsuba with Shippo (cloisonne) inlays are also found. Hikozo's 2nd and later generations continued until the Meiji period.
