Introduction of Kozuka from Wakeido Title: Plum Tree and Small Bird Design Kozuka Signature: Okina Toshiyoshi sei Certification: N.B.T.H.K. Hozon Tousougu Size: Length 97.5mm Width 14.5mm Period: Last of Edo School: Tōryūsai school Description The Tōryūsai school traces its origins to Tanaka Kiyotoshi. Kiyotoshi was born in Aizu in the first year of the Bunka era and is said to have trained under the Aizu Masamune school in his youth. He honed his skills under the guidance of Kōno Shunmei Hōgen during his visit to the Tōhoku region, completing a clever style known as the Tōryūsai school. Many skilled disciples followed, including Toshiyoshi, who trained numerous students. Toshiyoshi was Kiyotoshi's foremost disciple and a refined successor of the Tōryūsai school. With high-level techniques, he popularized the Tōryūsai style during the late Edo period. This piece features a small bird and plum blossoms in a four-part design, with the trunk and branches of the plum tree having thick areas in high relief while becoming flat towards the end to create a sense of three-dimensionality. It embodies the essence of Tōryūsai and is quite charming.