Bugyotsuji

Stuff I still need to work on, but Tembun 7, November… is visible. 天文七年十一月 Either side of 10 (十) is the old date of Tsuchinoe Inu, 戊戌 土口日 (?… not sure what kind of day this refers to)

What inscription?

Missed my favourite programme… Just kidding!!! Monday TV is useless.

That was quick, Colin. I’ve spent the whole evening comparing waterfalls in Japan, China and Taiwan…

Gerry, as I said above, this last one is not a kanji, but a ‘Kao’ 花王, an artist’s personal seal or flourish sometimes added to a signature. PS Fusamune has to be a possible reading, but I would compare it to other known Fusamune signatures as it is aiming very high!

https://www.nilsjapan.com/news/?p=4562 In Japanese legend, Kasasagi (magpies) as messengers of the gods created a bridge for lovers to meet on 7th July. (Tanabata) Was this created to celebrate a wedding, perhaps, with ume and bamboo symbolizing a new start? (Four artist friends create something together for the couple?)

A first for me too! Intriguing.

Referenced here:

赤尾清夫 Normally Akao Kiyoo but that personal name (second two Kanji) could be read several ways. One of the Akao school. Seio, Seifu, etc. …(?)

Possibly meant to be Nobumune…(?) + Kao, but the strokes are not quite right. 信宗

I think it says it’s a joint work between the four people named, dated an auspicious day of Showa 7. (Rich colours. Interesting thing! ) PS I am sure there are no cracks in your walls!

Ah, you spotted that! (I'm not just a pretty, er, handsome face)

Hmmm… let’s see what we’ve got here… Nope, I reckon you could win this, Dale!

Over the last week I have been attempting to recatalog my small assortment of kozuka, menuki, and tsuba on this side of the planet. It's confusing because I have a different set of numbers at either end, and when I carry some backwards or forwards the numbers can clash, needing renumbering. There were a couple of tsuba I do not remember buying, and for some reason left no record of how much I paid. Aaarrrgghhh... While doing so though, I rediscovered several that I had forgotten, or was thinking that I had swapped out or sold. It was a joy to see them again, and to consider that years ago I had appreciated them enough to have chosen them back then. Some of them I would never sell, I realized, as they speak to me personally and it is not a question of market value. It was a delight to hold them in hand and to find new aspects or details to appreciate. Why collect these things, people ask? Well, one answer could be that as my Alzheimer symptoms progress, I will soon be able to experience the joys of rediscovery as often as there are weeks in the year or days in the week! "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." Endymion, John Keats.

This thread, and the other one linked, has opened my eyes to Teimei tsuba. Many thanks. I had one a couple of years ago without knowing what it was, but I think I must have given it away as part of a deal. The shape of your new tsuba reminded me of square iron hooks hammered into old Japanese building walls and pillars, or those adorning the uprights of shokudai candle holders, but I am more than happy to go with sashigane!