chuck

I picked up on the word "rustic" because it was being used by Japanese dealers to describe these tsubas on eBay and a few other sites. I'm curious if we're loosing something in the translation from the Japanese. How do you tell the difference between a tsuchimeji or Tembo masterwork and an iron plate some apprentice has whaled on with a hammer for a couple of hours? At this stage, I'm just like "ooooh! That's a neat texture!" I'm definitely in need of further schooling. I'm noticing that only very rarely do quality tsuba seem to be offered for sale to us here in the states. Other than the Chinese fakes, the majority of the older tsuba offered for sale on eBay seem to be either in poor condition or of poor quality, or in great condition and quality, but outrageously expensive and/or unaesthetic. Anyone know any good sites for buying tsubas I should be looking at? thanks!! Neat! Is that tsuba one from your collection? It's interesting how the hammerwork is much closer and even than the ones I've been looking at - much more controlled. I have a tsuba with some good carving on it as well as tsuchimeji - the motif is "Dragon in Sand". The tsuchimeji is much rougher than on the one you posted. It's late for me now, but I'll get some pics and post them tomorrow. There's a pic in "Lethal Elegance" of an iris on a hammered background where the hammerwork suggests a landscape shrouded in rain or mist. It's so gorgeous I cried the first time I saw it. I'm a man and I'm not afraid to own up to that. I'd give my eyeteeth just to be able to see it in person. (Well, it's in Boston. Maybe I'll get up there one day.) You mention "shows". There are "shows" for tsubas???? Where do I find out about these "shows" of which you speak? Thanks! peace.

I picked up "Lethal Elegance" and a couple of smaller books from Japan, that are in Japanese that I am unable to read, but have lots of stunning pictures. I also picked up the book of blades from the British Museum, but I haven't started trying to wade through the text yet. Thanks for that site! It's interesting the contrast between these rougher tsuba and the Goto-style ones featured in 'Lethal Elegance". I'm assuming historically the rougher ones came first, and the more elaborate carvings developed later? The thing I like about the Tsuchimeiji tsubas is that they seem to be cheaper, and so I can collect more of them. :D peace.

I mean the kind of tsuba where the iron has been extensively hammered into almost a landscape. There's a poor example here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0330236910 More examples, but reproductions, here: http://www.swordstore.com/cgi-bin/htmlo ... 9018670251 and here: http://www.swordstore.com/cgi-bin/htmlo ... 4318670251 One is referred to as "Tembo". Is there a Tembo school? Thanks. peace.

Ok, you're all pretty aware by now that I'm a newbie and I've not a clue what I'm doing, but I've been starting to educate myself. I've gotten a couple of books on fittings and such, and i've been checking out websites whenever I can. I discovered that I like the "rustic" tsubas an awful lot. I love the rough textured tsuchiemji finish. I have two now, and when I'm reading I'll turn them over and over in my hands. The texture and weight seems to calm me. But the books that I've got seem to focus more on the elaborate carvings of the Goto school, and the openwork sukashi style. Where can I go to find out more info about hammered tsubas and the smiths who made them? My first question would be: why are they referred to as "rustic"? Were they actually favored by country samurai, or is this just a stylistic term? Thanks! peace.

How would I know if this were the case? The bade itself seems to me to be pretty solid, and has a beautiful hamon. However, I am definately no expert in this area - this is my first Japanese blade, purchaced while dangerously undereducated. What would I look for? I've seen tourist blades in "kitchen steel" with the carved ivory handles and sayas at local flea markets touted as "genuine samurai swords". This is higher quality than those, at least. I hope. Wouldn't a high- or even mid- quality blade have value even if it was made for the tourist market? Like I said, I'm newer at this than I probably should be, and there is much that is confusing. Ah. Ok, much thanks. I'll go with Minamoto. I assume not every Minamoto Fusanobu is in the data base, and there could have been more than one. Are there any other resources I can use to track the smith down and find out more information? ...and the implied criticism of my photo skills is noted. I suck. Better photos would require taking this back apart, and I'm a little hesitant to do that having just put it together. Much thanks!! peace.

Does anyone agree that it could be "Minamoto"? This one's giving me no end of frustration. Any help is much appreciated. peace.

