Curran

I've always been curious to see their (famed?) running attack for which they somehow draw the saya out of belt. Heard it described, but not seen. Always hoped Tanobe-sensei might give us an example one day, if encouraged with a little sake. If I were to own a Shin-shinto, it would probably seen a Motohira. I've seen two that stole my breath for a second or two.

If I may:

It was a double edged question. I logged on to remove it, since I didn't think it fair to you. You replied before I could pull it. I showed it to you before papering, but you said that we were wrong. I gave you the answer a while back, but you seem to not remember. You did get Nishigaki this time. Closer. It proves your point though, that it is tough to do kantei over the web. I bought it via the web thinking it as you originally did. 50/50% between two possibilities, though there is a design element that makes this a slam dunk. I just didn't know enough at the time. Ito-san and one of our Brit members got it from photos, and I only made up my mind 100% when it came out of the box. The one you gave Steve is sort of a loaded one. Easy to be one thing, but also sort of generic that it can be several things. I threw out something much easier, but would just as soon strike it and leave this between you and Steve. Other people are invited to give a guess too.

Quid pro quo. For Mike. Those who know, please refrain.

Generally respected. They do a lot of volume. Lower margins. You get part of the savings, though sometimes he totally misprices things on the high side. Sometimes he slips you a surprise or a dead fish, but mostly it is the sort of thing that is simply a mistake or oversight of him doing high volume. By the same token, once in a while you will get a screaming bargain. FYI. He's posted to this board before and sometimes gives NMB members a 10% discount on non consigned non auction things.

That was unexpected. Pricey too.

Curious to hear the conclusion on this one.

Increasingly, papering of fittings is financial folly. Add to that Agent and shipping fees. If the cost of papers, Agent, shipping, etc are >= 50% of the value before shinsa or >=33% of the value after shinsa; then probably a waste.

No- that one is squarely in the Namban classification.

There is both Dr. L's work and the small paperback Namban book in Japanese. Both apply a taxonomy to the various namban tsuba out there. Non iron seems to be much more rare. I foolishly sold a nice shakudo one I had, only to see it float through 2004 NTHK shinsa with high papers. I also owned a close cousin to one you shared and seen a similar in both the Japanese book and the Birmingham museum. I think mine passed via a dealer to Dr. Bleed here on the list?

I guess I am going to do a shout out here. Since we are discussing 3rd gen Hayashi [Tohachi] a bit, here is another one. Hayashi tsuba aren't my first pick among the Higo schools, but this one belonged to an older friend before he sold it to Fred W. a while back. I regret not buying it first. Then Fred put it up on his website at a fair price and someone grabbed it before I knew it was available. I'd be interested in tracking it down, if the owner is on this list or anyone knows him (or her).

David's write-up was pretty darn good. David: if you want to sell me that ubu Mushroom katchushi tsuba off the back of a truck in NJ, I would have quite the quandry. With most tsuba it is fine to see it in person and own a good image of it for memory, but you know I've wanted to own one like that or one of the Sasano ones for a while. Pete says 5th, and Pete has sharper forensic eyes than me. I couldn't decide between 3rd and 5th. Assuming it was Yoshinogawa theme, something felt more 3rd gen [Tohachi]. My experience has been that his tsuba are more finished, more often axis oriented in the design, and tend to be simpler like this papered one: http://www.shoubudou.co.jp/tuba-483.html The seppa dai and some of the other details, from experience point me at 5th gen, but black iron seems to be more 3rd gen. As Mike chides us a bit, hard for us to do kantei to a generation on the web. Still, some kinda speak boldly. Forgive our upstart kantei. When Pete makes a call, in the end I usually find I agree with him once I have time to be more scientific than my initial hocus-pocus instincts. He is surgically precise, as a surgeon should be. He doesn't waste words, like I do. For the non Higo collectors.... the 4th Gen died 'Real Fast' like a guy wearing a Red Jersey on the original Star Trek: so _few_ tsuba are attributed to him. Mike also mentioned Fukanobu (Kamiyoshi). Here is a papered one I was looking at this morning: http://www.touken-sakata.com/%E5%88%80% ... %E5%BE%8C/

Peter: ? Grev has been pro bono helping a museum correctly catalog its good sized collection, working through the reading of the names. Though property of the museum for possible publication or display at a future date, he is kind enough to share some with us.

Why it is so nice to see old collections... Coming from an archery background, I'm always appreciative of arrowhead designs. Yet that Tombo tsuba is a little different than the ones we normally see. Enjoy it and wonder why we don't see more rendered that way.

Yes. It is a point I didn't want to get into, because it is a big one and I'm still filling my mental binder on it. With a lot of Muromachi and Momoyama pieces, that lacquer (a)what it does (b) where it does it© where it came off and didn't (d) when it was lacquered AND relacquered can yield extremely differential changes in appearance. I had a lacquered Kamakura tsuba that was extremely educational to study before it went off to France. David had ko-katchushi or momoyoma piece that he showed me in Tampa and I thought it very interesting because the tsuba showed good age yet was lacquered some time 10 to 100(? I can only guess) years after it was made in use. It showed age from the outside as something that was in use for a very long time, but also age from under the lacquer as the lacquer was worn and diminished to expose the old metal and its original issues. To put it another way: lacquer is a real ball breaker wild card of a topic I have not seen its use much on 3rd gen Hayashi --> Kamiyoshi, but that is more the limits of my experience than anything book learned.

