Ford Hallam

thanks Brian Hi Carlos, yes, I saw those, not really the look I'm aiming for, and they do look a little 'raggedy' tbh. I dont want Jyuyo quality but there's a particular level of quality that seems to define mid level working bushi koshirae that I'm after.

Thanks Jean, they need to be period pieces or I would already have made them

This is the sort of look I'm after

Hi Colin thanks for responding. Not quite the overall form I need, I'm afraid. I'm after something a little more elongated. Are these not camellia in any case?

I'm looking for a pair, suitable for a katana, of plum blossom menuki. This is for a restoration project so the aesthetic is quite specific. Ideally the older simpler styles, Umetada-ish, if you know what I mean. Gold blossom (uttori) shakudo/yamagane base etc. Thanks Ford

The tree does echo Hamano treatment of that sort of subject, and the 'misty' nunome is very Tanaka/Toryusai, as it the mimi shape, perhaps even a little late Umetada in there too ( the ones with the plum blossom stamp). On the overall balance I'd lean Tanaka/Toryusai myself. Increasing I feel that if there's no mei it's not 'of a school' at all but merely 'in the style of' or 'showing the influence of'. A similar example here, attributed Tanaka Toryusai by the NBTHK.

As Bob has described, the lighting conditions can greatly effect the colour rendition, as can the printing. The catalogue image is apparently on a white background yet what we see is far from 'white'. The only real change is the removal of the solid grey silver sulphide layer on the reflected silver face in the stream.

That's exactly what they want you to think. As Screwtape says, the Devil's best trick was convincing humankind he doesn't exist.

Hi Mario In my view this is pretty late and pretty poor work. Not of a quality I'd recommend worth collecting or spending money on. A couple of easy pointers. We'd typically expect things like eye and teeth to be highlighted in gold or silver, either solid or gilt/silvered. In this case they're in brass. This, even though they will tarnish quickly, suggests to me that gilding was not planned because gilding using mercury is virtually impossible to accomplish well on brass. They can be kept shiny and bright just long enough to fool the unweary tourist perhaps. Surface details are inevitably either finely engraved/chiselled or carved. In this case, though, the scale pattern covering the dragon's body appear to have been simply punched, not even engraved, by using a cup shaped U punch. From a production point of view this is absolutely the easiest, quickest and least skilled method of suggesting a scale-like pattern. It might be a worthwhile exercise to compile as many such pierced and carved iron dragon tsuba as you can and to try to evaluate and order the examples in terms of quality to better recognise the general differences in quality. I believe we all recognise quality when in comparison whereas assessing a singular object is sometimes trickier. And lastly, as is often said with blades, the workmanship proves the signature, and not the other way round. If you really want to get into Kinai I reckon you'll be needing a copy of "Echizen Kinai Tsuba by Tsuruoka", Grey Doffin, a well respected and trusted dealer sometimes active on the NMB has a copy here.

Yes, that's what it looked like to me, crescent moon reflected in water perhaps? Quite a clever and elegant/subtle reference I think.

i quite like the classic niju habaki myself

sen-zogan raimon zu

Hello David I note that you didn't actually ask about the authenticity of the kozuka itself but never the less I feel a sense of responsibility to make some observations. It looks to me to be a brass casting (shinchu in Japanese, Sentoku is a very different alloy btw). I think this from the general appearance of the detail on the front but the reverse also appears to exhibit a fair bit of porosity (tiny air bubble holes) which tend to be fairly good indicators of a cast metal. The piece has been enhanced with gold and silver electro-plating. Often, to provide a good adhesion for gold and silver, a casting will be given a copper undercoat plating. This is what we can see and might be misunderstood as 'high-lights'. The sort of complicated mix of plating is not seen in older mercury gilding, which implies that the work was done after electroplating technology was introduced to Japan. This introduction of plating technology occurred at the very end of the Edo period but was initially very limited and expensive. It is only in the mid Meiji period that the new process was adopted more broadly and is seen on many of the cheaper goods made for an undiscerning tourist market. As to the craftsmanship of the original model I would say it was not particularly fine, the hawk in particular is pretty simplistic and inelegant in the way it's been rendered. The the arrangement of the cords and tresses etc. are very messy, whereas on a fine example of the subject they would form a strong and coherent composition, seeing as they occupy so much of the kozuka surface. And finally, as a plated cast copy I would suggest it is not the sort of piece that represents genuine traditional tosogu in any meaningful way. My advice would be to learn to recognise the sorts of technical details I've tried to describe and to avoid them in the future.

