Steve Waszak

Offering two ji-sukashi iron sword guards. The first is quite large at 8.4cm x 8.2cm x 5-5.5mm. It is a symmetrical, mutsu-mokkogata openwork design, featuring myoga (Japanese ginger) motifs to form the hitsuana. I believe this to be a late-Momoyama to early-Edo Period Owari tsuba. While the surface of the piece is fairly smooth, there are gentle tekkotsu and tsuchime in the rim. Overall condition is excellent. Owing to its size, the tsuba has a fairly striking presence, with a natural, mellow patina. $325.00, plus shipping. The second tsuba is a bit smaller at 7.9cm x 3mm. It presents with a rather "starker" design expression, with a dominant heavy cross motif centered within the marugata form. Triple tomoe add to the motif, with one present in ji-sukashi at each "arm" of the cross. Slender strips of iron shadow the central element of the cross, suggesting a lattice. A very striking design. I am unsure of the school here. I feel the rim is too narrow for Owari, the design a bit too bold and martial for a clear Kyo-sukashi attribution. Some might say ko-Shoami. Again, I am unsure myself. Condition of the tsuba is very good, with a subtle, natural patina (no oils, lacquers, or wax here). $275.00, plus shipping. If both tsuba are purchased together, I would offer them at 10% off, for $550.00, plus shipping.

Well done, Bobby. I saw this while visiting with the Itohs on Friday. Beautiful work. Congratulations.

This week only: Price drop to $475 (plus shipping).

Akasaka tsuba. Myoga (Japanese ginger) motif. Myoga was fairly often used in family crests, as it was believed to offer (divine) protection. Hence, it serves as an excellent subject in tsuba. This particular piece features powerful forms, both in the the rendering of the myoga elements and in the heavy rim, as well as in the boldly martial expression represented in the direct symmetry. The metal is beautiful: the clear grain, deep color, fine patina, and superb condition combine to create a gorgeous sword guard. The clean, uncluttered surface of the iron is relieved deftly via the fine carving of the details on the myoga elements. The seppa-dai is large and powerfully formed. The rim of the tsuba shows evidence of the forging, providing a subtle relief to the otherwise smoothly rounded contours. 76.5mm x 75.5mm x 6mm at the rim. $600 plus shipping.

Certainly sounds like a rabbit hole, but a very engaging and enjoyable one.

Brilliant, Steven, brilliant. A truly beautiful work. Congratulations.

Bravo, Manuel, bravo! Outstanding, both the work itself(!) and your result from the NBTHK. Extremely impressive.

The literature on Nobuie tsuba as regards Christian motifs indicates (proves?) that such tsuba were made, and that the iconography was not hidden. Rather, it is more likely that we are simply not understanding the reference intended by the sukashi motif that has a strong floral suggestion. From Ito Mitsuru's book, Nobuie, we see three examples of early-Momoyama Nobuie tsuba with motifs identified as Christian (see below). And from Nobuie Tsuba ( which includes reproductions of Nobuie tsuba rubbings from Nakamura Kakudayu's Nobuie Tanshu), we see a specific sword guard noted, with the write-up (translated by Markus Sesko) recognizing the motif to be Christian (see images below referencing tsuba #61). Sometimes, it seems that there is a notion that all Christian iconography that tsubako may have employed must have been hidden, but during the time of Oda Nobunaga, especially, Christianity was practiced openly, and several prominent members of the Buke were known to be Christian. Given the elevated status of such men, and the standing of Nobuie as a tsubako, we can see that displays of Christian identity and/or association were hardly in need of being in the shadows.

Interesting discussion. Over the years, I have seen many tsuba with some degree of separation of folds, usually manifesting especially in the walls of the nakago-ana. I've seen it so much, in fact, that it seems to be a fairly ordinary occurrence, perhaps especially with older works (pre-Edo). In the pieces I've seen, though, the separating of the folds is frequently limited to a small area, such as one wall of the nagako-ana, and doesn't extend throughout the plate very far. Stephen's example here is one of the more extreme cases I think I've seen.

Thanks, Brian. I hadn't continued through the whole of the thread.

I was able to download the Token Bijutsu magazines #s 1-10 without a problem, but in trying to download 11-30, it appears I do not have permission to do so. What am I missing?

Wow. Great tsuba. Fantastic pair of sword guards here. The iron in these pieces is just killer. Any reason this couldn't be first-generation Iesada? Congrats again, Curran. and nicely done.

Superb tsuba, Curran. Many thanks for posting it. So great to see a Juyo-class Yamakichibei, and to see it well-photographed. Congratulations on this brilliant sword guard, my friend. And looking forward to seeing the Saotome, too. Which Saotome smith is it, if I may ask?

Hi Stephen, Sorry to see that this tsuba is cast. This threat is always out there now. I suppose this fact brings the silver lining that it encourages us to be constantly vigilant, not only for signs of a piece being cast, but also for other signs that the item isn't quite what it may seem to be. I did like your write-up, anyway! As for the design being tied to Yagyu and Ohno guards, it is understood that the Ohno tsubako did make some tsuba for the Yagyu (most, if not all Yagyu tsuba were actually made by Owari smiths of the time, such as Fukui, Toda, and Sakura Yamakichibei. Among these, though, too, were Ohno smiths). So, it doesn't surprise me that we would see some overlap in designs between guards designated as Yagyu, and those attributed to Ohno.

Just wanted to chime in here to say that I am really enjoying this topic and thread, and very much appreciate all of the excellent observations, insights, and viewpoints.

Excellent acquisition, Okan. Very powerful design. Congratulations. Would love to see this in person some day.

REALLY appreciate the efforts you and Markus have put in here. Many, many thanks.

Another jarring loss. The tsuba world, it seems, has been especially hard hit in the past several months (Ford Hallam, Bruce Kirkpatrick, Skip Holbrook). I'll miss you, Skip. RIP my friend.

It is with much sadness that I have to present the news here that the long-time tsuba scholar and historian, Bruce Kirkpatrick, has passed away (this past Monday). Many here may not have known, or known of Bruce, as he did not participate in online forums. However, he was a major figure in tosogu scholarship, particularly tsuba, having been involved in studying, researching, and collecting Japanese sword guards for over fifty years. Unfortunately, Bruce was quite reluctant to publish his findings and insights, and, despite my frequent encouragement, he could never be persuaded to put his thoughts into writing. This is a great loss for all of us who are serious in our pursuit of tosogu study and learning. In the twenty-plus years I have been deeply involved in the scholarship, connoisseurship, and collecting of tsuba, I have never encountered another with the degree and breadth of insight Bruce had in this field. His ability and capacity to identify and put together seemingly disparate pieces of information from the most widely scattered sources, and to do so convincingly, was nothing short of astonishing. Ever the iconoclast, his views not infrequently challenged the status-quo traditional understandings of many aspects of tsuba, including those pertaining to schools, construction methods, influences on design, and many other aspects. He was often forceful and unapologetic about issuing these challenges; for some, his manner was too churlish, harsh, and disrespectful of tradition, and so, there were those who chose not to associate with Bruce. While I understand such sentiments (and felt some of these myself), the brilliant insights he had on so many topics in the world of tsuba ultimately more than made up for his thorny nature. I can say emphatically here that I have learned more from Bruce about tsuba and the cultural milieu that informed so much about them than I have from all other sources combined. Historian, aesthete, cultural critic par excellence, Bruce will be sorely missed by those of us who had the opportunity to know him well. RIP Bruce

Absolutely can be trusted. 100% great to deal with. You can have full confidence.