Yes! Big help Curran! Much thanks! ...because like a nitwit I've gone and done something and now trying to understand what I've done and educate myself after the fact. If I seem concerned with value at this point, it's only because I'm a little worried that this tanto might not be worth what I paid for it. But I am becoming much less concerned about that the more information I get. It seems like I may have done alright. Not the best of the best, but not crap either. I'm ok with that. I am equally interested in the artistry of these items, how they are made and the history behind them. What characterized Higo work as different from other schools? Was "Higo" actually a brand like "Tiffanys"? Would a samurai could walk into a smith's shop that only sold "Higo" items? Or was it more like a style, where a smith might make a "Higo" set of koshira and then sell them next to a set in a different style? Is there a search function here? I will search "Higo School" and see what comes up. ---I was kidding about the "insulting" thing. I meant to put "lol" there but I forgot. I will edit. Thanks. peace.

Can you post pics of other Higo school work, or point me in the right direction? I'd love to see other pieces in this style, partularily the tsuba. The seppa are from Fred. The menuki - the story is: Ok, I'm a newbie, if that's not completely obvious. I purchaced a customized production katana with a "vines and dragon" theme - vines on the tsuba/fuchi/koshira and dragon menuki. I've taken up Iaido, and had a custom iaito made with the same theme. After a while I contacted the guy what did the orginal customization, looking for a companion piece to make a diasho. None of the wakizashi blades he had were appropriate, and he didn't have the parts to customize a tanto in the same theme. So I went on eBay, and immediately discovered both this tanto, albeit in a state of disrepair, and the tsuba, in the theme I was looking for. I took it as a sign that this was "meant to be", and, although I spent much much more money than I was looking to spend, I am also much happier with the result than I would be with a customized production piece. This is my first antique Japanese blade, and there is utterly no comparison between the real thing and a modern production blade. Which explains the dragon menuki. And now the katana is the companion piece to the tanto, rather than the other way around. Now, I stumbled across this website after I had sent the blade out for restoration, and now I realize that things are much more complex than I thought. I really lucked out with this tanto I think, but if I don't educate myself, I can really get burned in the future. So I'm trying to learn as much as I can. I've noticed that. There are fakes so fake that I can spot them. I actually just purchaced my second antique tsuba from eBay. I think it's one of the good ones. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0433244546 . Hasn't arrived yet. What is this three volume set and where can I get it? I am in serious danger of becomming the "vines dude"! I have completly fallen in love with this theme. (The other vine themed piece I own (I hesitate to call it a "collection") is here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5405 ) Thanks for the comments! I am curious, being completely new, as to what "a lack of spontaniety of the design" means exactly. (It sounds vaguely insulting, and I'm not sure if I should express indignation on behalf of my tanto. (Lol)) How is this determined? Can you post pictures of a piece with a spontanious design? I like I said before, I'm new and still learning, and I'd like to understand the criteria by which these items are judged. Thanks! peace.

I realized that perhaps it would be a good idea, rather than saying "hey, tell me whatever you can about these", if I had some actual questions to use as a starting point. Here we go: I've been looking around the internet and following auctions on eBay and I see a lot of carved fuchi/koshira, but these are the only ones I've seen with only gold inlay. Are these rare? Is there a particular smith or school known for working in this style? Could these be attrubited to him/them? Can an approximate date be known by looking at them? I am told that they are orginal to the blade, but I wonder if they might be older. Does the "theme" of a fuchi/koshira (or a tsuuba, for that matter) have an effect on value? I haven't seen a lot of "vine"-themed furnature, but I do see a lot of dragons, foo-dogs, fishermen, ect. I've noticed that "horse" themed items tend to fetch a premium on eBay. Are there other themes that are rare and sought after? (And are "vines" one of them?) Thanks for your help! peace.

Hey! Saw your post on the other forum as well. Thanks for the input! Using the smith's database, there was a Minamoto Fusanobu working around 1684. I'm pretty sure the blade isn't that old. I've literally sat in Barnes and Noble for hours flipping through page after page of Japanese dictionaries looking for this kanji, and come up with nothing. Is it possible it's ideosyncratic to this one smith or to a village, and wouldn't show up in a dictionary or a list of kanji? Or maybe it's archaic and wouldn't show up in a modern dictionary? It seems to be a stumper. The blue outline photo - it looks exactly like that. There's no blurring on the carving. It's really clear. It's my photography that is visually indicipherable. Thanks! peace.

Help out with the mei here!!! viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5585 Much thanks!! peace.

If you would like a closer look ot the koshirae, they are here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5584 Help out with the mei here!!! viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5585 Much thanks!! peace.

