Curran

Dear Peter, I have often revisited the logic of my choice of a hobby where I am at a great disadvantage by my western mindset and lack of avenues to learn the language better. Chalk it up to artistic passion over logic. Wish I had lived in Japan for more than a few months, or been able to visit the girlfriend (now wife) more when she was working in Tokyo. I am not sure about the Ft. Lauderdale side of FL, but on our coast there are simply no people resources for Japanese language. Back to the tsuba: No one has any ideas? I'm still inclined to think that it is simply my lack of Japanese and reference materials at the moment, but the sloppiness of the NBTHK in the past few years continues to be concerning. I Toku Hozoned another signed tsuba that I intended for Juyo shinsa. It came back after 7 months, having missed Juyo shinsa due to NBTHK backlog. There is a fair sized bit of silvery tin foil or other mystery shiny something photographed on top of the black shakudo tsuba in the photo of the tsuba.

Dear Peter, I think you to be very correct in this. Given that it is unsigned, I would expect a school attribution. But still I have no clue. As you can well imagine, I am thinking of a certain Owari book or two in my little nihonto library. I suspect the answer is there or nearby. I was hoping Mr. Moriyama or another collector would rescue me from my poor Japanese reading skills. This summer I looked into further Japanese classes (it has been a long time), only to find the local Japanese school has closed. _________________________________________________________ It is driving me a bit crazy that I cannot figure this one out!

Moriyama-san, I only have the Haynes Index and Wakayama with me. I confess I also tried Kozenji earlier. If this is a correct reading, then it is an omission from Haynes Index. The workmanship on this tsuba is very good, so I find it difficult to believe it is unrecognized by Haynes Index or Wakayama. I wonder if 'kozenji' is NBTHK code for "mystery tsuba".

Dear Rich, Still away from home, but I do have access to a copy of Haynes Index. Thank you for the pointer clues. I gave those a try and then put together other various readings. I cycled through the following variations: koyoshi, kozen, kotaru, kosa, mitsuyoshi, mitsuzen, mitsutaru, mitsusa, teruyoshi, teruzen, terutaru, terusa, hiroyoshi, hirozen, hirotaru, hirosa, akiyoshi, akizen, akitaru, akisa, ariyoshi, arizen, aritaru, arisa, kaneyoshi, kanezen, kanetaru, kanesa, yoshiji, yoshitera, zenji, zentera, taruji, tarutera, saji, satera. No real hits in Haynes that make sense. It must be something simple. My Japanese needs to be better. If anyone has a clue on this, I would appreciate the help.

List- I have been trying to make sense of some NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers I have seen recently. Please see photo- At first glance it would seem to be Mitsu Yoshi ? *** It is unsigned ***. It does not seem to be a match for the relatively unknown Mitsuyoshi listed in Haynes and not the correct 'Yoshi' for the alternative reading of 'Shinjo' (15th Generation Goto Master). So I am scratching my head a bit. It is also quite likely I'm being dense and just missing the obvious. All help much appreciated.

Milt, The boat design has popped up before as Yagyu, I guess largely because of the construction. This design is mostly a standard Namban design. It pops up in Shoami too. I think yours is a Shoami example.

Henry, It works to different degrees on iron tsuba. Yes, do not do with tsuba with shakudo plugs, etc. The sekigane will rub to some degree, and most will repatinate. It does work very well, but be very selective which tsubas this helps. Then it takes weeks to months in Levi 501 and being careful never to put anything else in the pocket. But sometimes it works wonders. Just remind the wife to not pat your iron derriere with her rings on. Clunk clunk.

Rich, Glad to have you back. We lost Uchiko Jim this decade. No one else is allowed to leave the building any time soon. Stay healthy and warm. Curran

Dear Henry, I thought that one was the best deal of the super sale. I pointed a friend at it that asked I recommend a good deal. I then saw it on hold and wondered if he or someone else had gotten to it. It looks like you got it. Congrats. I like it.

Wow. I've been feeling a bit the nihonto pauper recently, with a long standing bill soon coming due. Looking at the Tadamitsu and the Umetada, hmmm. Only moths in the wallet. Humbling. Rich- please take nice photos. Travel well. Curran

Ford- Nothing profound to share- (1) look for seams, joints, or shortfall/loss of the wire? (2) if you can get a good magnifier and angle, look to see if the gold comes off the shakudo at all. In my limited experience the wire is always polished flat, whereas sometimes the painted gold seems to stand up. I guess it must be gold lacquer. I confess I didn't even really think about it. I was more the student in the discussion. I have a tsuba with intricate wire inlay about 99.99% complete where I could only tell it was inlay due to an almost microscopic loss in a spot on the mimi. It was all a day's lesson and I haven't much thought on it since except when looking at someone's Kaga kinko menuki 2 months ago. I look at Ed's nice little tsuba and believe I see right angle joints of the gold wire. It may be just fooling my eyes, but I don't see anything so far that says anything other than wire inlay. Pretty-pretty.

