Steve Waszak

Tsuba 1, 2, and 8 are on HOLD.

Tsuba 4, 5, and 6 are on HOLD.

Tsuba #10 is on HOLD.

Next group up: Tsuba #7: 7.4 cm x 7.2 cm x 3mm. This piece has nice shakudo inserts for the hitsu-ana. Strong tsuchime on the plate. $125 Tsuba #8: 7.1 cm x 6.6 cm x 6mm. Two-piece construction. The motif may be a Christian reference. $90 Tsuba #9: 7.4 cm x 7.2 cm x 5mm. Irregular shape with mixed motifs. Not one you see everyday. $125 Tsuba #10: 8 cm x 7.0 cm x 4mm. An acid-etched motif. Ubu (no hitsu-ana). With some ivorying, this tsuba will look really good. $125 All four tsuba for $ $390.

Next group: Tsuba #4: 7 cm x 6.5 cm x 3 mm. Tsuba #5: 7.2 cm x 7.2 cm x 3.5 mm. Tsuba #6: 7.4 cm x 7 cm x 3.5 mm. $90 each. $250 for the lot. Plus shipping.

Tsuba #3 is on hold. Stay tuned for more...

A good friend has asked me to help him sell a number of iron tsuba, most of which are at the "starter tsuba" level and/or make fine study pieces. I will be posting 2-3 pieces at a time, over the course of several days, beginning with the three below. Prices will be LOW, so if you're looking for an opportunity to acquire a handful of varied iron tsuba CHEAPLY, this is it. I will provide measurements on each tsuba, but not much more information (unless there is something of note to add, such as that a given piece is papered, etc...). I will not be trying to identify a "school" for each guard, either. Prices listed do not include shipping/postage. Because these tsuba are being offered at such low prices, I prefer to find buyers in the U.S., unless a non-U.S. buyer is looking to acquire several pieces at once. Please let me know if you have any questions, or are looking for a particular type of sword guard that I haven't posted yet. First come, first served. Steve Each of the tsuba here is being offered at $125. If you want all three, the price is $300. Tsuba #1 dimensions: 7.9cm x 7.8cm x 5.5mm Tsuba #2 dimensions: 7.5cm x 7.3cm x 4mm Tsuba #3 dimensions: 7.7cm x 7.4cm x 5.5mm

Rabbit menuki (ko-kinko?) on the aikuchi koshirae (17th century) for a Wakasa no kami Ujifusa tanto.

Since I'm more of a fittings guy, I'll mention that for tsuba, a deal-breaker is human-figure subjects. So, Soten guards have zero appeal. Dragons are another big turn-off. But the biggest NO for me is Namban tsuba, whose busyness and Chinese sensibilities are like a repellant. There are others, but these top the list.

This motif and design were rather popular in the Momoyama Period. Here is an example by Kawaguchi Hoan. The addition of the gourds in gold and silver is intriguing, since chrysanthemum iconography can be tied to the imperial family and fealty to the emperor, and gourds (especially in gold) can be associated with Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The shodai Hoan worked for the Asano clan, so it is interesting to speculate on possible political allusions with this tsuba.

Excellent, Tobi!

What's fascinating about that particular piece is that it's mumei(!), the paper gives it only to "Den Nobuie," and the price is still this high. Of course, being published in the Nobuie Tsuba Shu is going to lift the value to a degree, but this seems like a lot to me. Personally, the one Fred has here -- https://www.nihonto.com/1-1-22/ -- is the strongest of these three.

I think Darcy's write-up explains very well the very high values genuine Nobuie tsuba enjoy. It also must be remembered that photos do not do justice to the true appearance of Nobuie (and many other) tsuba. In real life, true Shodai and Nidai works are stunning, featuring a depth of color and taking on a patina I have not seen matched by any other maker's work. I have some personal experience with the tsuba in Darcy's write-up: it is astonishingly beautiful in hand, but not so much in Darcy's photos. Knowing firsthand the difference between how Nobuie swordguards come across in photos compared to what they actually look like when being held, I imagine the tsuba in the Aoi listing is vastly superior to how it may come across in the photos.

