Spartancrest

Hi Keith, welcome to NMB. Firstly the tsuba images are upside down - even for us in the Southern hemisphere The first example you show may well be a cast copy and not of really any value as such - but that doesn't mean other people don't try to sell them at "inflated" prices this one also has some missing tail feathers on the Hō-ō bird [phoenix] https://www.ebay.com/itm/331466396417 US $450.00 is way too much! See also https://www.kyoto-yakata.net/sale/65124/ which seems to be a carved piece and https://www.choshuya.co.jp/koshiraeyokanagu/鳳凰図透鍔（鐔）　無銘/拵用金具 which is a much finer example. The second piece looks like a thicker version of this one posted back in 2019 https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/28384-tsuba-question/ I would check the second one with a magnet, the colour looks like a copper alloy [Sentoku?] - it may just be the lighting? The third is a little too dark to see any pattern but it may be a rough hammered piece Tembo or Saotome type?

I think the shape was intended as Kobushi-gata and the indent was intentional - the crescent may have been so the guard can be used as a Kake to stop the sword rolling when there is no stand for the sword? This one has an indented section where the sukashi is, but the rest of the shape won't work for keeping the sword oriented blade upwards.

Some riding crop menuki examples - looks like they like to add all sorts of little "extras" https://www.eldreds.com/auction-lot/pair-of-gilt-shakudo-menuki-in-the-form-of-an-abu_00de908440 https://www.Japanese-swords.com/menuki-gallery/pages/015.htm There is a riding crop Kogai here: https://www.tosoguya.com/ko_goto_riding_crop_kogai.html

Good question - I have a few other guards that have been altered over time, this "Nobuie" has a really thin hammered up edge, I think this is often referred to as a "wire edge" that brings the mimi up to 7 mm from the plate thickness of 4.2 mm The crescent "bite" has some features that suggest it was made that way - but the small cut out in the hitsu is a little odd to me? I was thinking of the construction method for the placement of the "nata" sukashi. The outline of the guard must have been done first or else when hammering the rim, if the sukashi was already present, it would tend to bend that portion of the rim inwards. I suppose this is normal practice anyway to get the "blank" first then do any cut outs last.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/u1236017056 These are as rare as hens teeth [NOT]- there must be a lot of chickens with dentures!

Could it also represent the handle found on a tansu? or is this a big smile?

All from the same seller - they look like top quality pieces. https://www.jauce.com/auction/x1235901241 It is a shame there is some damage - fantastic work. https://www.jauce.com/auction/h1235911663 https://www.jauce.com/auction/n1235910668

From https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/24212-rabbits/ Posted December 4, 2017 Walters Art Museum has two https://art.thewalters.org/object/51.389/ https://art.thewalters.org/object/51.390/ They also make modern fakes https://www.knifecenter.com/item/CISH2471/cas-hanwei-hunter-katana-l6-tool-steel-blade https://www.ebay.com/itm/145103688014 https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=183282680271327&set=pb.100057687870485.-2207520000

Number 18 is from a particular school the darker image is from the Walters Art Museum https://art.thewalters.org/object/51.298/ The museum has trouble with lighting its items! https://www.city.toyama.toyama.jp/etc/muse/tayori/tayori05/tayori05.htm "In the Toyama domain, the second lord, Maeda Masatoshi, invited Somada Kiyosuke, a master of mother-of-pearl inlay work. From then on, the Somada family inherited the mother-of-pearl inlay technique and continued to produce works. Mother-of-pearl inlay was highly valued and was apparently used as a gift from the domain. Perhaps this tsuba was also made as a gift. The intricate patterns are beautifully expressed within the limited surface area, demonstrating the high level of skill of the Somada family."

Not as seen from the Southern hemisphere - we don't see some at all, while you "Northerners" won't see some we take for granted. The Southern Cross for instance - unless you live in Southern Texas and Florida, the most southerly islands of Japan, Europe not at all! It can only be seen south of roughly 25°N latitude. [Trivia: but the last time Southern Europeans saw the Southern Cross was 2,000 years ago due to the precession of the equinoxes] And lets not forget the constellations will appear upside down and flipped left to right! It must be very odd at the equator

I have a good memory for "faces" - most of my trouble is remembering when and where I saw that "face"

Is this a bit clearer?

http://aoijapan.com/img/fittings/2012/F12449.jpg Akasaka https://www.aoijapan.net/tsuba-mumei-unsigned-akasaka-school-tsuru-kame-sukashi/ Bushu ju Akasaka https://www.choshuya.co.jp/senrigan/鶴亀図透鐔　銘　武州住赤坂彦十郎忠時/鍔/忠時 https://eirakudo.shop/tosogu/tsuba/detail/481005 Higo papered as Higo https://wakeidou.com/pages/365/ indeterminate https://rafuju.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=829120

A Kojiri out of the ordinary! https://www.jauce.com/auction/h1233155397