Ford, At the Tampa show this past year I went around with a knowledgable collector and looked at quite a number of pieces with shakudo & gold like this. We looked at both those for sale and those in collection brought for show-n-tell. About 9 out of 10 were painted on the shakudo. Especially the fuchi/kashira keyfret designs. Sometimes the level of workmanship was amazing. I could only distinquish painted vs inlaid with a loupe or lighted magnifier. It was a learning experience for me. In many instances I couldn't tell with the naked eye. i don't have an explanation other than to wonder how hard it is to work with the shakudo? You know considerably more than me about that. Ed's tsuba looks very nice to me. As if the nanako wasn't amazing enough, the gold does look inlaid from what I can tell. It is a little gem of a tsuba. I wish it were signed. Though I profess to be an 'old iron tsuba' collector, my appreciation for some of 19th century kinko makers grows more and more every year. Curran

Ed, My wife said "Ooh, pretty!". Show me a side profile and confirm with a loupe that the gold is inlaid (not painted on). The nanako is well done. Ever tried doing it yourself? - Difficult! It could be several things. I too would probably think Kaga kinko, but there were other highly skilled centers like Owari kinko working at that skill level. this is a good one to study. Curran

Dear Ed, Thank you for the link. I looked over the results vs. my own notes. Many of the high results were on tsuba that my wife found visually appealing with no regard to their schools of origin. Suddenly some Shoami tsuba seem worth $30,000. That is the pattern I percieve in the results. Some people seem to have money to burn and have found an interest in fittings. Perhaps Peter said it better. The Tokubetsu Hozon Ko-Akasaka went for about what I was prepared to bid on it, and some other items went for about right to slighthly higher values, but others like the Octopus tsuba, a Saotome, etc.- that is just a bit surprising. Maybe Christies has gotten into the money laundering business? But the 25% commission is one heck of a drawback. Curran (finance professional / reluctant professional gambler)

Uhmm... What the hell? You sure it went for $75k? I was there on Saturday. I went over the items. I was thinking of bidding on a ko-akasaka w/ Toku Hozon papers, but did not. Another favorite was the Octopus tsuba. I looked up the maker and thought the estimate was a bit high. My wife and I saw it in hand. The copper had been discolored on the back. A little on the shiny side. I showed several of the Higo tsuba to my wife and let her get a good whiff. They'd obviously been repatinated. You sure about it going for $75k ? I've seen stranger things happen. An $8000 NBTHK Hozon papered in mint condition not going for $2000, and then the opposite- a kodogu set I could buy privately for $3500 ends up selling for $21,000. But $3k to $75k is a bit of a jump that I don't understand. Maybe Peter can explain it. Curran

There is no guide of which I am aware. The Haynes catalogs are a good reference with everything in english and lots of photos, but remember that it is a sales catalog just like a Christies catalog.

I do not believe there are any English websites. I went to the two Japanese websites I knew that offered tsuba made by modern smiths. With the better smiths, prices have been escalating in the past few years. It seems now that almost all the tsubas have sold. There are only 2 or 3 left out there. Image attached is of my Issei Naruki. Obviously, I like his work. It is a great display piece. Curran

List- I firmly believe the second one to be a modern. HOWEVER: It has been intelligently argued with me privately that the first one might be real and just suffered a number of sequential abuses. In CSI investigation form, I see real value in the arguements. I don't know if the first one is modern or just an abused antique. I need to take a long look at this one. I did not like the 'rust' in the insides of the sukashi walls. If real, this one would be a project needing classical TLC. I do not like to gamble on ones like this, but I have once or twice before- usually on ones with unique designs. This design lends itself to forgery and has already been seen in modern repros. (In the spirit of Clint Eastwood's "Dirty Harry" character) We have to ask our punk selves "do (we) feel lucky?". By profession, I am a gambler. When it comes to my nihonto hobby, I really am not. Ceasar's praise to those of you who bet this is real and are right. Curran