A masterpiece of graphic design, one of my all time favourites. I got my copy of Sasano, in a random bookshop in Cape Town!, in 1986. My mother, an artist, and her contemporaries, had never seen anything like tsuba and were quite blown away by the brilliance of so many of those fine examples. This one was particularly admired, especially for the visual interest and strength of the negative spaces.

A kiri ryoshibako (paulownia wood document box), containing an interior tray, applied with various simulated iron tsuba carved in wood. Signed Shohei with kakihan. With original wood tomobako inscribed Ito Shohei with two red seals. Length 38.5cm, width 31cm, height 13cm Circa 1900 available at Malcolm Fairley, London

In fact of all the tosogu the kozuka is generally the most uniform in terms of dimensions. About 30 years ago, when I first seriously started making fittings, I compiled a set of measurements for about 100 kozuka and established the most common range of values. I did the same with fuchi kashira too, 'cos I'm a bit exacting like that . To simplify matters in terms of practical workshop requirements I disregarded any items that were unusually large or small. I'll dig out my notebooks and post my findings when I get a chance. These images might help.

Hello C In case you're unaware of your local Token society it might be beneficial to get in touch. http://www.to-ken.nl/

Although eventually we accept a well patinated nakago the use of choji oil, especially undiluted, is no longer recommended on swords as it can stain steel. Camellia oil is the stuff to go for. Some people put a tiny drop of clove oil in the camellia because the smell is nostalgic, I must confess I do the same. afwiw; hard to be absolutely certain from the photo but I get the feeling the whole nakago has been subject to some sort of artificial rust promoting treatment.

George M. Thank you for that brilliant exposé on the trail of our mystery 'sitter'. Great background material! Bazza, that ground is lovely and mysterious isnt it? From what I can make out and replicate it's achieved by the careful application of heavily textured hammers. Ichijo uses a basic version on his 'snowflake tsuba. In this case the are tine nanako like indents in the hammer face that leave those little 'eggs'. It's a delicate process because any heavy handedness or miss strike obliterates any previously created texture. And funny how another great artist is 'accused' of drinking too much , who's measuring? and who set the limits....is what I want to know It just seems rude to go on about it. Perhaps if Ichijo had 'let his hair down' a bit his own work may have developed a bit more passion perhaps . Mitsuoki Otsuki was apparently a bugger for the drink too, and Unno Shomin succumbed quite badly in his later life. But by way of context some artists actually believed that a good session once in a while was a good thing in terms of ones creativity, the lacquer artist Shibata Sesshin, a friend of Natsuo, and generally very straight laced, encouraged his students to enjoy a good drinking session occasionally too. Swordsman calligrapher Yamaoka Tesshu was a bit of a sake monster too.

The last decade before the barbarians began banging on the door and Japan was changed for ever. I'm guessing that the lack of response to this piece is as a result of 'tsuba shock and awe' ... I think this portrait study is probably one of the finest in all of the tosogu works ever made. I'm convinced this is actually a real person in fact, it's so characterful in expression.

Ok Dale, I bow to your superior knowledge and insight into classical Japanese metalwork. I'm certain the collective membership will benefit from your well intentioned guidance henceforth.

Actually Dale, looking at these examples you've culled I think there are a number of innocent victims here. Do you really think that fine nunome-zogan decoration was added recently to a cast fake? And there are others that seem perfectly legitimate to my eyes.

Dale The V&A example in your 'rouges gallery", how are you so certain it's a fake? I'm assuming you've not actually handled it and you're basing your judgement on this image alone. I ask as someone who's probably had more 'hands on' study of this particular collection in the past 50 years...

Cheers Jeremy, I suppose at some point vanity will demand a retrospective collection of images of my works. I have kept a photo record of most things I've made in the Japanese traditions at least, my goldsmithing is less well documented.