Haneda Goro (羽田五郎)
Goro HANEDA was nurishi (a lacquer ware artist) in the late Ashikaga period. His named was also written as 'Hamoda' in old literature.
Although little is known about him, it is generally believed that he lived in front of Hokai-mon Gate of Kyoto Shokoku-ji Temple and received orders from Yoshimasa ASHIKAGA. As many nurishi lived in front of Hokai-mon Gate at that time and their works were called 'Hokaimon nuri,' he is believed to have been one of them. Quite a few people, however, assert that he was a fictitious character created in the Edo period on grounds that what is said about him sounds like a legend since there exist no reliable historical records.
A view that natsume (a lacquered tea container) (tea tool) was firstly produced by Haneda for Juko is especially arguable. This view, however, is not credible because natsume firstly appeared in Chakai-ki (The Record of Tea Ceremonies) only after the death of Joo TAKENO.
Therefore, although some old-style natsume that have been handed down as the works of Goro HANEDA are existent at Fujita Museum of Art etc., it is impossible to regard them as tea tools that were produced at that time. On the contrary, thin lacquering with clear brush marks (specifically called as Goro-nuri), which is common among these works, suggests that natsume was originally a daily tool (refer to the item of natsume (tea tool)).
In the meantime, black Shiho-bon (square tray) where the tip represents the nock of an arrow is called Haneda-bon and believed to have been originated by Haneda.