Thank you again Morita-san. I failed to read that at "Cho-han". I only saw a "Choshu" tsuba. It is still a "Choshu" tsuba, but I lost gaijin points for that.

I understand what you are saying, and have heard it before from you on a tsuba I previously owned. On the one I previously owned, I see your logic. However I was certain you came to the wrong conclusion, and that causation of condition had a different culprit. There have been and will be times when you are right and I am wrong. On Mike's: I don't see it as you do, but I find Hayashi tsuba to sometimes be the d*mndest iron. Of the Higo schools, I struggle the most with Hayashi and some of the Kamiyoshi inheritance of their works. Then there are those Hayashi that have iron this blackish. Seen many of them, and wondered more if it is some sort of particular Hayashi patina finish. I don't think Mike's is Dipped or Done, but would check inside the sukashi and then under decent magnification like Stereo Microscope Ken or someone else here on NMB recently talked me into buying. After that, a few things more to check before I call it Dipped or Done.

I'm not 100% sure what Grev was asking in the opening. I certainly miss a lot on NMB and don't remember seeing these tsuba before. The Tanaka "Iyetsugu" is correct, though that seems a rare name or alternate name for somebody in the school. Work is good. The Choshu tsuba is Tomo___(?)____ To guess Tomotsugu isn't a bad guess, since this design was common to a small subset of people in the school. I had an one unsigned once. (Photo attached) and see them from time to time. The third one looks correct, though should double check or get someone more fluent to confirm the 'Nobu' character.

John: Repatination???? If so, someone does good work. All I do is hang them in empty garage I have. A winter or two there seems to help.

Pete beat me to it. 3rd or 5th gen Hayashi. Nice.

Seen a few like this on legitimate tsuba from different schools. My best guess as to Why? is the same as Mr. Bowen's.

I was thinking towards Nara too. Don't think I would say ko-Nara, but it is one of the areas where I don't have many books and definitely have much more to learn. As the design doesn't curve around onto the mimi, I think the most I can say is [Nara den]

Welcome. Please formally sign with at least a first name, as per the etiquette rules. Also, with the antiquated camera [i use an old one too], please take a side photo of the side where the man's umbrella finishes. If the umbrella and design wrap a bit onto the mimi [edge], it will help pin down the general school to which this tsuba belongs. If not, then we can only give a best guess and whatever information might help you in your understanding of this old sword guard.

Most anything mailed from Dec 10th to January 10th went into a black-hole of USPS systems overload. Last year around July? they upgraded everything Priority to have tracking and $50 insurance. Their systems obviously weren't ready for it, but the shiite didn't really hit the fan until the holiday mailing started. However: Philadelphia and Tirado. Darcy has told me horror stories about things clearing Chicago. Not sure if I can top those. Nothing..... NOTHING.... ever got lost in Jersey. I've only had one eternal MIA in NYC, and that may have been 50% my fault. ~~~~ But Phili..........I did spent 2 years in Phili and they are definitely a bastion of USPS chicannery. I was a grad student at the time, so had flexible schedule to track everything down. Philadelphia is the Bermuda Triangle in my experience. Only city where I ever actually preferred UPS to USPS. 90% of everything I've ever had go missing or damaged in the last 20 years was via Phili USPS, in just a 2 year period. (1) A retainer check I wrote to our future business lawyer for $10,000 went missing for 2 years.... After a month, the lawyer thought I'd flaked and gave me attitude. I sent a wire the next day. Two years later she wrote me an apologetic email showing me a letter that had just arrived, post stamped 2 years earlier and rather 'stepped on'. (2) Also got a few packages on the doorstep in plastic bags that looked like wolves had chewed on them, enclose with little paper notes saying "Oops. Sorry. Please contact this number..." (3) A European sent me cash via envelope..... which arrived slit open and with green tape resealing it. Missing a $50.... (4) They managed to crush a double boxed brass shoami tsuba. I don't mean ding.... I must imagine drop a boulder on it from 50 ft up. Even the Postal Employee taking the claim filed had to ponder the physics involved. (5) Had problems shipping to/from Tirado just up the way. Eventually just started doing the 2.5 hour drive roundtrip. Fear the Phili. John's shirasaya can be wonderful as I have two of them here. Still.... very wary of Phili USPS and hesitate to send anything to Tirado via USPS. Either UPS or FedEx when dealing with him.

I talk with Eric now and then. Some people love him, one or two don't. He's always been very honest with me, and I've tried to be brutal honest with him. Almost 0% B-S when we talk. Rather refreshing in brutal discussion of aesthetics. He has a good eye for quality items. I think he recently sold one of ex-Jim Gilbert's Akasaka. A real beauty. Tadatora was my opinion. I'm full up with a good shodai, nidai, and sandai example. If I hadn't had one about on par, I probably would have been ringing him up for his. That one was a real temptation. Congrats to the new owner.