Geraint

Hi Alex. Tosogu = collective noun for sword fittings. Jean was suggesting that they were the ones to help you. The translation is given on the Ebay description, the tsuba is to my eye nice and of course it has papers so you can have some confidence. The question is, do you like it? Enough to spend money on? If the answer to those two questions is, "Yes!" then away you go. You might also find something to your taste here, http://www.silk-road.us/iron.html Have fun!

Would love to say I had one but... illustrated in R and P Knutsen, Fig 29, "An unusual tsukushi - uekama - jumonji- yari. Another in Bottomely and Hopson, page 148. Not a modern make up or a later conversion but a nice piece. Cheers

Hi All. The images below are of two tsuba, one is copper, 75mm x 68mm x 7 at the mimi. The plate bears a stamped pattern, the single hitsu ana is plugged with shakudo and the applied rim is roped. The other face is identical but bears heavy punch marks to adjust the nakago ana. The second is solid, blue - black shakudo, much better in hand than in the image, 72mm x 68mm x 5mm, slight fullness near the nakago ana tapering just a littel towards the mimi, the surface worked with very regular and well formed grooves, the mimi similarly decorated with grooves running around the circumference. I have come across a similar example for tsuba 1 but nothing like tsuba 2. Both are on swords with complimentary koshirae. I would love to know your thoughts on these. Many thanks.

Couldn't agree more that the maker should take his bow but not so sure about the bending of the staves. Looking at the ones either side of the ones with the kanji the grain reversal would indicate the cutting from solid rather than a bend , don't you think? Imagine a piece of timber with a valley carved into it at that point, pretty much what we are seeing here I think. Just goes to show we can manage to create a debate about almost anything here! Cheers

Ah Brian, I feel your pain. My father once said to me that I had excellent taste but that it was a pity that I would be unlikely ever to have the means to support it. I can understand why you liked this one so much.

Well Brian, I think it is a nice sword and you will be able to learn a lot by studying it. Even if the school does not rank very high the blade looks very nice and I am sure you will enjoy it. All the best.

And just to pour oil on troubled waters or fat on the fire, Red Cross Catalogue, number 884. "Sano. The founder, Naoyoshi, was a Yanagawa pupil, the following pieces however have been selected to show the style of sumizogan on gold under nanako which originated with that school. (884 being illustrated).......the nanako being punched all over the surface after inlaying the gold." That nanako is capable of being carried out over an inlayed surface is not a problem, the key or undercutting of the inlay being deeper than the nanako. Weather this is the technique applied to the kodzuka that started the discussion is a moot point. Some years ago Ford showed me a small piece of nunome zogan that was so fine it resembled morning mist so I suppose the idea of punching foil over a shakudo base is possible but certainly the hard way to do the job. I really must get a hobby, no, wait this is a hobby!

For what it's worth, "Among the many Yanagawa offshoots the most famous are the Sano (inlay covered with nanako giving the effect of brocade." Robinson.

Franco, Lee. Try the link I gave, go to full screen on the kodzuka and zoom in. I think you will see the irregularity you are looking for. Given fine nanako you would achieve the same effect as a low resolution digital image. I have seen it referred to as an attempt to create the impression of brocade as Ian says. Logical way to do it would be inlay first, honzogan I suspect and then nanako. The tsuba I was thinking of is in Robinson, "Arts of the Japanese Sword", plate 4. A tsuba with an inlaid butterfly given this treatment, signed, Wada Isshin Masatatsu according to the caption.

And without you guys and the NMB how many of us would have made the same mistake, only to discover much later that we had been fooled. Discovery learning is a powerful tool, but for those of us who have learned from this thread, a big Thank You! That goes for those who answered the questions and those who asked.

Hi Ron. Nice kodzuka and a technique that does crop up from time to time. Have a look at the ground on the kodzuka on this one; http://www.garthvincent.com/antique/837 ... ed+tanto+/ I have a feeling that I have seen a tsuba with a similar technique in the collection of the V and A museum, I'll see if I can find it.

Great results Matt, I would never have thought it possible. Just an idea, rather than emery paper have you tried a fibreglass pen? Roy swears by it. Principle being that it gets at the rust but not the base metal.

Hi Sam. Would love to see some pictures of the sword, always interested in Inshu Kanesaki swords. All the best.

Hi Joe. Interesting question. At the simplest level it depends if you own Kanabo sword or not. Non owners will subscribe to the accepted judgement which is that they were made in a period when there was a sense of urgency about making swords and are therefore not the finest; comments about coarse hada and the sugata evidence this. Owners will more likely describe them as undervalued and point out the virtues of a sword appreciated by the Samurai for their cutting ability and battle worthiness. You will have done the search and found out the history of the school and you will probably have noticed that there are a number for sale, some at quite steep prices. The bigger question is how you want to collect. As a practitioner of sword arts you might well feel that swords valued by Samurai as good weapons have an interest for you, in which case swords which are described as functional rather than artistic will appeal; Kanabo and Takada blades for example. There will be those who will advise against this because there is another view which is that you should aspire to the best and these schools are not it. There are several articles about how people collect relevant section of the board, However I have to admit that I have seen several Kanabo blades that I would be very happy to have owned, if you like one then buy it. Have fun!

