Henry Wilson

The hakogaki on the top describes the tsuba as 花形文 which translates as "flower pattern decoration". Unfortunately my super-human reading powers are not strong enough to read more than three of the kanji inside the lid. For the sake of it, I postulate.... To me the pattern of the said tsuba does not look like a generic tsuba representation of a flower. It looks a bit like the karahana 唐花 on the right in the Onin tsuba below... kind of... The even continuous repetition of the small semicircle pattern to me looks more along the lines of a snowflake, like in the tsuba below. . This might indicate that the tsuba and hakogaki are a mismatch, or maybe not. Just food for thought. Posted from iPhone so please forgive any errors.

You might be lucky if it does in fact get to a polisher because on a number of occassions in the past I have seen Mr Tsuruta polish swords himself.

Books first are important, but also I think you need something to study as well because after all it is the fittings that are the impetus for buying the books. If you want to buy something, sticking to bonafided dealers, looking in the sales sections on this board, as well as buying something that catches your eye that you can afford is additional advice that I would give.

The composition of the tsuba appears to have been inspired by this tsuba by I think the Higo master Jingo. This web page might be of interest: http://markussesko.com/2014/10/ Concerning how the artist could have been inspired to use that specific type of bird, first of all, are you sure that it is in fact a Steller's Sea Eagle? The description from the sales site describes it as 鷹之兎狩図鍔 which translates as a 'hawk hunting a rabbit motif tsuba'. The markings on a typical Steller's Sea Eagle and the bird in the tsuba seem to be slightly different, especially on the wings: I also think that Steller's Sea Eagles generally prey on fish and other sea birds. The motif is of the bird hunting a rabbit which may not be the Steller's typical prey. I also get the impression that the motif is of a gushing river as opposed to the sea. Putting the above aside though, if it is a Steller's Sea Eagle, it is clear that people of the time must have known that such a bird existed as otherweise how could it be depicted on the tsuba? This in turn would suggest that people went north, saw the bird and past a description of it to others, finding its way to a particular tsuba smith, if he himself did not actually go there and see it first hand. The mei does in fact read Umetada. It seems that the Umetada artist was emulating the composition of a classic tsuba. As for the suitablilty of the tsuba for a wakizashi, I suppose it is all down to personal taste. The tsuba is 8cm by 7.7 cm diameter, which to me would probably be a bit too big for a wakizashi. I hope this helps!!

Ford, I have just ordered that book and look forward to reading it. Is there any such books you can recommend that focuses on pre-Eo period? Cheers

Mr Google? Seriously, thank you for the great pictures Guido. I hope Mr Bottomley can supply pictures of the said kozuka!

If possible I would be very interested to see images of the said motif.

Brian selflessly gives as much as he can to this board and hobby in general. I therefore think that abusing Brian is a bit like picking a fight with the late Mother Theresa. I understand how this hobby can get under your skin, but come on. Enjoy things. The title of this thread is Fun Set of Menuki after all!!!

Maybe it has something to do with the type of metal.

If anyone wants to donate their collection to me, I might be interested. Drop me a line and maybe we can work something out.

Pete nails it. and give me a good chuckle at the same time. You deserve a hug, a pat on the back, a firm handshake and probably a Victoria Cross too. That is a serious bad collection of tsuba. You seem to have done very well selling them and must have persevered considerably.

'Ridicule is nothing to be scared of'... Remember that the next time you post a message!!!

A quick Jeff Duke (look) seems to reveal that the comments explicitly state the physical characteristics and appearance of the tsuba. I am sure someone with plenty of time on their hands will be more helpful. In the meantime, why not have a blast (go) at deciphering the big scary kanji on an electronic dictionary. The information is embedded in the scariness.

The one with no wait? As I see it, good ramen is subjective so potentially it all tastes the same when you don't know the difference. Therefore, it is better to get in and out as quickly as possible and get to the next sword show up there in Hokkaido. ("My point exactly" I hear you say.....)

From what I recall Tosogu no Kigen by Sasano talks about kogai and why they seem to get bent out of shape. The function and purpose of kogai is undecided but he thought they were used for grooming and scratching places under the helmet as a way to explain the bent out of shape condition many seem to be in. The fact they tend to be made from soft metal he thinks indicates they were intended to be bent. From what I recall he mentions or at least suggests that they could have been regarded as disposable and refitting them to kozuka was a way of preserving and resurrecting fine workmanship. This is all from memory so it might be worthwhiled checking the above book out. Markus has done an excellent translation of it as well. Even thought Sasano seems to be out of vogue at the moment, his work can be an interesting read and good food for thought. Posted from iPhone

I would imagine high relief would be harder to make and, being a functional item, less likely to survive the ravishes of time. I don't collect kodogu but if I were into kozuka I would be tempted.

Hell yes! I hope Curran is not reading coz the boys at the local sword club are counting how many pronouns he keeps dropping!!!! ROTFLMAO

I should be able to make it but it is a bit out of my area of interest to be honest. I haven't been to Nezu in a while and love the garden out the back thought. This link has some great pictures of the premises. http://www.nezu-muse-app.jp/?l=e

For all you Prince Charmings out there!

I met Craig about 10 years ago during the first ever KTK convention in Tokyo. I knew he was unwell for some time but I am very saddened by his passing. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Would it be possible to post the katchushi handout on the NMB for those who cannot attend. Good luck the show.

Hi Junichi. First of stating the obvious, the sugata would give a hint From what I have heard and read over the years: •The walls of older saya tend to be thinner compared to Edo period saya. •The cross-sectional shape of older saya tend to be very oblong, like the seppadai of early sukashi tsuba. •The kurigata on older saya tend to be higher up, closer to the tsuba as the style of dress in the Edo period dictated more space between the tsuba and kurigata. •Older koshirae in comparison seem more ulitarian. •Old black lacquer tends to have a brown hue as a result of impurities (possibly iron). In the Edo period this is less so. Also the notion of low quality koshirae, in particular the saya, as being disposable may not be so as there is evidence of a lot of them being extensively repaired and altered. I am not saying these are fact, just what I have picked up over the years. Hope it helps.

This might help

At a guess, possibly stylized kanji of the animals of the Chinese zodiac? I think I see 虎 in there......

Stephen makes an interesting point. How do you know it is made of ox bone? Could it not be whale bone? Whaling has been going in Japan for about 1,000 years from what I have read.