Mark Green

Thanks for posting guys, these are great examples. There's that rim again. I love those dice :lol:

I would say that is very likely.

Steve wrote "Tangentially speaking, I think more research has to be done on Momoyama practices as regards the possible formation of ateliers in which small groups of talented artisans produced pieces under the supervision of "masters" and who, with the master's approval, "signed" their pieces with the workshop "mei." In such a scenario, we would have excellent tsuba being produced not by one great artist with a famous name, but by two or three, or even more, perhaps, all signing with the same mei. Likely? I don't know. But worth considering, I think... " I feel this is very likely. Probably common place in all the big tsuba schools. Likely in all the big sword schools as well. Mark G

Ford, Yes, Yasuchika is my favorite. I'm acually making that tsuba you pictured now. As well as another Yasuchika tiger in iron, with nunome stripes. (a labor of love for sure) It seems that the Old tsuba attribution world is just a foggy, or more so, then that of swords. Ian, I really like that one!!

Ok I see. (da) I would think that kinda unlikely. But I would believe in a second, that people, (mostly from his school I would think) did make use of his famous name. Likely others as well. I'm sure it happened all the time. Just look at how many gemei swords are out there. Looking at that Ho bird tsuba. My gut feeling is "the" myoju, had nothing to do with that one. What is up with that Nakago ana? It looks like it would go on a naginata or something. I love the bottom one. That mimi had to be done while hot. And, that rim looks just like most of the nice alloy tsuba attributed to him. He seemed to love that funky rim look. You see very few other tsuba makers of the time going that wild. Of course, I only know enough to be dangerous. But, when I look at tsuba made by all my favorite makers, you can 'see' their work in them.( yes Steve, even the old crusty ones ) But, I have never seen any Myoju in hand, so who am I to say. Some more. Is this one too?

I'm with Ford. Having looked at as many Myoju tsuba that I could find before finding this post, (which has been great fun gang)I just have the gut feeling that "the" Myoju was unlikely to have made these Higo looking tsuba. (papers of not) To me, it just doesn't look like something he would do. I could be wrong, but if you just look closely at all his other iron tsuba,( at least that I have seen) these just do not 'feel' right for him. Ford just may be on to something. Now that all these pics of the very close design Myoju signed tsuba have appeared, I would just about bet that is the case. They just don't look Myoju to me. :?

Thanks Chris, I found it. http://www.seiyudo.com/TU-08081.htm# http://www.seiyudo.com/TU-08081.htm Wow big crack, and split in the seppa. It has sure seen better days. Just goes to show what kind of cash, good old Myoju will bring. Talented fella!!!

I wonder, Are there any pictures of the other side??? Steve, it seemed to me like you were suggesting that the inlay was in that unfinished state on purpose. Is that what you were alluding to? And, I'm more than sure, that if this tsuba had come to the west after WW2, it could have sat in some damp basement for 50+ years. Adding quite a bit to it's character Regardless of who made it. I have seen it happen quite a bit. Do we call all tsuba made by 'the' M-man as Masterworks? Even those he made early, and may be wrecked by age or misuse? Personally. I think this tsuba is very nice. I would love to have seen it in it's prime. Still very pleasing to look at. But, in my opinion, this one is way down the line of masterworks for Myoju. Thanks for posting Eric. Please see if the other side is pictured somewhere, if you will. Mark G

That is a pretty tsuba. Not sure the artist had ever seen a whale though. And yes, Ford has made a wonderful looking whale tsuba. A big blue whale if I remember correctly. You can see it here: http://picasaweb.google.com/tsubaman/My ... 7452992754

Hi Gang, To me, it looks like a whole lot is missing from this tsuba. Much of the inlay is gone, making me wonder how much more inlay there was. A lot of the texture does not look man-made. It looks like age and rust may have taken it's toll. The mei looks much crisper then the tsuba on the whole. Is this a known, papered?, Myoju? I have never seen it before. But that doesn't mean anything. But I have seen quite a few known, Myoju tsuba, and this one looks kinda simple for him. So, I'm wondering as well, what would make this a master work of such a master. Perhaps Ford would fill us in, as I know this is one of his favorites.

That's a good point Chuck. I don't think the Japanese started mass killing whales until modern times. They weren't much for deep water sailing till very late. Hey Curran, Can we please see some pics of the whale stuff. I for one would love to see them, and any others you know of.

Thanks Bob, Ya, me too, and I almost got crazy a few years ago and sold them. I have some pretty Ho birds too. I plan to do a matching tsuba one day.

I have some turtles

I would have to say, those are surely 'works of art'!!!!!!!

I like the first tsuba.

The one book that got me hooked on tsuba was ' Lethal Elegance' by Joe Earle Wonderful full color pics, and in English. This book is readily available, and a great starting point. Then you can go on line, and look at thousands of tsuba, and fittings at the Boston museum. There are many great sites for beginners on line. Mark G

Wow, Thanks Bro! Mark G

nHi Russ, Is the casting all soft metal alloy? Is the color just painted on? thanks, Mark G

Here is a close one http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_ ... ID=5143861 Mark G

Wow, What a great casting. And nice finish as well. were there any more pics of the top one?

It looks like we have a pattern going on here. I had to wait to start my Japanese collecting, until later in life due to family reasons. I have loved Japanese weapons of all kinds for many years. I picked up a sword in the early days of ebay. Got very lucky. Started buying books to have more of a clue. Picked up a few more swords from ebay, and other places, now that I knew what I was looking at. May have been a bit possessed about buying swords for a short while. But usually moved on the swords I didn't want. Decided I liked Bungo swords, for many reasons. Now I have 5 swords, and one Naginata from the same school. Three swords from the same family of smiths! A few other nice swords (koto), and a pile of very pretty Yari. (because I love yari) So, I guess like many others here, I started as a accumulator , and have been moving towards being a collector. Like so many have said, It is easy to know what you like, but it takes looking at many thousands of swords to know what (good) is. Most of us regular folk cannot afford the (good) swords. We just have to admire them from pics, and museums, and sword shows. And love all the (other) Japanese swords that need help staying alive for future generations of sword lovers. Mark G

How about they are both the same tsuba. One has the black boarder giving it that shiny look. The other has the white boarder, making it look totally different. Mark G

It is common practice to not ever 'clean' the inside edges of sukashi. If it look very clean. That could be a sign. Post a pic. I bet there are a few here who can spot it. Sometimes, tsuba need to be repatined. If damaged, or badly rusted, or many other reasons. There are likely many thousands of tsuba out there that have been repatined in some way over the centuries. There is likely no way to tell if your tsuba was repatined 150 years ago. Why would it matter? Patina is meant to protect your tsuba. If it is doing the job, that should be ok. Do you have a pic of the tsuba in question? Or was it just a question?

There were also laws put into effect in late period, governing the length a sword could be. And you can only shorten a sword from the nakago end. Anything else would result in a dead and useless sword. If you cut off the good end you would loose boshi. DEAD! Not including a fix on a broken kissaki. But the style change was likely the biggest factor.

Yes it sure is! I always thought is was kinda silly for someone to Gemei this blade. It just didn't make any sense. I have never seen a 'Shinkai' blade other than the period style. I guess if you selling to some clueless army officer before ww2, that Mei may bring some extra cash I guess there was a couple other smiths that signed this way?? Just seems strange.