OceanoNox

Has anyone read it? I have downloaded it, probably from the Japanese Diet library. It is difficult to read, as it was written in 1942, and there is no punctuation and the Japanese itself is so different from what I know. But it does state interesting things. Such as: ①　While the Tokugawa government imposed many things, it seemed to not have set absolute rules on tosogu (or at least tsuba), but there were official complaints about tsuba. ②　Several sources are detailed (such as by Yamamoto Kansuke), and it seems there is a consensus on tsuba size (around 3 sun in diameter). ③　Several people appeared to recommend thin tsuba with sukashi and thicker mimi, to avoid vibrations in the hand and in the habaki and mekugi, which are stated to be damaged when a thick tsuba is hit. ④　It is written that thick plain tsuba should be avoided (and also gold or silver kojiri) (there is also a mention of fine tsuba, 細鍔, but I do not understand the difference with thin tsuba, perhaps Owari or Akasaka style sukashi?). One reason, besides the vibrations, is that it would be overly heavy without added benefits. ⑤　At the same time, the sukashi should be small enough to avoid getting tangled or run through by a blade. ⑥　There is also a recommendation that the tsuba should be a bit taller than wide. Anyway, I am still reading, but I would like to know if others have read it, and what your thoughts are. I am especially confused by the statement that the Tokugawa government did not establish rules on tsuba, as another book stated that for court appearance, the tsuba should be shakudo (and other requirements in general). N.B.: As I wrote above, I am not sure if I got everything right, as some kanji are downright obsolete, my Japanese is limited in the case of historical documents, and the quality of the scanned document is a bit lacking.

Oh! I always assumed the butterflies were also a misnamed design, having never seen the dots for the heads. This changes everything. Thank you for showing the original designs.

For anyone interested, here is Ford's post (from 2010!).

Thank you! I was starting to doubt my memory. I will try to find your post. This is indeed what I have been feeling and trying to express in my other post about Higo / namako tsuba. I remember some photos of your own tsuba with a renkon design, but I had never heard of the Higo chrysanthemum designation.

To me, they look like neither (and most of the butterfly wings, namako and such, do not look like the part). Here is the tsuba reoriented when the sword is in hand (I drew the bones of the hand too). It is mostly an experiment based on the (remembered) aforementioned comment.

You're completely right. I will check again.

It's what I remember. In the Boston Museum tsuba, if this is the front, it would be the left hand. In mine, it is the right hand (thumb on the right, index on the left, with the knuckles of the middle and ring fingers).

Remembering the words of Ford Hallam, here or his own forum, about the tsuba with silk worm sukashi, I think he said it might be fingers. So I tried myself. Here is the tsuba in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts: And here is a drawing with sukashi of the finger bones when gripping the tsuka: I think it's pretty close. Then again, this feels like my previous question about namako: is the design really supposed to be silk worms (or butterfly wings), or is it a name set on a design whose meaning has been forgotten?

Yes, but theses are tools that one would use to get the ro ready before putting in the charcoal (move the ash around and remove hardened ash with the hibashi, put in the gotoku, and wipe off any ash or debris off the edges with the habouki.

If you avoid oxidation and damage in general, the blade will stay as it is. However, carbon can diffuse even at room temperature, so given enough time, the behaviour of the steel might become different.

Is he still active by the way? I haven't seen his work on social media in a while.

Thank you for your input. I cannot afford any of the old tsuba that make me go "wow". But it would be almost mesmerizing to embellish a sword with a piece with history.

Hello! Looking through the forum, I found a post where it seemed frowned upon, if not completely criticized, to set non-modern tosogu on swords meant for use (I mean iai or tameshigiri). I have no idea if the idea is widespread, but I remember my own sensei having a relatively 50-year old blade with an even older tsuba on it. Personally, I would use old iron tsuba if they fit (and maybe fuchi-kashira), because that's where a tsuba is meant to be, but I do wonder if it is consider heresy or not. ※ I would not use antique menuki, or antique soft metal tosogu in general, because the sweat and friction would ruin the patina (my own brass menuki are a mixture of pink and black due to the zinc being "rubbed" off)

Is that inlaid or soldered on the surface?

I think one of the inspiration for horses on tsuba (I got that from one of the big tsuba books), is the Chinese story of the farmer and his horse that ran away. The horse runs away, so people tell him that it's bad luck, to which he answers "maybe". The horse brings back wild horses, his neighbours tell him that he is lucky, "maybe" he says. The farmer's son rides one of the wild horses but falls and is injured. "Bad luck", "maybe". War is declared, the young men are enlisted, but the injured son is exempted. "Good luck", "maybe".

Here is the tsuba attributed to Miyamoto Musashi in the book mentioned above. Height is 75 mm, width 72 mm, and thickness is 5 mm.

Thank you Bruno. If people don't mind poor quality, I can upload a photo of the book I have at the moment. In the meantime, here is another poor quality picture of a namako tsuba I found extremely nice. It has file marks on the surface and silver inlay on the rim in a stylized lightning pattern.

Jean, thank you. I agree that the namako design combines all the factors you mentioned. I do have a preference for some of the Higo ones instead of the Musashi one, but nevertheless, they look deceptively simple and it must be difficult to get the balance just right.

The third one from the left, I think I saw a post (by Ford Hallam perhaps?) hinting that it might also be a cut out of the fingers (or finger bones) as seen from the front when gripping the tsuka. I also saw that tsuba called silkworm design. But this is very much also what I am wondering. The designs are so abstract, they could be anything. I suspect you're right, the name came second after someone crafted an interesting design.

The reason for my question is that I have checked in a book (100 tsuba and sword accessories, a guide to evaluation and appreciation, by Kazuo IIDA and Michiko HIRUTA, Tankosha (2004)), and there are two Yagyu tsuba. The first is round with a triangle whose tips are pierced with a round hole each. It is said to refer to the 三磨 (sanma, the three learnings). The other is a "billowing sail", which is said to be a teaching about imitating the power or movement of a sail.

Piers, is it correct to assume Yagyu tsuba usually have a theme linked to Shinkage ryu's teachings?

The solubility limit of carbon in ferrite is about 0.02 mass%. The eutectoid steel is just fully pearlitic, that is lamellae of ferrite and cementite (eutectic is the point where the liquid solidifies into two solid phases at constant temperature, eutectoid is austenite transforming into both ferrite and cementite).

It depends on the carbon content (and other alloying elements). If you melt pure iron in a vacuum (or in an inert gas), you still get pure iron and it will be ductile. The brittleness of cast iron comes from the high carbon content. By the way, there is also (but it is a relatively recent invention) ductile cast iron, which has graphite in the form of spheres that .

As I continue studying tsuba, especially the ones in iron, I have come upon the "namako" theme, famously displayed in the tsuba attributed to Miyamoto Musashi. It is my understanding that he made it when in Kumamoto, having been influenced by the Higo craftsmen (and Lord Hosokawa). At the moment, I am under the belief that the symmetrical and large hitsu ana are a particularity found in Higo tsuba. I wish to ask whether the "namako" tsuba are really representing simplified namako, or simply enlarged hitsu ana. I am possibly just reading things, but the namako tsuba attributed to Musashi really reminds me of the rings added to crossguards in Europe, and the shapes seem overly simple to clearly the sea cucumber.

Picture 4 in page 3 of the Nojima report is of an iron axe found in Kanagawa (the piece held with his fingers). It is shown as evidence of it not being folded (due to lack of delamination), and thus possibly cast.