Iaido dude

Koichi, thanks so much for the link. What an amazing commentary on precisely this Kanayama tsuba motif as well as the type of tekkotsu that may be found in early Owari Province tsuba. My tsuba is different than the majority composition of this kind in being more “curvaceous,” which is what appeals to me. There is a lot for me to consider and digest with more leisurely and dedicated study. It has enhanced my enjoyment of this piece immensely. It is natural it seems that what is beautiful, mysterious, and evocative to our minds, as in the case of this motif, becomes an invitation to find meaning through it. Without the possibility of time travel to ask the tsubako what he intended with this creation, we may need to depend on historical clues from prevailing cultural and aesthetic trends, geography, and just the simple pleasures in life such as watching steam rise from boiling water.

Dale, that "reversed" design is interesting. Another great Kanayama tsuba. Very appealing piece. I love that blog, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to search that collection of hundreds of top notch guards for a specific category.

This is a recently acquired Kanayama tsuba "study piece" costing just over $300 on a Jauce auction. It has a massive seppa-dai and large lump-type tekkotsu concentrated on the upper mimi clockwise between 7 o' clock and 1 o' clock (two are shown in pic). There is a slight dishing from mimi to seppa-dai. This is a genuine Kanayama, but has some unusual variant features. The motif on the left and right of the seppa-dai and forming the hitsu-ana is often referred to as "sea cucumber" (namako) and made famous by the tsuba of Miyamoto Musashi. However, I highly doubt that he was thinking of a deep sea creature to decorate a sword fitting when he adopted this abstract motif as part of the simple and symmetric composition commonly found in Kanayama tsuba. This tsuba is almost certainly a product of the Momoyama Period with a lively flow of curves in the composition that is mesmerizing and evocative of Wabi Tea and Zen Buddhist aesthetic principles including wabi, sabi, and mono no aware. For me it is also an especially powerful evocation of yugen (mystery). Beyond the tekkotsu there is variation in thickness going around the mimi and the seppa-dai, which exaggerates the rustic spirit of the overall effect. The surface has an unusual appearance comprised of an exaggerated and coarse cobblestones/craters (not sure if it can be described as tsuchime-ji) interrupting a beautiful yakite-shitate surface treatment. This seems to be an intentional aesthetic expression rather than reflecting any corrosion of the patina, which has a lovely color. There is an almost identical example of this tsuba in "Openwork Tsuba" by Kenichi Okubo, et al (page 192) that is more of a classical Kanayama tsuba in its features. The major differences are that the width of the motifs on either side is even less uniform in my tsuba, being thinner at the center so as to create almost the appearance of upper and lower lobes, it has a massive seppa-dai measuring 47 x 27 mm (reminiscent of Ko-Shoami), and it has an unusual linear gouged tagane pattern around the entire nakago-ana. It appears to have been mounted many times, which may attest to the aesthetic value placed on this tsuba. There are a few other similar pieces found on my Google search, but they are linked to NMB posts that apparently no longer exist. The major differences are whether there is a kogai hitsuana or if both are kozuka hitsuana, and whether the curved element that forms the hitsu-ana is joined to the mimi in a more round shape (relaxed), such as in my tsuba, or at a more acute angle (stiff) as in the reference piece below. Diameter: 76 mm Width: 5.7 (mimi), 5.0-5.3 mm (seppa-dai) Weight: 97 gm

Steve, nearly everything I know I learned from you!

Beautiful, Curran. Your comments ring true for all categories of tsuba. There is no substitute for hard-earned experience and expertise. Is the second one a recent acquisition? I was looking at the same tsuba or a very similar one not long ago, but passed because I limited myself to previously published designs and couldn’t assess the materials.

