Spartancrest

I just received this tsuba Sure, I spotted the problems. But I was wondering just how fine, can people weld cracks these days? The hitsu has two cracks probably as a result of damage and why the rim was removed. The fan with the missing "sticks" is bent slightly out of the plain of the rest of the guard. I don't think it can be straightened without the risk of breaking it from the guard entirely. Worth a try or leave it alone? Just a cheap "novelty" buy so no big deal.

Does anyone have access to the Ashmolean Museum and a drill press? https://images.ashmolean.org/search/?searchQuery=EAX.5604

MOST IMPORTANT - DON'T LET THIS COPY, PUT YOU OFF A GREAT HOBBY! You are welcome to ask any questions here on NMB and there are lots of experienced collectors to help. [We have already made the mistakes - so you don't have to! ]

There is another one over on Etsy [actually two in a lot of 9 fakes ]- soft metal without the tagane-ato https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/4341039673/used-Japanese-sword-tsuba-set-9 There are worse looking fakes - I do hope you didn't pay much and as some of the other members have said - just use it as a learning experience. [most of us have bought things we later regretted ] The design is based on a scene from the "Tale of Genji" A love story set in the Heian period around 11th century.

Aren't we still looking for intelligent life in the universe? - We already know there is not much here on Earth.

Where is the "Hidden" bit? Maybe it is a "misdirection" Australian tsuba? [The stars are just lined up to confuse the viewer ]

Trickster "Kitsune" guarding a treasure?

Welcome to NMB James! a GUNTO lock It would help James if we had an idea of the size of the guard, these examples show where a locking mechanism was fitted to secure the tsuba to the saya - If your guard is bigger the hole would not be for such a mechanism, but if the guard is small possibly for a tanto then a lock may be the reason there is a squarish hole in yours. However there are a number of guards that do have square or rectangular "hitsu" such as this example From David Stiles on a post from 2025 Many examples of sukashi tsuba with squared hitsu in this thread but also a number of solid plate pieces which might help.

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/Japan/en/special/order/confirm/https%3A%2F%2Fjp.mercari.com%2Fitem%2F2JP3ZzTjeBHaSvmGRQycNb/13_1/

Either a giant has got a sukashi tsuba for sale or that tsuba came off a tiny sword! https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/406839530729

An unusual way to sell a rather nice hamidashi tsuba - why did they take an image where the nakago-ana is "filled"? A number of these small guards have been "repurposed" as netsuke and the hole has been filled with a plug in order to carry a cord. something else made from a hamidashi tsuba? There is one small image that shows the black hole tsuba is not filled - simply photographed badly. https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1225438063 An image from a book "Sword and Blossom Poems" ca. 1910 > 1914 shows a hamidashi tsuba. For those interested the poem translates as : "Two dragons leap from the sheath, clanging loudly in the night. In peaceful times, they are of no use; they are merely islands of injustice."

Single opening hamidashi https://www.bonhams.com/auction/30726/lot/109/two-shakudo-goto-school-hamidashi-tanto-tsuba-edo-period-18th-century-2/ Double opening hamidashi https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/28556 - museum that has very little information [doesn't even describe the type] https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/24987- a little more information but wrong style given [tanto] An example of a Hamidashi Hamidashi tsuba can come in almost any style and school - they are not as common as other forms, I guess they were not replaced as often as larger types [How often did people swap out their favourite personal weapon?] As I have found [and others agree] tanto/hamidashi size tsuba tend to be cheaper to collect - so a good area to start a collection? Probably there is not a lot of information on this subject currently available - but maybe you can become the next "expert" on this niche line of research? Welcome to NMB André Nice pieces at auction now https://www.jauce.com/auction/o1225373964 https://www.jauce.com/auction/g1225319208 https://www.jauce.com/auction/t1225136036 and a more "normal" tanto https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1225314995

Perhaps it might be a generalization but I think tanto sized tsuba are underrated - they require as much [or even more] work to construct, but most collectors tend to concentrate on larger guards. Bigger is not necessarily better. Maybe we need a magnifying lens mounted over these little fellows to give them the credit they deserve?

They made a better deal than this one https://www.bonhams.com/auction/18307/lot/6093/a-nagatsune-tsuba-by-minamoto-nagatsune-edo-period-19th-century/ Sold for US$976 https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/a-tsuba-depicting-oni-kneeling-before-abe-no-seim-220-c-19f4a14bbb This one had an estimated auction valuation of Est: €700 EUR - €1,400 EUR - it passed!

What type of bird is this supposed to be? I don't know of any that look like this in reality.

An inlay design to add to your group of images - the birds face right and left "outward" to the rim

https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1224988813 a close look at the left hitsu and you get another "cat face" - a bit chubbier maybe we can classify a whole new style of hitsu by the type of feline species? Perhaps Dobby wearing some cat ears on the right? And yes there is a cat called "Dobby" he has FOUR ears -

Well maybe a Cheshire cat amongst the karigane!

An "Owari" you might notice the birds are inverted - pointing towards the seppa-dai rather than the mimi. https://www.choshuya.co.jp/senrigan/抱茗荷雁金透鍔（鐔）　無銘　尾張/鍔/尾張 Afew in this older thread https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/44479-wild-geese-in-the-clouds/

Well not this one anyway! https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/188197194660 big money! $47

Well no surprise there - I have compiled my own book with dozens [at least 62] of tsuba designs replicated over and over [and not all cast copies] One particular pattern of the rain dragon has now reached 162 individual examples. A question better asked of Grev Cooke as he did the book - but yes I would say it was iron. A great number of guards were copied between schools so once again it is very possible for a design to be attributed to more than one school.

Hi Tim - I went through my books - - all 98 - - and found another utsushi in Greville Cookes book - "The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery - Tsuba collection V2" You might like to ask Kissaki for a better image. I don't suppose it was in that book where you first saw it? You might notice the bird has lost some of its tail in this example.

This one is also odd - found in the Ashmolean museum - 75 mm x 72 mm Notice the "niku" [raised trimmings] around the whole of the opening - the hole was made that way

Not sure of book but this is an utsushi from Mauro's post https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/42631-tsuba-identification-help/#comment-437050