My first Japanese blade. I'm a little intimidated posting here, I feel like I don't know nearly enough. My thanks to Fred Lohman, who was able to take all the peices and parts I sent him, and assemble it into a work of art. I'm starting separate threads for the blade and the koshirae, in the appropriate sub-forums. The blade is here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5583&p=43423#p43423 and the koshirae if you would like to see them are here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5584 I'm told that the last two characters of the mei are "Fusanobu", but I've been having considerable difficulty with the first character. And help and information about the smith would be much much appreciated!! I realize the first character is not clear in the above picture, so I blew it up and traced it out in photoshop. Any help you can give will be much appreciated!! Thanks!! peace.

My first Japanese blade. I'm a little intimidated posting here, I feel like I don't know nearly enough. My thanks to Fred Lohman, who was able to take all the peices and parts I sent him, and assemble it into a work of art. I'm starting separate threads for the blade and the mei, in the appropriate sub-forums. Please help out with the mei if you are able! The thread for the blade is here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5583&p=43423#p43423 The fuchi/koshira/kojira are all orginal to the blade. The tanto did not have menuki when I found it, so those are modern reproductions. If you know anything about the work or the style, please help me out! I'd love to know more about what I have here! The Tsuba did not orginally come with the blade, but is also an antique (Edo period, I am told). It fight the theme of the tanto beautifully, so I added it. The tsuba is unsigned, unfortunately. Thanks for veiwing! All comments are appreciated! peace.

My first Japanese blade. I'm a little intimidated posting here, I feel like I don't know nearly enough. My thanks to Fred Lohman, who was able to take all the peices and parts I sent him, and assemble it into a work of art. I'm starting separate threads for the koshirae and the mei, in the appropriate sub-forums. Please help out with the mei if you are able! The Blade is 10" long. I don't yet understand a lot of the terminology used to describe blades, but it's quite beautiful. The hamon is a faint and ghostlike notare - definately not acid etched! - with some gorgeous smoke-like sworls. Unfortunately, I haven't yet figured out the trick of photographing it, as faint as it is. The condition of the blade is good - the kissiki has a (very) small chip, and there are some light scratches along the length of the blade. Thanks for viewing! peace.

Much thanks for the info!! I'm delighted to know more about the smith; now I'm going to have to do some research to find out who his employer was. I'm not sure this piece is for a tanto - the shape and "heft" seems wrong to me. Also, it would have to be a very thin blade. All the tanto blades I've seen are far too wide for this tsuba. For a "standard" tanto blade, the tang would have to be filed or ground down almost by half for it to work. My sensai seems convinced that it was a display piece, done as an example of the smiths ability. I'm not so sure of that either. Anyway - tsuba are fun! I think I will get some more! pax.

Wow. Obviously, I had no idea. My opioion of this piece has shot up, actually. I think this is something rarer and more special than I had orginally thought. I wish there was some way of finding out information about the boy who recieved this and his family. much thanks for the info! peace.

huh. Would something so elaborate really have been made for a child's toy? makes sense, given the size tho. I can't help but wonder if there is a matching adult size one. Is anyone familiar with the smith? peace.

Hi! My name is Chuck and I'm new here - 1st post!! - and I'm also new to collecting antique tsuba and suchlike. I actually just bought my first antique tsuba last week on eBay. I wasn't planning on buying one so soon - I had wanted to educate myself a bit more before taking the plunge - but I was the quality of the carving on this one and I fell in love with it and I couldn't resist. I love the gold inlay representing the fireflies! So being completely new to this, I was hoping y'all could tell me something about this piece. It's very small. When I say the dimentions in the eBay listing, I assumed it was sized for a wakashazi. When I got it, I realized that the nakago was much too small for a wak, or even a tanto. It won't sit flat in the display case because the post in the center of the box is too long! If it were to actually be mounted, the blade would need to be very very slender. Even though the tsuba is small, it is oddly thick, about 5 mm. The carving goes all the way around the edge. Sorry the pic is blurry, but you should get the gist. Back of the tsuba: So, to sum up - weirdly sized, exquisite carving and inlay... Edo period (so I am told). Was this just a peice to demonstrate the skill of the carver? Or was it actually intended to be mounted on a blade? Is there a blade smaller than a tanto? A know some aikuchi are thin, but they generally don't have handguards. What else can you guys tell me about this piece? It puzzles me. It's stunningly beautiful, but I'd like to know more about it. And, more importantly, where can I find a similar one, only sized for a katana? Thanks!!