Many thanks for this, Robert. Beautifully done.

Really in too much shock to comment properly... Unfathomable loss. Deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Ah, thanks, Glen, for the explanation. I appreciate it. Yes, I can see why you had these statements in your post, then. I guess I would just say that, while Nidai work can be as good as that of the two Shodai smiths, I wouldn't quite say it is on another (higher) level. His workmanship can be more complex, it is true (e.g. he will sometimes have, in combination, uchikaeshi mimi, extremely expressive tsuchime, brilliant tekkotsu, and the finest amida-yasuri of any tsubako in history, IMHO), but conversely, it doesn't quite attain the hugely expressive sculptural power of the work of O-Shodai, and it lacks the nuanced finesse often achieved by the Meijin-Shodai. None of these qualities would make one "better" than the other, objectively speaking, but subjectively, certainly, we might prefer the tsuba of one of these smiths to those of the other. In my view, all three are absolute masters. Interesting note: the Nidai has five Juyo pieces to his name, while the O-Shodai (Yamasaka Kichibei) has "only" four. However, it must be considered that there are far fewer O-Shodai pieces extant, so a much higher percentage of his known works are Juyo than is the case with the Nidai. This, incidentally, must be factored in when we are reviewing how many Juyo works exist for a given smith or "school": how many pieces made by a particular tsubako are there, and of these, what percentage attain Juyo levels? In some cases, there may be hundreds of pieces extant belonging to a certain maker or school, but "only" perhaps ten are Juyo; on the other hand, there may be only a few dozen works known by another master, but of these, ten are Juyo. This may suggest a higher "ranking" for the latter... I'll look forward to reading your further posts in this and other threads, Glen. Steve

Hi Glen, Good thoughts posted here. I was struck, however, by this statement: "Second generation Yamakichibei is more highly prized than the 1st gen founder for that entire style. The 2nd gen smith really took the designs and execution to a higher level." When you say that second-generation Yamakichibei is more highly prized than the first-generation founder, I'm wondering where this notion comes from. Do you have a source for this statement? And as far as the second-generation smith "really [taking] the designs and execution to a higher level," I'd also like to know the source for this sentiment. In my experience, neither of these is quite correct... Steve

Excellent Nidai Yamakichibei tsuba, Piers! Well done. Really like that Ohno guard, too.

Many thanks for this, Mark. A very interesting and informative read. In particular, I appreciate how much it underscores the high importance of Tea Culture for the buke in the Momoyama and early-Edo periods.

Wish I had one for everyone!

PM sent.

Here is the lineage chart. Please note the correction to my original post above.

Two more:

Images of mei:

Goto Shunjo (1740-1822) was the grandfather of the great Goto Ichijo. The lineage here begins with Goto Kenjo (1586-1663), the seventh mainline Shirobei master. This kogai is excellent in both its execution and condition, featuring fine, even nanako as a background for the long-earred rabbit motif. The eyes of the rabbit are inlaid in gold. There is very little wear evident. The overall presentation of this kogai is very pleasing, with the smooth contours of the form of the rabbit juxtaposed against the crisp, clear nanako work. The kogai is signed on the reverse, Goto Shunjo. Measurements are 21.1cm x 1.2cm. Circa late-18th century. Boxed. A very fine shakudo kogai. $850.00, plus shipping. CORRECTION! A fellow member with much more knowledge than I on the Goto lineage of fittings makers has corrected me with regards to the identity of the Goto smith who made this kogai. It seems there were two Goto Shunjo smiths, one who was also known as Mitsunaga (1634-1712). This is the actual maker of this kogai. He dates to roughly a century earlier than the later Goto Shunjo (Mitsukazu) who was Goto Ichijo's grandfather. So, the proper dating of this kogai is actually likely to be the latter part of the 17th century. Below please find an image of the chart detailing the lineage. Sorry for the error! And many thanks to the member who PM'd me with the correction! Steve