Repros vs. Modern tsuba smiths... These repros should not slander some of the modern tsuba smiths. Like gendai swords, some of the gendai tsuba in the last decade have been phenomenal quality. These repros are getting much better. At first glance some fool me on the web. Yes, the way to know them is study, study, study. Often the repros are copies of better known or famous designs from books. If you know the originals, you have a good sense of the geometry being off, especially in the mimi or the spacing of the sukashi. So the repro makers do better trickery with simpler designs. Some are very hard to tell as repros from web photos looking only top down. In hand the patina and characteristics of the iron tell a lot. It is more difficult from a photo. With these repros that are pickled to make them older, the "correct" rust in the sukashi and other areas does not seem correct, etc. Then you look to other evidence. The evidence adds up and if I cannot see enough evidence in photos or know the seller, I just let it go past. Even the experts have difficulty. I know both the NBTHK and the NTHK (NPO) have both papered tsuba that I am highly certain were very skilled unsigned moderns . But the NBTHK & NTHK are also quick to bounce anything they think modern. I've known them to bounce fittings judged authentic by the other organization (NBTHK vs. NTHK). The Yoshikawa NTHK seems especially quick to "error on the side of caution". I cannot blame them, but it must be frustrating to the owners of the items. Curran

Dear Jake, Sounds like you have done fine reading the signature. Please post pictures of the signature, if you have them. Photos of blade are nice, but not necessary. Then someone might be able to comment on smith and particular generation. Other list members know considerably more about Masatsune than I do. Otherwise, state where you are (country, region, state, etc.) and list members will try to direct you to an appropriate person or club. last... list protocol is sign off with your name-- and last initial if there is a chance someone has the same name as you. Respectfully, Curran C. ...currently in Darien, CT

I would just say "Nara school" as a safe bet. Late Edo kinko tsuba that doesn't give much evidence. Someone else might be able to add more insight.

I've been sticking to fittings these days, but that 3000 UKP barrier is going to mean few tsubas, menuki, f/k in the auctions. I'm also curious what it will mean for some of the items like the Japanese prints. Will they just slowly kill off their Japanese departments? The interesting thing is many of the banks and investment firms are moving back in Japan real-estate and other avenues as it becomes an increasing trade partner with China & India (tariffs dropping) and finally betting on somewhat of a Japanese resurgence in the next 5 to 10 years. They finally burn through 20 years of bust and the bust-generation children come of age while the post war generation retires. Japan revival faces a lot of headwind (aging population, etc), but it will be funny if the auction houses zig away from the market, only to find demand increases. Who knows? The Asia department shift may just be selling new wealth China, just putting Japan kept on the back burner. But they have price a lot of us out of wanting to buy from them, and the photo quality / description accuracy so erratic that I am not sure I would bother with some of the catalogs.

I don't know what justifies the bump from +20% to +25%. Per my short conversation on the phone, the woman said roughly that it was their decision after having re-assessed the North American market. I think it is _only_ on the first $20,000 you buy. In some accountant's mind, that just means an extra $1000 out of Joe Schmoe's pocket and the rich don't care. Get that short term revenue up! Not their fault if they drive away more educated buyers. I assume this is all New York or North America auctions. Not just the Japanese/Korean one. But it does seem another nail in the coffin for Nihonto from the New York auction house. This can mean that the bidders will be more doctors, lawyers, finance gurus that know nothing about what they are buying; as the collectors like myself just are going to find it masochistic to try and buy from Christies. Having worked with a seller on a previous auction and seeing Christies screw up the photography, descriptions, care, etc.... I'd hesitate to sell throught them. If the items don't sell, they still skin the seller for shipping, photography, etc. You really stick your head in the lion's jaw and ask it not to bite too hard. Does Sothebys (forgive the spelling?) still have a Japanese sale in New York? I knew they took a bath on the Sept. 2001 auction since 9/11 effectively made sure no one was there to bid. Christies probably views it as "sink or swim". Nihonto is a tight market and if the Japanese items can't absorb an extra 5%... they will cancel Japanese auctions and have one more day for Impressionist or Modern art auctions. I hope Japanese auctions manage to hang around for a few more years, but not sure I will bid when there are better avenues than lining Christies' pockets with extra gold. It was just chance I read the right fineprint on the correct page. Otherwise I wouldn't have known until the checkout window. I don't think they've done anything to alert people to the extra 5%, so it should sneak up on a lot of people.

I spoke to Christies today. Per the phone call: P. 318 Buyer's premium of +20% (This page is wrong). P. 320 Buyer's premium of +25% (This page is correct). So it is now +33.375 % on top of hammer price. Curran

Yes, Mr. Morita said my exact thoughts... It is nice to see a blade well done in sashikomi polish. I see too many blades done in keisho that I think really should have been in sashikomi.