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Thank you very much, Morita-san! It's the same text, incredible!!! Is it the "Lesser Seal" writing style? PS So, the first orientation of the picture was correct :D )

Thank you, Jean! I've turned it, I hope it's correct now

Could you please help me with another Chinese seal? Here it is (Not sure that this time it's not upside-down again ):

I see now! Thank you for clarification. I've learned about problems with "green papers" not long ago, and didn't understand the situation... Beautiful tsuba! Especially I like the shape and the raised mimi. The coming weekend is supposed to be very interesting here, in Moscow: Saturday is the Day of the City, and Sunday - mayor elections

Dear David, Thanks a lot for your explanation! Very detailed and clear! I remember the tsuba from "Lethal Elegance", that you mentioned, very well. It was one of my first books about tsuba, and this Umetada work strongly impressed me!

Thank you, David! Waiting for more information from you :D

Dear all, I need your opinion about the Umetada Shigenari mei on the following tsuba. Does anybody have a picture of his reference mei? I've seen several examples in internet (most of them on the MFA site), but they seems to me quite different... This tsuba has a NBTHK certificate - an old "green paper", but I heard it's not reliable enough

Here is a list of important books about tsuba. For me the following books were very helpful: - Tsuba an Aesthetic Study - Nihonto Koza Volume VI, Kodogu Part I - Early Japanese Sword Guards, Sukashi Tusba

Thank you, Antti! Very interesting topic I like Akasaka tsuba too. Especially different kinds of "grass design"! A separate thanks to Curran, very nice pictures! The third tsuba in your post (the Tadatora's) - is it also Akasaka ? If I'll see this tsuba without your comments, I never even suggest that it could be Akasaka!

Koichi-san, thank you so much!

It's absolutely not related to nihonto, but maybe someone could translate the following stamp? I would be very grateful!

Thanks a lot, Morita-san! It's very interesting. I didn't know that he has a website

Thank you, Morita-san! I know the author. His name is Wang Zijiang (王子江), and his art name is O-Suko sensei.

Timothy, thank you very much!

Hello, Could anybody translate the text on the following shikishi, please? As I know this is some zen-buddhist utterance. The text on the second photo is the same, I suppose. But i'm not sure...

Yes, really! I've completely forgotten that it was burned... Now I remember, I've read a Yukio Mishima's novel based on this story .

Malcolm, thank you for the link, very interesting! Especially amazing was to compare the old photos with modern Japan. Here are several pictures of Kyoto, side by side with my photos, taken this spring

Thank you all for comments and information!

Here is my new tsuba. I think it's obviously that it's Akasaka school, but I can't determine the age... It is nagamaru gata (maybe it should be considered maru gata, the size is 7,7x7,6 cm), maru mimi, thickness - 6 mm (the mimi is slightly thinner, about 5 mm). The seppa dai is "pointed to the top". I'm not sure, but maybe it is three folded: though I can't see any signs on the mimi, there is something on the nakago ana walls, please look at the fourth photo. By the way, the design is a variation of the one, that has been discussed here several years ago Please, tell me your opinions, especially about the age (and maybe about the author)!

Thank you Mikolaj, thank you very much for the pictures! Very nice tsuba, and I like this theme!

Finally I finished to clean this tsuba, I hope it looks a bit better now I think it's Nara school (or at least Nara style). Any other ideas? I'm still not sure about the age... Most probably it's Edo. Beginning? Middle? Is it possible that it's a ko-katchushi plate, that was inlaid later?

Thank you for opinions!! And separate thanks for the example, Curran!

I'm not a specialist in early iron sukashi tsuba, but I'd like to learn more about it. Here is a tsuba described as made by a Higo Nishigaki school tsubako: http://page8.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/h164809246 Is it a genuine Nishigaki tsuba, or a later copy? It seems to me that seppa dai and kogai hitsu ana are a bit strange ... PS it's not mine, just curious

Oh! Thank you! I've tried to identify this kanji myself, but didn't expect that it looks like this

I've noticed this tsuba on e-bay. Its mei interested me. Looks like it is "masakata", but with additional four strokes on top the second kanji. Maybe it's not "kata", but another kanji?