Bugyotsuji

The dealer suggested Mid Edo, Bizen Shoami... but not quite sure why, except that a) Bizen is local to here, and b) the 'butterflies' reinforce (to him) the impression of Bizen, with the Lord Ikeda family Bizen-cho Mon influence. 7.7 cm diameter. The iron is deeply carved, and the butterflies (moths?) seem to have both top and bottom, reversed on the reverse. The leaves and the wings have faint designs on them.

Agreed. Beautiful, sensitive work.

If Haynes too referred to the design as 大 then he is not totally infallible! In the meantime I have read and reread this thread, but I am not yet 100% sure what was given to me the other day. One person here became quite angry when I suggested it might be cast 鋳物 (imono). Perhaps he thought I was being ungrateful(?)... when I am solely interested in the story behind it. It seems there was a mid-Edo worker in Kyoto (Yamashiro, Yoshihisa) who made cast Tsuba: http://www.tsubanomiyako.jp/SHOP/T-056.html PS A tsuba collector friend has just seen it. Tapping tells him what the material is. Yes, there were definitely cast iron tsuba in the Edo Period, he kept repeating. Just as there were cast Koshirae parts. Although the Sekigane suggests someone fitted it to a sword, he says it will look better as a single display item. Lack of a mold line suggests use of a single cast that was broken up to reveal the tsuba.

Try 薬王寺　 as a first step. PS Just saw George's post above. Apologies for repetition...

Thomas, I am glad I am not the only one here

Thank you Ron. What you say makes sense.

No idea what Mon this is, but this is what it looks like on the Toppai helmet under different lighting conditions. Hmmm.... Might wear this Maedate on Children's Day, 5/5 at the Ancient Martial Arts Display. Make a change from the old Yattoko/Kuginuki.

Two sets? They look good. Will you be wearing either of them?

Hahahaha... that's very good Morita san! We see, but we don't see. Again we are saved. Forever a beginner. Many thanks. Found this from a website auction with strange Chinese and English translations... http://www.rakubid.com/auction/9/k136548257.html 明珍宗利 造　土佐国住　鉄地変型鍔

Just noticed that in the second half of your post you asked for some pics of the Mimi, Thierry.

Thousands wouldn't, but I believe you!

Excellent links. Many thanks Colin.

Thomas, stupid of me. Of course! Thanks.

What possible merit could there be in casting? One imagines it would be brittle... ? So mine must be an example of a casting (not the original, :lol: ) but how would I confirm that it is cast, I wonder?

Hmmm... teapot maker!!! :lol: ...very similar, although that seems to be the reverse. No Mei? Where is the description that you quote? I wonder how old it is? Now you've got me looking around. I have found evidence that Munetoshi was one of about 10 Tsuba-ko working for Yamauchi in Tosa. http://www.bidders.co.jp/item/148424519

While I have the camera out... This Maedate seems to be made of some copper alloy. It could have been burnt in a fire, as it has dark patches on it. I will be consulting with a shokunin over how to restore the look of the original surface.

Hmmm... I saw, but didn't buy. (A little over my budget...even at the trade price.) It must have been about 55cm overall.

Can anyone tell me anything about this tsuba or the creator? 9 cm high x 8cm across, it looks to me like 大　the Kanji for Dai. The Mimi is quite a bit thicker than the seppa area. Actually it does not seem to have a seppa-dai per se. (Maybe a faint outline on the reverse?)

Thanks Eric. Once the carrying of swords was banned, it must have felt almost natural to push something like that through your 'bando' sash/belt.

Brian, some good questions you have raised. I wonder if anyone has any thoughts. Tamahagane has to be a strong possibility. The rod seems to have been covered in a black patina which is wearing off. Urushi? The tip being exposed... so covered in brass... softer? ...to prevent it causing sparks...? As an artistic balance against the brass at the other end? Reflecting the decorations on Koshirae?

Nice armour! The width of the Shikoro plates suggests mid or later, but not early Edo. (The Kabuto has slipped too far back!!! The line of sight of the Bushi wearing it should mean his mabisashi is almost on the horizon as he looks out.)

Lorenzo, yes! Brian, here are the shots you ask for. Fresh from the camera! Some are too big, so the small ones first... (the others I will host elsewhere and link in...)

Some bits have flowed past the windows of my submersible in the last few days. One is a Jitte/Jutte which has a Mekugi enabling the Tsuka to come off and the Mei on the Nakago to be read, much as with a Nihonto. It has an iron tsuba bound with a Gin-fukurin, and special seppa on either side made to slide along an oblong cross-section. The very tip of the weapon is not steel but brass. Another object is an Ugai-wan, a shallow dish which a Daimyo would have used for gargling apparently! I was assured it was a very rare object, so, despite the restoration work, I thought I must have this. Last night someone gave me a copper Maedate of Agari-fuji, enclosing a Bonji character (?), the whole topped with a Kiku sukashi. Then today I was given a large (9cm x 8cm) iron Tosa-Kuni-Ju Myochin Tsuba in the shape of a rough Dai-no-Ji. At a glance it looks like Bizen pottery, or even something you could eat. Why am I so popular all of a sudden? Is it my new aftershave lotion, or pitstop? Are people happy to see a real live foreigner still braving the plumes of deadly radiation? (Not) ...Or is April just a lucky month?

Our resident expert Ian Bottomley from the Royal Armouries in Leeds should be able to point you in the right direction.