Geraint

Woah! Easy everyone. The original response regarding books was I think directed at the reply which suggested that this was a kyu gunto. We all agree that once you start to learn about nihonto then you would be well advised to spend some money on books but let's not pile in on that one just yet. Andrew, our expertise is often in limited areas of the subject, hence what you might see as conflicting advice. Some people are very interested in swords of the type you posted, others specialise in gendaito, others will have a particular period or school that they are devoted to. Everyone wants to help, just that some advice is better than others for any particular topic. This is a rare mount and should be preserved as such but fitting a blade to it will not do anyone any good as several people have pointed out. It is well worth collecting from the point of view of those interested in military swords, many collectors would not be interested as their focus would be the blade itself. Someone has removed the blade, possibly because it was damaged beyond repair, possibly because they thought they would get more for the blade alone, who knows? Stick with it and this is a fascinating hobby whatever avenue of collecting you decide to go down. All the best.

No Donny, look up Shitahara school. There is a structure to sword signatures, have a go at the mei now that you know what it says and see if you can work it out, it gets easier over time. Slowly I grant you. Have fun. By the by, it would be nice to see some picture of the blade........ It may be gunto mounted but........

20 minutes each? That's a bit hasty Curran. Back to the topic. We all know that tsuba ko used design books and I have a photograph in one of my books of wooden templates or design models used to explore designs before committing them to metal. The picture shows tsuba and solid fuchi kashira in white wood with inked designs. I don't know if these were used to show customers but it is certainly true that designs are repeated, sometimes copied by other schools and so on.

Perhaps we could allow ourselves the leeway to say that any thought of having it remounted by anyone should go straight out of the window as it is a relatively scarce item and should be preserved exactly as it is.............

Brilliant link, thank you James.

What does the other side say, Gary? Sorry, missed your other post!

Hi Jason. Really sound advice here that the signature is not the most important thing. Learning to spot quality is important. Try comparing your fuchi with this, http://www.nihonto.com/4.26.12.html Your fuchi is not bad and would look good mounted but compare it to this kozuka and you should start getting your eye in. All the best.

Hi Curran. Kevin can get them. http://www.ryujinswords.com/tsukaito.htm Hope this helps.

Dear Gethin. Your first tsuba has had the nakago ana filled and then drilled but from my very limited experience all the small sword shell guards and rapier hilts that I have seen dismounted have had square or rectangular holes for their tangs. You mention some marks, if you are going for better photographs could you capture those? All the best.

Or perhaps more specific.

Hi Alex. There is a thread somewhere in the Izakaya about 3D printing. I guess the answer is, "Not yet!". All the best.

Hi Dan. I think the "upright copper object" is a tree or post that the boat is moored to. I would guess that the birds are geese. All the best.

Hi Jeremy. Several Bungo Takada smiths signed Nagayuki, Hawley only lists one who signed as yours is, working circa 1596. I would love to see more pictures of your sword. All the best.

Hi Robert. Not so simple. at least one authority said that a tsuba without a seppa dai was never intended for use..... On many tsuba the design uses the space between seppa dai and mimi but quite often the design does run through the seppa dai, sometimes blanked and sometimes continuous. Any generalisation is subject to argument but I associate this more with kinko tsuba. Often the design runs through the seppa dai in the form of engraving rather than anything else though I have seen one sword where the seppa are sculpted to fit raised designs on the tsuba. By the by, some tsuba really seem to change when mounted on a sword, tsuba makers who knew their game must have taken this into consideration when designing their work. All the best.

Hi Bernard. Are you sufficiently bitten to start adding to your father's collection? He had a good eye. This one depicts scarecrows, rather imaginative ones at that. Another lovely tsuba. All the best.

Hi Robert. I suppose it depends what you mean by non functional. I think we conceive a sword guard as something to protect the hand and in that case soft metal raises questions though there are many European swords with brass or bronze guards. As I understand it the function of a tsuba is more to locate the hand and prevent the grip slipping onto the blade than to parry a blow from an opponents sword so the strength of the guard becomes much less an issue. Also of course the function of the tsuba is to say something about the owner, the side of the tsuba most readily visible when the sword is worn would be on clear display. All the best.

Hi John. Late to the party with this, it's morning here. I didn't mean to suggest that you were challenging anyone, just curious as to why you were looking for Bizen smiths. It will be interesting to see what comes back from shinsa with this one, please let us know what the outcome is. All the best

Hi John. Curious as to what leads you to this smith. The sword was advertised as Soshu and with nothing more than the first two kanji it seems like a bit of a jump to a Bizen smith, especially as they widely signed with either Bizen or Bishu before the name. I would think that Andy would have spotted a Soden Bizen sword......... Something more you have found out? All the best.

Brian, mightn't it be worth adding these two and any others we can gather to the Articles section? I know a lot of older threads lose some of their worth because the images linked to them disappear after a time and this one is sure to re occur. Just a thought.

Hi Bernard. To answer you first question: because that is the way the tsuba would be when mounted on a tachi which were worn cutting edge down. Your second question is more difficult from these pictures, my guess would be that two different techniques have been used, hon zogan or true inlay for most of it and perhaps nunome zogan for the crosses as you describe them. If under a magnifying glass you can see a cross hatched surface where the gold appears worn then that would indicate nunome zogan. As it is much more on the surface then it is more likely to wear over time. Hope this helps.

Hi J Greene. As for the first sword, it appears to be a genuine blade with the remains of a koshirae. The snap fitting is not unusual for the leather combat cover which was added for use in WWII. The hilt is missing menuki but the fuchi and kashira are genuine as is the tsuba. The blade does not seem to have lost much of its tip so perhaps worth showing in hand to someone who can advise you but it seems to be a shinto sword, not a showato. As far as I can tell your link has images of the fittings but not the blade, post some more of the blade, as clear as you can, and you might get some more opinions. Have fun.

Ah Hoanh. Thank you for this. I had not realised how important my collection was, all those mumei blades! :D

I see why Stefan suggest partial gilding and not true inlay but I think that may be the photograph; top edge on the second image I think I see some very small losses which would indicate true zogan. Bernard this is turning into a very enjoyable collection of tsuba, thank you for sharing them with us. All the best.

Well, I am going to suggest the lid for a Koro.......

Welcome Bernard! An interesting tsuba. It appears that the kogai hitsu has been completely lined in shakudo which is unusual. As you will know from your research tsuba are almost always flat, thought they may well taper either from the edge towards the centre or the other way. I would suggest that this dished tsuba is an unusual example, the marks covering the seppa dai at the centre of the tsuba could suggest a Namban connection, tsuba influenced by European styles. Others far more knowledgeable than I will no doubt chip in but I find this an interesting piece. Enjoy.