brentlewiis

Hello friends, I recently acquired a tsuba with an inlaid poem in “grass writing” and am hoping to determine both its authorship and content. Please see accompanying photos. Many thanks as always for your input.

Hello all, I am hoping to gain some understanding of this origami which accompanied a tsuba I bought some time ago. I am particularly interested in the handwritten notes. Please find images attached, and as always my apologies for my still rudimentary photographic skills.

My thanks to everyone for the informative and illuminating discussion! One of the things that struck me was the dissimilarity in treatment of the front and back— had I encountered images of the two sides independently of one another I would have assumed I was looking at two different objects. I was also both perplexed and intrigued by the design—in my limited experience, such iconography is usually used with a measure of austerity and restraint, rather than in profusion, as here. The only thing I can think of that resembles the color of the metal on the front is shibuichi. The back is so raw that for a time I thought the piece might be of recent origin. The gold inlaid border, and the inlay of the poem seem undisturbed, and I would expect some issues if the surface had even cleaned with abrasives. The inlays on the front have suffered some losses, however. On the whole, I was sufficiently intrigued that I purchased the item, if for no other reason than to enable further direct study. Again my thanks for everyone’s ongoing input.

Hello Florian, There does not seem to be any plating on the front. The back is quite raw— seems like it might be intentionally so as it seems to give a cloud or fog effect. This also suggested the possibility of cleaning to me. Perhaps overzealous removal of surface rust? There does not seem to be any pitting however. The finish on the front is perhaps suggestive of some form of “pickling”? Lucian

Hello Dan, Thank you very much for the link to that fascinating paper! The Namban treatment of the seppa-dai struck me as well. I am also wondering about the shape of the sotoba. I have not come across any other tsuba with both skull motifs and Namban details. Hoping to learn more! I will try posting the mei and inlay in Translation Assistance.

Submitted for consideration is this tsuba, which might be found interesting for a number of reasons. Please forgive my poor photographic skills. I am told the mei might read “Bungo ju Kikuhiro Masahira.” I am at a loss regarding the “grass writing” inlay but am guessing that it is a poem by Basho or Buson. The color of the metal is interesting, and looks like it might have been partially ‘cleaned.’ Any discussion would be welcome.

The research I’ve done indicates that the mei compares favorably with those found on known good examples. I didn’t see any of the usual indicators of gimei. I bought it for a pittance, because I liked it and thought it had merit. Not because I necessarily believed it to be Yanagawa school work. Is the school of such standing that applying a false signature would result in a return on investment greater than the effort required to effect the deception?

Seems to me that rather a large issue has been raised by questioning the legitimacy of the mei. Perhaps one could be prevailed upon to share one’s reasoning? I would much prefer an informed discussion.

The software rotated all the images 90 deg. clockwise. Don’t known why.

My apologies for the discourtesy of my poor photography, and the mis-orientation of the products thereof. These failures notwithstanding, perhaps one could share one’s reasoning for finding the legitimacy of the mei questionable?

Hello friends, I acquired a tsuba a while back and am interested in what others might think. I believe the mei is that of Yanagawa Naoharu. The examples of that school/artist’s work that I’ve seen have mostly been in soft metals with amazingly fine nanako. This one seemed atypical in having a plain iron ground.

Please forgive my poor photography. My phone does not have macro capability

My initial thought was unokubi zukuri but there is no evidence of a yokote and something I read suggested that such blades were likely cut-down polearms or imitations of them. Kanmuri-itoshi was not considered due to the point shape. I initially thought that the relatively short nakago might be the result of its having been shortened just above the original Ana. In any event the rust on the nakago is very dark and consistent.

I agree that it could also be Naginata zukuri. There are some features that suggest it might be a copy of another, perhaps older blade—there is an area on the katana ura where the soe-bi has the appearance of having been polished away but I cannot perceive any corresponding irregularity of the blade’s surface that would indicate the removal of a flaw. The Bo-hi lack the curved foot and traditional point of Naginata-hi. There is no sign of machi okuri. If the nakago was shortened it was very long ago. The overall impression is of an old sword that has not been terribly well cared for but has also not been chipped or nicked or significantly corroded. If made as a katana, perhaps early nanbokucho?

Hello friends, I recently added an old sword to my collection. It is naginata naoshi, with deep black rust on the tang. Temper is generally narrow with many ‘irregularities’. The blade is hard for me to read due to condition. Nagasa is 24.5 inches. The kissaki is obscured so I can’t tell if there is a boshi. Please forgive my general lack of tech savvy. Any thoughts/opinions regarding age/school? A cut-down naginata or born this way?