Bugyotsuji

Allow me to say I that I join in whole-heartedly in the above sentiments. From my short time here I have come very quickly to respect Moriyama san for his learning, his tact, his insight, his help and his willing guidance.

Erk, yes... I do take a lot of flak over my photography! The one on the left I paid quite a bit for, but it came from a source that I generally trust. Relatively large in size. It is in such good condition that it cannot possibly be three or four hundred years old. Just for you milt, but more to assuage my own guilt at the krap-P pic, I will post a close-up when I get home tonight. :D

Yes, I can see what you mean. I wish I had a real one now!!! Now my next task, milt, is to read up on Daigoro and find out which one you are talking about, and then hope that it's not another copy!

That's great to know even that. It'll give me a lead and an incentive to study. The second one was looking to me like a copy as the base metal material seemed to be shining through in places, especially the edges. This feeling grew stronger as I was photographing it. You have further confirmed my suspicions. I'm not sure what you mean by in line, but the back although covered in tiny puncture holes, looks as though it could have been forged this way from a mold/mould. You were able to spot the possible copy and even able to read the very unclear Mei of Kanaie... wow!

Mokko tsuchiji next...

Tombo dragonfly first

OK, you're on. That's my next project: to get some close ups of those two! The Tombo is about 7.8 x 8.2 cm The Mokko is about 7.0 x 6.5 cm

John, I do have an image shack account. I'll play around whith that when I get some real time. I usually keep the camera on minimum density as most forums don't like heavy loads. Once I've changed the settings on the camera I wonder if I'll remember how to get back to min rez again, LOL. Which one is the tsuchime tsuba? Is it the one with a surface that looks like it has been hammered? PS The chap who let me have the Tombo tsuba told me that it is actually quite valuable.

I am a resident in Japan but would hope to return to the UK one day as I am approaching retirement. Would I be able to get my bits back to the UK, I wonder? And how? The problem is that I don't think there is anyone in authority who actually knows the answer.

John, thanks for the follow-up on the Jumyo tsuba. What is the tosho style? Which ones should I take closer up, do you think? How high a rez will this site accept, I wonder? My mind plays over these tsuba and idly asks questions. For instance, with the Namban-tsuba, the flaming? fleur-de-lys? ball that the two dragons are playing with has the obvious first suggestion of Chinese influence, but it also seems to contain a possible secondary deniable significance of Kakuri Kirishitan (Hidden Christian). The object looks somehow like a Catholic sacred heart to me. Tray Level One, Row A He gave me 1,2 & 4. I bought No 3, the large Heian-jo. Row B He gave me 1,2 & 4. I was given 3 by a different friend Tray Level Two, Row A He gave me 1,2,3 & 4 Middle one also Row B He gave me 1,2 & 4. I bought 3, very rusted & needing TLC 4 Extras Left & Right I bought from a proper shop. The top Kachimushi dragonfly I bought from a friend. The bottom Heian-jo kuruma wheel I bought from a dealer at an antique fair.

Actually now that I have counted them, there are 21 altogether including the "Jumyo" that I posted somewhere on this site the other day! :lol:

A couple of the Ura

Some others.

Box Level Two

Box Level One

Just had a read up on red rust. In order not to damage the black rust, use a horn or bone spatula etc., which will lift one but not the other. One other traditional method is to leave it on the roof in frosty weather. Nowadays this can be accomplished by leaving in the freezer for 10-20 minutes, after first wetting the rust spots. The water is absorbed into the active rust, freezes and in doing so lifts the red rust.

Shouldn't be answering here as I don't have my books with me. Should wait to get home as I am bound to get egg on my face. The top one looks like Shoami on the right, and signed on the left by someone with one character 包?+ 作 for 'made by'. (Ho-saku???)(Tsutsumi-saku???) The bottom definitely looks like Nobu-ie, as Rich said above.

A while back a friend sifted through his collection of tsuba and gave me some in a two-tray box. Whether they are good or bad I have no idea. Since then I have bought and added a few from various dealers and shops and now I have about twelve or fifteen of varying condition and quality. If I do manage to get around to photographing and posting them, what is the best format? A sheet of plain paper as a background like the crow and heron tsuba I saw on here earlier? Any special lighting hints? If I just put them in rows with numbers alongside, would that be a good idea to elicit comments? Or should I do each one separately? With a ruler? It would be easy to write the sum total of my knowledge about each since it is never more than a word or two, at most! The other day I posted one Wakizashi iron tsuba signed Jumyo in gold, but no-one said anything. My intuition tells me that from the thickness it is probably mid- to late-Edo and made by or attributed to the Jumyo school, but does everyone's silence mean there is something fishy about it?

There is Nobody to thank! （Western joke) You are not Nobody.　You are Somebody. Just one word to describe your powers: すごい！

What a stunning tsuba! Lovely, lovely, lovely... I wouldn't mind having that in my collection! :lol: In saying the above I do not mean to detract from any other of the superb tsuba that I see on this site.

Gunbai (sounds like Goom-bye as in Eng. good-bye) is how it is properly pronounced, but in old forms or regional pronunciation you often find the 'a' sound changed to 'e'. For example, when you say "there isn't/aren't any!", Hyou-jungo (standard pron) would be 'Nai!" (E. nigh) but many people, especially from the countryside might relax and say "Nei, na!" (E. nay) PS It looks old to me, Edo at least, but I don't trust photographs. In Japan you can find smallish ones, but the bigger ones tend to be more valuable.

The only bit that I can be comfortable reading completely is the second section, left line. The others are patchy, a bit like looking through a glass darkly, and I am looking forward to someone's explanation of the rest. A great opportunity to learn! 2nd section, left: 室町中業ノ典型的作.. Muromachi Chu (Naka?) Waza no Tenkei-teki Saku Typical work of the mid-Muromachi Period 3rd section down: 刃長壱尺九寸九分弱有之 Ha Naga(Cho?) Is-shaku Kyu Sun　Kyu Bun Jaku yushi(?) Blade length One Shaku 9 Sun 9 Bun, a little less, having in total

Hmmm.... This is a very informative thread. I am beginning to think that it might be worth digging more into past threads on the site if it is full of such valuable nuggets! Still only just scratching the surface, it seems. Very good.

"King of Sweden was in my kill zone!" :lol: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ ... ional.html

I like this Japanese proverb. "Naranu kan-nin, Suru ga kan-nin." When you can be patient no longer, Being patient then is patience. (Translation by Spider Godwin)