Ludolf Richter

Daimei and not Gimei!Ludolf

Hi John,there are some pics in my database with that Kao,sometimes used by Goto Ichijo (normally when signing with "Hakuo"): nearly identical!Again I speculate:Funada Ikkin's wife made the Mei but signed with her father's Kao.There are examples,especially with swordsmiths,when the Mei was chiselled by a son or student,when the master was not capable to do so,eg.from drinking-habit.Forget the Gimei -theory,because my pic with the same kind of writing is from a Shoshin-Mei and Yours is papered by an known expert!Ludolf

Hi John,you are right,but this does not answer the question,why to change the standard name-kanji and the Kao for only a few pieces.He could have taken a different Go,like Goto Ichijo,when working with iron,or sign in Sosho.I hope he was not drunken,as he often was,like some authors are stating!Although I didn't find any info about his wife,one can assume,that in case of a top-student like he was,she may have been,as usual, a daughter of one of his two teachers and so be familiar with this business.Ludolf

I had remembered to have read ,Ikkin 2 was his daughter.That may be not true!According to Kobayashi Terumasa ("Tosogu of the Edo Period"),Ikkin 2 was his eldest son,who normally signed Yoshimori Ikkin (childhood name of Yutaro,later called himself Shosuke),who was not his father's but Hashimoto Isshi's student.So this Mei+Kao is definitely not from the Nidai,but may be from one of Funada Ikkin's students (Kobayashi Terumasa:"He earned the income capable of having two pupils in addition to supporting three people",whatever that means).The problem remains,that the one example is from 1838 (when the master was 26 years old) and the other from 1848.So either a student remained in his studio after having finished his education or the 2 pieces had been made by another person (his wife??!).Ludolf

Hi Ray,I have more than 20 examples of Funada Ikkin in my Tosogu database,all but one with the standard Mei plus Kao.One Fuchi-Kashira-pic shows "Your" Mei and "Your" Kao.My guess is that the 2 pieces had been made bei a student or his daughter,who later became Ikkin 2 (then using nearly the same Mei and Kao as her father).Ludolf

I had forgotten,that I had a Kunihiro Tsuba together with some other pieces in a box outside my normal Tosogu collection.Here is the pic.The Mei is different from yours but from one of the 5 guys from H 03588 (Haynes: "...copper plugs at the top and bottom of the nakago ana").Ludolf

Hi,the Mei reads Kunihiro.Haynes has 10 entries with Kunihiro in his index-book.I believe it's H 03588 vom Edo.He claims that there have been 5 artists from ca.1700-1800 and not just one with H 03588.Ludolf

Hi,I cannot find him in the index books and in my database.There is no Rakueiken Fuji (-wara?) and probably Sei (as in Seimyo-Haynes H08094-or Seiryo-Haynes H08097) plus Toshi as the 2nd Kanji.The name-proposals from above do not apply.The artist may be in the books with a different Go and the one from this fine Tsuba is probaby not yet recorded.Ludolf

Hi,from the mei pics in my database it's not the Tomokiyo from the Kawaji-Family (Haynes H 09930) or the one from the Yaji-Family (Haynes H 09931). I don't have examples of the 2 possible ones ( what family/school?) in my database and my books: Haynes H 09934 and H 09935.Ludolf

Here are some pics from my database.Ludolf

Hi Lance,from Mei and Kao it's not the Mito guy.So your Katsukuni is probably one of the 8 generations from Haynes H 02798.Ludolf

To our Japanese friends:what is the 1st Kanji of Tsuba 1 (the 2nd one being "hiro"?) ?Ludolf

Ichiryusai Hidetoshi?Ludolf

Hi,the Mei of your 2nd Tsuba reads Shoami Kanenori.There is only one with these Kanji in Haynes: H 02518 from Aizu/Iwashiro (2nd half of the 18th Century).Unfortunately the Kanji are different.Ludolf PS.Where did you get your Tsuba from:I now show a pic which I have for some years?

Hi!Your Tsuba was from me.The artist is Motonobu from the Higashiyama-Family (Haynes H 05901.0 ),who worked in the 2nd half of the 19th Century.There was one with his Kao in the once famous Dr.Fahrenhorst Collection,shown in Inami Tomohiko's book from 1969 about Tsuba that have been bought back from German collectors: pages 28 and 29.Ludolf

Here is another pic from Akimasa (H 00041).Ludolf

The fact that there is no such Akimasa in the Japanese and Not-Japanese index-books does not speak against the Tanaka/Toryusai-School.Joly has claimed that there have been more than 30 students in that school,most of them not yet recorded like my Tsuba by a Yuiga Kazumichi.But there are the missing copper inlays and the reference to the Tanaka-School ahead of his Go,e.g.Ryuso.Besides the rim is not as sharp as it should be.Ludolf

Maybe thomeone has the 2 sales calalogues from 1948.Ludolf PS.I tried to get these catalogues for years and and would pay for copies if a member of our board has them .

Hi,it's a shame,that the artist didn't sign with his Go but rather with the family name Suruga.They moved from Bizen to Tottori/Inaba in the 17th Century and changed the family name from Haruta to Suruga: Muneie H 06081 died 1636(?) Iehisa H 01775 died 1661 Toshiie H 10377 died 1720 Takaiie H 09274 died 1761 Takatsugu H 09330 died 1788 brother Takayuki H 09348 Takashige H 09311 died 1837 brother Takayoshi H 09338 Takaoki H 09304 died 1856 Takayuki H 09349 died 1895 From the few Mei pics in my database I could not find the artist from the above list.Ludolf

Maybe you don't have a character dictionary: 江府住 辰 壽 Kofu ju Tatsutoshi (Kofu = Edo) Tatsutoshi is seen as the founder of the florishing Ito-school of Edo with many students.I agree that the Mei is too crude to be Gimei so it is probably the work of an hitherto unknown student (one of his many students).I could only find 3 students:his son Tatsunao,Tokitoshi and Namitoshi.I don't understand,why Haynes has indexed him with his rare Go Mitsutoshi (H 05505) instead of the most used Go Tatsutoshi.Ludolf PS.I have seen some similar Tsuba from Nagato/Choshu but I don't know who first used that type of Tsuba,those guys from Hagi or from Edo (or?).

The problem is that the Mei from your Tsuba is different from the ones of 江府住 辰 壽 (Haynes has listed him under Mitsutoshi).I have 8 辰 壽 Shoshinmei-pics in my database with clearly different Kanji.Especially the "toshi" here is strange!Gimei or an artist with a different Go (and not yet with 辰 壽) in the books!?Ludolf

Thanks Morita san!There is no such go or family name from Mito (or any other province!) to be found in Haines and the Japanese index books (and my data base) and Markus Sesko's "Genealogies..." about the schools or families of Mito.So it may be a hitherto not yet recorded go of an independent tsuba artist,who may be in the books with a differenent go. The pic is from an Italian auction (Czernys) to come,where the name was wrongly called "Tomoaki".Ludolf

Hi experts,I need help with this Tsuba Mei.Ludolf

Thanks Paul!So it's a different Tsuba with the same (strange) Mei.I don't believe it's Gimei.Ludolf

Hi,"Your" Tsuba seems to be an iron and not the copper one described by Haynes.Here are the pics from the GE collector.Ludolf PS.Mei:Bujo Akasaka Inshi raku Joi Nagaharu tsukuru