Deanna, thanks for starting this post. The subjects of Yagyu and Ono/Ohno are always of interest because the characteristics of these categories are often less well established. One of the things to keep in mind about attribution is that after Early Edo when the pure provincial influence that characterizes tsuba we refer to as Kanayama, Owari, etc, gives way to cross pollination, it becomes increasingly the case that there is a merging of influences as tsubako begin to travel and intermingle in capital cities and major trade hubs. The smiths never labeled themselves the way we seem to refer to them because of the almost obsessive need to pin down the attribution. Often they produced tsuba in numerous styles simultaneously based on the market demands including special commissions from patrons. For example, we sometimes find tekkotsu on styles of tsuba that we don't usually associate with this kind of feature. There is no reason to think these smiths limited themselves so strictly with regard to interpretation or execution. Short of authentic mei that identifies the smith, we are using inductive reasoning (in the best case scenario) to identify features of one or more categories. Eckhardt Kremers has postulated convincingly that the Kyo-sukashi, Owari, and Ko-Shoami styles were major influences on the features of Akasaka guards because these were being produced simultaneously by a Shoami master who moved to Akasaka with several Owari tsubako to set up a workshop. Beware guards like the teapot above. The surface treatment looks manipulated with wax to cover up damage to the patination. Such guards may have attribution from shinsa, but the condition is not part of the judgement.

Here is an Ohno that has been cycling on Jauce, which I am a bit suspicious of because of the surface treatment. Can’t tell if it’s just a photography issue. It looks to have been waxed, although not as jet black as some of them and some rust color is coming through. This seller does not routinely blacken his sukashi tsuba, so there is some hope. There are scratches around the seppa dai on the ura, but these could be smoothed over gently with some horn, I suppose. The dimensions are consistent with Ohno and there is the characteristic sinking of the central motif below the rim to give that powerful feeling that we experience with a dished tsuba. I think that the design is a bit stiff, but wouldn’t be a dealbreaker on its own because I like the strong and stark martial quality of this guard. https://www.jauce.com/auction/f1160853554

I have seen this on Jauce and discussed with Steve Waszak. If this is a Yagyu, it is a late one. The surface treatment is very coarse, which is not the way the "sandy," but smoother and uniform appearance of Yagyu plates appear. That uniform coarseness is not produced by tekkotsu, which are absent on this tsuba. The motif and composition are not one of those 269 designs in Haynes' Yagyu Design Book (I have confirmed this). It is also thinner than an early Ohno, which is nearly always >6 mm at the rim. My Ohno Kuruma 8-spokes tsuba (see Peter's insert of my original post) is 7 mm at the mimi and 4 mm at the seppa dai, which is a consequence of the steep step-off as in the current tsuba under consideration. The central 6-spoke motif is likewise sunken for a powerful appearance. If not for the coarse surface treatment, which likely reflects corrosion of the original patina, I would have seriously considered this tsuba because of its Buddhist iconography (6 paths of karma)--a specific and focused collecting interest for me. If it speaks to you, that is all that really matters in the end. This would be a low-risk, low-cost acquisition--also a study piece to examine in hand.

There are many beautiful aspects to your 4th tsuba-smithing attempt! I especially like the execution of the 3-D sculpural aspect, which seems like it would be the most technically challenging.

It's a bit thin for Ono.

I agree, but I think those people post-Early Edo were the merchant class rather than the buke. There is no religious imagery here, just Western-influenced bling that spoke to wealth and social standing rather than spirituality.

Fantastic, Ed. I'm a big fan of bonsho and have been waiting to see rarer Kanayama/Ono examples that are more lively than the frequently encountered Owari. What are the dimensions?

Yes, I’m aware that the seller doesn’t do the shipping. However, according to Jauce, the seller can stipulate that the item be restricted from being shipped internationally. In fact, I had to get permission to even bid because there was a block automatically placed originally since my mailing address is the US. I just found a copy on eBay that may obviate the need to go through Jauce at all. The price of the book is the same (~$40) plus $25 shipping from Japan. Grateful for your input regardless. The shipping policy doesn’t make much sense unless some liability for shipping by Jauce still falls to the seller.

There is a nice openwork tsuba book on Jauce that the seller won't ship internationally. Any members of the community who lives in Japan or knows of someone in Japan who would be so kind as to assist with shipping it to me in Florida after Jauce ships it locally within Japan? Fully at my cost of course. Thanks in advance. Steve

The tsuba priced at $5,000 on Shibuiswords is attributed to the 1st Tadatoki (4th generation Akasaka). I'm not familiar with how to evaluate the mei of this tsubako, but what I do know is that the 4th gen Akasaka is arguably among the best, having not only authentically derived from the Akasaka lineage, but because he pushed in a new and innovative direction that is quite distinct from what happened with the generations that followed (generally regarded as inferior). After him, there is a noted decay in the quality of the execution, whereas his designs are executed with a crispness and artistry that is distinct. Whether it is worth $5,000 is arguable. The artistry is IMHO unquestionable.