MEIJI-TAISHO PERIOD (LATE 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURY), ON BODY SIGNED KAZUHIDE KOKU AND SEALED SA (SATO KAZUHIDE; 1855-1925); ON BASE STAMPED SHIGEMITSU (HIRATA SHIGEMITSU; 1855-1926)

Sato Kazuhide became an independent metal artist in 1876, producing work for the Imperial Household and international expositions, including the Paris Exposition of 1900. Also from Edo, he apprenticed under the metal masters Iwamoto Ikkan VII and Ozaki Kazuyoshi.
Hirata Shigemitsu, whose stamp appears on the base of this vase and is thought to be the artist who made its body, was one of the most prominent metal-hammering craftsmen of the Meiji and Taisho periods. He produced work mainly for the Imperial Household and also exhibited regularly in international exhibitions. With Kurokawa Eisho (1854-1917), Hirata initiated the metal-hammering division of the Tokyo Chokokai (Tokyo Society of Metal Artists), founded in 1887.