ZH1980

Thanks Kyle! I can see the tea house theme, now that you mention it!

I wanted to see if anyone on the forum could help me identify the school and/or design theme of this tsuba that I recently purchased. I’m certain that I’ve seen similar designs on this site, or in books, but can’t for the life of me find those references now. Any insights would be very much appreciated.

I believe this to be the earliest tsuba in my collection; reported by the seller to be late Muromachi or early Momoyama. With that said, it’s mumei and not papered, so I’m really not sure.

For me, the appeal of collecting tsuba lies in the history they hold and the thrill of the search. Good tsuba (for me) carry the story of their time, from the hands that crafted it to (ideally) the warrior who used it. Delving into the history of sword fittings gives me a sense of being connected to Japan’s cultural heritage in a tangible way; something I hope my Japanese children will eventually appreciate. In addition to the history, I love the hunt —sifting through collections, auctions, or online markets, always on the lookout for a piece that stands out for its craftsmanship or as a good example of a school that is under-represented (or missing) from my collection. There’s something incredibly rewarding about uncovering a tsuba and knowing it’s found a new steward in its long journey.

I imagine you’ll get a lot of contributions to this thread! Here are a few from my collection. The third is an Akasaka School tsuba with maple theme.

A tsuba bottle opener? As seen on Mercari …

Another fan theme tsuba from my collection to share.

If the tsuba is from the Edo period and the crucifix was included in the original design (or shortly thereafter), the size of the crucifix seems strange to me. If the crucifix was meant to be hidden under the seppa, the size of the crucifix seems too large, no?

Thanks for highlighting the Buddhist element, Steve. The seller has not listed the school in his advert and, frankly, I’m not learned enough yet to make an educated guess …

This tsuba has been for sale on Mercari for some time now. Curious if anyone sees any “red flags” that this may not be from the post 1614 Edo period as the discreet placement of the cross might suggest.

More fans! Looks like maybe a similar style to the one in Dan’s first post.

A recent acquisition (following along the greenery theme). -Zac

Fascinating. Thanks for this Florian. Like I said, I didn’t see the link to Christianity when I bought the tsuba, but this thread reminded me of that conversation. This is all very interesting (including the past discussions on this topic). Thanks all.

The idea that Christian designs on tsuba would be highly discreet is an interesting one. I bought the attached Yagyu tsuba from a Japanese dealer who speculated that the cross in the tsuba was a Christian symbol. I thought it was a stretch at the time, but was reminded of this conversation due to this thread.

I’ve been collecting for almost two years and just bought my 50th tsuba! I’m still missing some key schools/groups, but love the hunt. -Zac

Age 42 (2022) - I had been living in Japan for twelve years by that point and had been studying Japanese and collecting books on nihonto (as well as reading this forum!). I finally made the investment into my first katana - a significant purchase (at least for me). That, almost immediately, spurred an interest in tsuba. The ability to collect historical works of art and - maybe more importantly - learn the stories behind the artisans and the context under which they lived, is why I love this hobby!

40+

No fun spoiled at all. I actually just went back to the seller listing and, you’re right, these are indeed plum blossoms! Thanks again, all.

Many thanks, all, for the insight! Well noted. I will check out the Tosogu/Tsuba dealers mentioned. Thanks again!

Gentlemen and Ladies (are there any ladies on this forum?) - First time poster here - I recently purchased this tsuba off Mercari.com. The tsuba has what appears to be machine-made divots around the nakago-ana. I recognized this before purchasing the tsuba and simply bought it because it was inexpensive and I like the cherry blossom pattern. I'm posting this because I'm curious if any forum members have seen this before and, if so, if you have any idea what these divots are/were for. I suspect that the divots are a pretty good indication that the tsuba is a modern-day cast, and/or was perhaps attached to something else at some point as some form of ornamentation? Any ideas? I have not seen this on other tsubas, including those that I have looked at on this forum, so am really quite lost about what these divots are. Thanks in advance for any thoughts. I am a fairly new tsuba enthusiast and collector, living in Japan, and doing most of my browsing and shopping on Mercari and the occasional antique/junk shop, but have also purchased some papered tsubas from some of the Tokyo vendors discussed on this forum. In short, I have benefited quite a bit from this forum, including a number of the tsuba/nihonto-related texts recommended by many of you. Thank you!