Spartancrest

They never die! [and they never get cheaper!] https://www.jauce.com/auction/k554853441 https://www.jauce.com/auction/g475813843

Love the tsuba!

Hi everyone I just purchased a small tanto sized tsuba, my problem is that unlike numerous other examples of the mei, this one is only partial. The right hand side looks to have been erased. I have a Mito guard that has been similarly defaced - can anyone offer a reason why part of a signature would be removed? The image on the left shows a full mei [from another example] the two images on the right are different angles of my example. I also note that the kao [seal] on other examples can vary but in this case both show the same. One in the Ashmolean http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/7/10237/10392/20814 Other kao linked to Seiryuken Eiju

Tenpo/Tempo/Tembo - various spellings - 天保. Or Saotome with 'hot stamped' Tonbo [dragonfly]. Difficult to make out but definitely there. Unsure of the ten-zogan, is the image overexposed? Could be silver inlay? Very fine dots and rather sparse.

A modern take on the design, images are copyright - unfortunately. https://www.kinkoshi.com/stories-in-steel?lightbox=dataItem-ipeq8ea8

John very similar to this one [more expensive than what you paid ] I don't think the description of 'design of bamboo' should be taken at face value. I could be wrong but it is reminiscent of the snowflake type.

Stephen you posted it first - I will respect that and not bid, I hope others will do the same. But it is a good practice not to show your hand! Too many others have seen the deck [if you know what I mean]

Curran: The "Tiffany Tragedy" http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/59036 I cleaned and enhance the image - [jeez, I hate how dark photos are published] Even the fire tools are made of tsuba as well as hanging lights. Stephen - have you been hacking into my 'WATCH LIST"? https://www.jauce.com/auction/d1012478343

Well Piers it was sure unlucky for the tsuba!

Johan is it possible to see the other fittings- they may offer us other clues. I just enlarged the 'gold comb shapes' and they look a little like cottages further away in the distance? It is a mystery, but your piece is keeping a few of us active trying to work it out.

Namako - trepang, While the snowflake is a common enough outline either positive or in negative, I think in this instance it could represent a different species of Namko [sea cucumber] there are hundreds if not thousands of species. There was also a fad in Edwardian times for using tsuba as key hole escutcheons - a deplorable practice. [I had an old article mentioning this practice - but darned if I can find it at the moment] You might notice the holes in this example are recessed for flush screws.

Leg colour might be Night Heron but I think the beak is too short and stout - Have you seen just how many bird species are depicted on woodblock print? It could well be a generic "Bird"

Sparrows ? The two lower designs are from Chosen-gafu a book on metal work for sword ornaments. The other large image is from a woodblock print described as 'five sparrows' though their appearance is more swallow-like with the split tails.

I have found a reference to the original Tiger guard used as a model for the 1 yen 'paperweight". It seems to be a close rendering of the design, though the reference is only in B&W. The book cover title and the information are all in Japanese - so I have no clue what it says. Any help would be appreciated.

Matching menuki would be not only great but I would think very rare! But I have blown all my budget on the tsuba! I think you are right Ford they all come at once - I wish they would pace themselves a bit better. [we need a crying emoji!]

Looks like no shortage of fat guys on the bottle - sounds familiar!

Well thank you very much Thomas, that image is spot on. Having a second look at the spout of most Saké bottles and the other tsuba image I am now inclined to think the spout is supposed to represent a chipped or cracked top - it may well represent getting a bit merry and breaking the bottle? [the hazards of drink?] Yagu or not is really not that important to me I just love the odd shape.

I just purchased a small Tanto tsuba, the dealer described it as coming from the village of Yagu not far from Nara. I have seen many Yagu 'Bell' design guards and this is also described as Tsurigane [bell] shaped which it is not. To my eye it is in the shape of a Saké bottle, even down to the pouring spout, I have another image that is described as Wakizashi sized and in the shape of a 'rice bag' [both descriptions wrong] Would anyone hazard a school or style of this guard and could anyone steer me in the direction of the European auction house of the similar design? The dimensions given by the auction of the one I bought are suspect [I don't believe the thickness is only between 1 & 2 mm] Thanks for any assistance.

For anyone else with the same book fault, image has been lightened for better printing and a spelling mistake has been corrected [Tmonobu > Tomonobu]

Perfect daisho - you got very lucky there!

From my opinion I think they look even better with the decoration going in opposite directions. [what if any are the size differences?]

Well the seller has delivered the 1 yen purchase to Jauce [surprised] local postage for it 1,150 ¥ - so that works out at about $13 AU. It is all adding up. [not huge but proportional to the cost of the item it is high]

That's the trouble with birds they tend to fly away!

For the book lovers out there - another one to avoid https://www.uvuloade.top/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=advanced_search_result&keyword=tsuba

There seem to be a few of the design about, this image is from the Varshavsky Collection blog. https://varshavskycollection.com/collection/tsu-0258/ The Higo example can be found at Iron tsuba. The works of the exhibition “Kurogane no hana”, The Japanese Sword Museum, 2014, p. 69, №56: Sugomori-tsuru sukashi-tsuba (Nesting Crane). Mumei: Matashichi (1st generation), early 17th century. http://www.nihonto.us/CRANE SUKASHI TSUBA.htm has a variant that is not very far from the design.