Here you go. Mine has quite an active hamon underneath the hadori, midare based on suguha might describe it. Hope this is of interest.

Hi Brian. For what it's worth I like the sword, probably because I have one like it. Hawley only lists one smith signing this way and gives a typical date of 1503 while this link, http://www.sho-shin.com/sanyo19.htm should take you to a lineage which has him working typically around 1501. I don't think it matters who owned the sword rather what matters is the smith who forged it and the sword itself. If I get a chance I will do some images of mine and the NTHK paper with it for comparison for you. Enjoy.

Hi Grev. I see no one has embarked on a reply so from my limited knowledge here goes. First, none of the tsuba are anything other than what they seem, Japanese and none as far as I can see are cast so you have genuine tsuba. There are quite a lot of tsuba around which are fine for mounting on a sword, which after all is what they were intended for, but perhaps not collectable in their own right. The condition is far from perfect, some better than others. For what it's worth here are my thoughts; 1 Wakizashi size? The horse looks rather nice and although we only have one face to go on this would look good with a little care and time. 2 Not a great deal to say here, is this the more interesting face? Again it's had a hard life and may look bettre after some TLC. 3 The carving of the tree is nice, not sure what the floral bit in soft metal is. 4 A pleasant tsuba of a fairly common theme, the work seems quite good. 5 I am assuming that this is a copper alloy and from the colour perhaps nigurome or yamagane. This appears to be quite early, ko kinko. Try exposing this to sunlight for a bit and see if the patina comes back. Whatever you do resist the urge to clean it. 6 Nice tsuba, a little TLC needed her too. 7 Another interesting tsuba, I don't think it is high quality but it suggests Higo influence to me. 8 Mountains and stream, not sure what school if any but of a type commonly found, great for mounting. (Which, by the way is collector speak for genuine but of little interest) 9 I don't know, it's Japanese but what it is escapes me. 10 Kinko and tired. A gentle clean with warm water and soap may get what looks like Brasso out of the engraved leaves and then expose to sunlight which may repatinate the shakudo bull. 11Your favorite and why not? Unusual design and signed. If nothing else these thoughts may give the far more knowledgeable collectors on the board something to shot at so in the midst of that you may get some information. Bit like your last question really. All the best.

Hi Timothy. Two hours, six swords? Are you nearly there yet? Cheers.

Hi Steve and welcome. Your tsuba is almost certainly a cast iron one, probably late 19th early 20th century. I say this because it is remarkably like one I had on a sword and because the roundness around the piercings plus the slightly fudged detail makes it a pretty safe bet. Cast iron tsuba are not intended for use, as you probably know it's usually a brittle material, not good for a sword guard. This is therefore a late reproduction used to dress a blade up. Would love to see photos of the rest of the sword, just because this piece is not good it doesn't mean the rest is not.

Well that's about as wide a range as you can get, isn't it. (Koto - gendaito) From what the images show: The nakago looks ubu and the machi are clearly defined. You don't mention the nagasa but it looks to be a good length, not too much sori and an extended kissaki. The condition of the nakago is very hard to tell from these images but if ubu with a single mekugi ana then this implies not too much age. Standard thinking would suggest the large kissaki leads us to Shinshinto in combination with the other features. Other far more knowledgeable may see different indicators and arrive at different conclusions and don't forget that the later Gassan smiths are noted for their ability to work in many traditions so some of the normal pointers may not apply. Enjoy!

Hi Justin. This link references what I thought to be the case which is that only the later, Shinshimto and Showa Gassan smiths are known by name and that a large number of Gassan blades are essentially anonymous in the sense that we know almost nothing about individual smiths within the school. http://www.nihonto.ca/ko-gassan/ What does the shape of the blade suggest as to period? Whatever the outcome you must be pleased with the sword!

Compare with this one? http://www.owazamono.com/TB-026.html#grid

Hi Max. Can't add to the debate on the signature but I can say that the mounts are better than average and it's a nice looking thing. Curious about the shape of the nakago/tang. Cheers

Hi Peter. Nice find. I recalled seeing something about Kaifu smiths signing on the blade in this way and a search brought up this one, http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/tanto/11179.html You will see in the accompanying description by Tsuruta San that two smiths at least signed on the blade. Hope this helps. All the best

Hi Jag, welcome. In addition to your research may I suggest that you consider joining the Token Society of Great Britain, perhaps even more useful for you the Northern Token Society. http://www.northerntokensociety.org.uk/NTKS/News.html Great bunch of guys who will be more than welcoming and give you a chance to get to see swords in the company of knowledgeable and welcoming collectors. Many of them will have dealt with Tsuruta san and will tell you that he is good news. They will also be able to advise you about the pitfalls of importing swords. There are some recent changes to the law but having membership of either or both of these two societies will ensure that you have proof of an academic interest and hence are allowed to import. Antique items are allowed a reduced duty, all you have to do is prove it. Again, members of the society will be able to give you great advice on this. Enjoy!