Jake6500

Thanks Barry for rotating the image... Sorry to disappoint Danny but I think the mei does not stand up to minimal scrutiny... For comparison here is a verified example of Teruhide's mei and Kao: The angle of the strokes in your piece lack the sharpness you would expect in a confidently cut mei and in the latter half the forger seems to have given up altogether! The workmanship itself on the piece is a bit better (at least good enough to attempt to forge a mei on) but I couldn't confidently attribute it to the Omori school. Save your money on the shinsa fee, there is a 0% chance this would paper to Teruhide and probably not much greater chance of attributing Omori den either. It's a nice little piece provided you didn't pay too much for it.

I agree with Piers and Jean both, the style reminds me of Hikone Soten and the motif on the right could be Benkei and Yoshitsune which you might infer from the naginata held by the warrior on the fuchi (which Benkei is frequently depicted with). As for the motif of the piece on the left, I'm not sure, but maybe some sort of court scene is being depicted given the formal headwear and the seiza position on the fuchi? Alternatively, this could be a depiction of Noh theatre actors re-enacting a court scene as well?

As a general rule you don't usually want to risk cleaning or modifying anything in this hobby, however you could use hot water over a wooden (NOT METAL) toothpick to pick out dirt/grime or even better, a cotton Q-tip dipped in a hot water and dish soap solution (go light on the dish soap and let the water do most of the work). Make sure to dry thoroughly with a micro-fibre cloth afterward to avoid corrosion. Do NOT use any sort of abrasive or chemical polish or cleaning solution.

I think that either Brian is right and this tsuba has been modified for the war, OR the rectangular hole is a kozuka-ana. The tsuba itself seems legit to me. I'm not an expert in iron open works but maybe Owari?

These are all different "school" classifications managed by different families or lineages. Each "school" has certain stylistic differences, the nuances of which require considerable study in order to discern when you're starting out in this hobby. As Curran writes, the difference between Yanagawa and Kikuoka for example can be hard to discern even by the most expert professionals. In many cases, artists traditionally categorised into one type of school may actually have studied under several different schools at different times, making classifiction complicated. My recommendation is to come to this forum and participate in discussions frequently, it is a very efficient way to learn when you are starting out. Goto lions tend to have certain distinct design characteristics so I can help out a bit with that one. Here are some screenshots from a document I made for myself about this exact topic as part of my own little amateur investigation. It includes images of real pieces as well as screenshots from a Japanese reference book... When you click the images you may need to zoom in.

Makes sense, I can see that. My mind goes toward Bakumatsu because of the more realistic presentation of the Nioh on the kashira, which is something you start to see more of post-1800 with late Edo artistic developments by artists such as Iwama Masayoshi or Yukimitsu Isobe who was a student of the Hamano school. These later artists would emulate earlier masters such as Shozui frequently, adding their own hyper-realistic spin to traditional designs. They also began to experiment with different techniques to enhance the realism of pieces such as using polished stone or horn for the eye, etc. My tengu profile picture is an example of one such work - unfortunately gimei with a fake Shozui mei. I've done some research and I believe it might have been a sister piece from Yukimitsu Isobe's workshop or from within his circle, however I couldn't say for sure... As the carving seems reminiscent of these later pieces but the techniques used are more traditional here, perhaps circa 1800-1820, a generation or two earlier, is right?

Thank you Piers, that response helped me piece the story back together in my mind! If I remember correctly, there was also a punishment for opening the box right? I remember a temporal theme where time passes differently in the ocean v.s. on land and Taro ages dramatically as a consequence of disobeying the instruction. At least, this is the version I was taught in school about 20-25 years ago... Those netsuke examples are beautiful Piers! The small, painstaking wood carving in particular looks meticulous!

Urashima Taro came to mind but I wasn't actually sure... Doesn't he open a box in the story as opposed to a clam? I remember the story from primary school 20+ years ago now so it has been a while...

Hi NMB, I've been away from the board for a bit due to work but figured it was time to share my latest Hamano school acquisition. I picked this kozuka up direct from a Japanese dealer (shoutout Touken Matsumoto!) for what I think was a great price overall. This is a Tokubetsu Hozon papered kozuka by Hamano Noriyuki II, signed with his youthful gō prior to assuming his position as a master of the Hamano school (Norimasu). The piece features some beautiful takabori and the theme is Shinkiro (sea mirage) featuring shells which is a motif Noriyuki is famous for. The timing of this piece as it fits into Noriyuki's early career also makes for an interesting point of reference or study! I will keep looking to expand my collection of Hamano school fittings so that this piece has friends...

This strikes me as later work than that... I would have thought Bakumatsu Period (or in that ballpark, 1800-1850) Hamano work or possibly Iwama school... Agree with you that it is a nice piece and better mumei than gimei.

I have looked it up and I in fact am NOT crazy lol It's called Inoshishi-no-ke (boar-hair lines) because the pattern mimics the coarse fur of a wild boar... Stop gaslighting me thread!! I'm not crazy I swear

Isn't this surface sometimes referred to as "boar-hair" pattern?

Unless you plan to mount them again I don't really see why it would matter Piers... Just think of them as jewelled art meant to be looked at but not worn.

That Cloisonne tsuba is pretty high quality. You can find late Edo Nagasaki shippo pieces of lesser quality and they're nothing special, but the one you posted is perhaps one of the best I've seen!

Thanks guys, this explanation makes sense. I've seen a video about the use of this eye technique in larger statues. Setting the pupil from the back would certainly align with the practice as it exists today and make a lot more logistical sense. I am still chasing down a picture of that kashira in the description I posted above... As it turns out the digital copy i was using ended up being a blended mash of Naunton and Behrens. If anyone reading has a copy of the W. L. Behren's Collection (Part 3) and could take a picture or scan of plate LXXIII (73) where I believe the potential sister kashira can be found, it would be much appreciated.