This kozuka was made by sekijoken motozane (赤城軒え),he comed from  Mito and settled in Edo .He was the son and apprentice of the founding motonori of Oyama School, and he had seven students who continued this school .He was born at  Mito , worked at  Edo and ending at  Mito . He died the 15 janvier 1830 .

Technic : ( ishime ji ) and high relief carving (takaniku bori ) with gold and silver gilding.

Représentation : On this handle, we can see three representations, a butterfly, peonies and a cat in the middle of it. The butterfly is the symbol of summer and joy.Peonies are considered "kings of flowers" and often linked to the fool "lion". They are in the calendar of flowers, the plant of the month of June, youth and prosperity . The cat is a very special animal in Japan, it was introduced to Japan in the sixth century with Buddhism to protect the temples against rats. It becomes common only around the eighteenth century . It is an animal that can be double either beneficial or evil. They can turn into humans, send diseases, bewitch people to come to stores (like maneki neko) or protect against demons. Their magical powers would come from their tail, in this representation this cat has a tail but he also has three colors or spots on his body.He would then be a Mike-neko who will bring luck and ward off evil spirits (Obake) . this engraving is rather positive with symbols of the summer and protection even if it is the last year of life of the master.

Signature :赤城軒え字八年八交彫 sekijoken motozane (1741-1830) done at the age of 88 years so the year 1829 .

Genealogy : Master/father  : Motonori  元教 ; he was the student of  kikugawa muneyoshi . he was the fondateur of the Oyama school 大山.

                    Student: Eiju ( first student ) , Motosada , Motomoto , Motochiko (adopted son ) ,Motoaki , Motoazu , Motonaga et Motozane ( his son ) .

This kozuka is sold in a magnolia box.