I wonder if I could ask a couple of questions for those on the board with knowledge of the two above schools.
Robert Haynes in "Tsuba, An aesthetic study" writes that there were three generations of Yamakichibei to begin with. Then the later workers were classified into four generations, although Kazuyoshi divided these into seven later generations, Bob Haynes did not think there was sufficient evidence to justify this.
A few years have now moved on, what are the thoughts today about those later generations and how does one go about trying to distinguish, if possible, between them?
Is there yet, a proper, later family tree?
My second question is regarding those tsuba with Yamakichibei signatures that have been attributed to Norisuke. Are there now grounds to revisit some of them as real Yamakichibei?
David