Kurikata

and to continue with a kozuka.....

Thank you both of you

Hello, I need some help. The signature reads KIMURA TOMO NAGA to me from the 4 first Kanji (木村友長). But what a bout the last Kanji ? Toshi ? Thank you Bruno

Luca, I join a pictures of the mimi which looks similar to yours. Definitively both tsuba are from the same school/influence and I would also be very interested in having a theme description. When I purchased mine, the sole description was "Heianjo". Let see in someone can give a clue.... Cheers

Hi Luca, just as a a mater of comparison.... But mine has no paper.....

Anyway, a great thank you for all your comments and analysis. I didn't expect this tsuba to go throughout the new 2019 year.

Dear all, first of all thank you for your very kind comments. @Steven: you have such a sharp eye to distinguish this ruyi scepter! I know that when we come to cross and christian symbols, all interpretations are possible. @Fred: I do not see any "Fleur de Lys" in this cross. Any way the "Fleur de Lys" symbol means either a Royal French Crest or the Virgin Marie in the catholic religion.... very far from Japan, even jesuits (portuguese) influence @Grev: Please provide a picture of your tsuba as you have heightened my interest in it. Anyway : "TRES BONNE ET HEUREUSE ANNEE A TOUS LES AMATEURS DE TOSOGU" Bruno

Hi everybody, I purchased this namban tsuba recently because it had a very nice mimi and no kozuka and kogai ana. Looking at the design (monkeys, gumbai etc... ) I discovered a cross at the top of it. Do you think i might be a Christian cross or is it a family mon ? Thank you for your views on it. Bruno

Thanks Uwe for this proposal.It is certainly the closest link with a referenced tsuba ko. Garyô=Masayoshi=Yasuchika VI (Haynes 11109) . But the two last kanji (雋之) remain a mystery to me.

Dear All, thank you for your efforts, but I have not found a tsuba maker with these names: - Gasekichun (Steve) - Yasuka Kazuyuki (John) - Yasuyuki Yashiro (Google translation) Very interesting to discover that the translation of 雋之 is "SUNSET" in English

Thank you Uwe and Piers . 雅良 reads Masayoshi but I cannot find any Masa Yoshi with such Kanji in Haynes. And what about the other Kanji ? I will investigate further more/. Merry Christmas to everybody Bruno

Hi, I hardly decipher this signature. Can someone help ? Thank you Bruno

Well done. I like the way the print of the tsuba is integrated in the plate. It will be probably more complex with a kiku gata tsuba ????

Taking advantage of Steven good advise, I have check if this kozuka was on the Victoria and Albert Museum Website. Under the reference M.2144-1931 (Reference I got from the Arts of the Japanese Sword" of B.W. Robinson plate 81,) unfortunately there is no picture..... but the description is now ISHIGURO school (https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O464344/kozuka/)... Kyle's opinion was in the right direction... Thank you both of you.

Thank you Mickael. Your proposal is very interesting as there are a lot of similarities between Nara and Otsuki schools .

I fully support this idea of a wrong attribution in this book. This kozuka has no elements which might bring to a Mito classification. I' ll dig in my research in the Ishiguro direction from now.Thank you for the information.

Hi everobody I have this Kozuka signed Masa Haru which is similar to the Kozuka presented in "the Arts of the Japanese Sword" of B.W. Robinson plate 81. It is mentioned that it is from Mito school. There are so many Masa Haru artists with the same Kanji....Would it be the Soiken Masaharu Haynes H03925.0? Does some one have tosogu pictures of this artist? Thank you Bruno

Definitively they are wild geese. Guido is right to say it is quite a commun design on Japanese prints.

Thank you all of you for your kind comments on this tsuba. I confirm that the metal is shibuichi for the plate. I note that there is a consensus for Nara school.

Dear all, despite my research I have no clue on the School for this tsuba. Nara, Mito or the "famous" Shoami one.... Does someone have a view on a specific school? Thank you Bruno

Estimations do not mean that the transaction has been done at that price. I read this article: https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/01/arts/record-prices-at-christie-s-for-Japanese-swords.html $88000 apparently was the most expensive at that time (1992)

Thank you Mauro and Pete. In that case let's go for Shoami. Shonai Shoami tsuba generally look quite different in style and technics.But who knows?

By the way, what is the most expensive tsuba sold by the past, at auction or "over the counter" to a dealer?

Hi, I have this tsuba in my collection for a while and considered it as a Kaga school one. But I always had some doubts. What are you views on it? Thank you

Another thread on Mokume Tsuba : http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/18054-mokume-tsuba/