Jake6500

Honestly, I think most on the board would agree we'd have to see clear photos of the blade and such to determine whether we think the expense of having new fittings made would be financially worth the money and time invested into such a project. If you want decent quality fittings made, this is not a cheap project as some have already pointed out. I have a Dewa Gassan school katana that I am considering getting fittings made for, however the fittings would cost more than half the value of the sword itself. Personally, it would have to be one very nice, high quality tanto for me to want to proceed... Sentimentality plays a role in such decisions of course, but spending (potentially) twice as much on the fittings as the blade itself might not be worth the investment.

I have seen two similar examples owned by collectors here in Melbourne Australia. One is actually on sale currently... signed "Masakuni" with Tokubetsu Hozon papers...

Correct Liang, The kashira depicts Taigong Wang / Taigong Jiang. Those who like video games will appreciate his appearance as a character in TECMO KOEI's Warriors Orochi series... I have not heard this saying before but it is quite fitting! The picture I uploaded last time does not reflect the true quality of this piece... Here's a better one:

Those are some very nice pieces I would love to have in my collection, gimei or not! Everyone wants the authentic signature but as long as the piece is high quality, I don't think it matters too much.

Definitely gimei but I like this motif nonetheless... The mei is Otsuryuken Shozui which was one of the common ways Shozui signed earlier in his career, however his signatures are some of the most commonly forged out there. The tengu fuchigashira from my profile picture is also signed "Shozui" but chances are it is also gimei, though the quality is pretty good... I would like to submit it to the NBTHK one day. This is only a guess but the triangular shape on the ura could perhaps be a hunting trap of some kind? I agree with Colin

Wonderful to hear that it worked out Max! Not surprised that you were happy with the quality and price point! It can be hard to capture the level of quality with pictures when it comes to tosogu, and even so the tsuba seemed decent for the price you said you paid. Interesting that you've found a similar example, however it isn't that unusual to find certain iconic motifs repeated by artisans of different schools with their own distinct style or spin!

Hey Viktor, Here's an image of the back panel in one of the fuchigashira boxes I recently received from Japan. It does seem fairly similar to yours. Sorry it took so long!

Thanks Brian for the title edit, I'd like to make this thread an extensive one! The more contributions the better!

Hey Tosogu collectors, I recently obtained my second Yanagawa Naomitsu piece, a beautiful lion and peony themed fuchigashira (possible tokubetsu hozon candidate?) In celebration of this new acquisition I felt a mega lion thread would be fitting, hoping to get the rest of the forum involved! Post your best lions, all types of Tosogu welcome! I'll start:

This one is an amazing piece Viktor. Jiryuken Terumitsu appears to have been a student of both Yokoya and Omori schools... Both Ichinomiya and Yokoya emerge as "new schools" from the Goto tradition in the West and East respectively and used similar techniques so it can sometimes be hard to distinguish them... I think Yokoya school is also a distinct possibility.

Mentioned above already, but I think it might be Ichinomiya school. The Gold pattern on the robe, thickness of the limbs and style of the fingers, etc. remind me of Ichinomiya school. The theme of Shennong (good job team, I honestly never would have guessed it) also seems to match the type of theme one might expect from the school as the Ichinomiya school seem to have been big on Chinese history mythology and folklore motifs... But I'm interested to see what other more experienced posters think. After all I am basically just an overly active newbie on the forum...

Wow Geraint! That helps heaps! I can basically confirm the two Ichinomiya pieces at minimum were in fact in that auction lot. It is possible that the Uji River piece refers to one of the Hamano style pieces, however it may also be that those two have different origins despite coming from the same collector. Thanks for posting these catalogue descriptions! They could well be gimei given that Hamano Naoyuki was a big name. Keep in mind though that my pictures aren't the best. They definitely all look nicer in hand! I got each of these pretty cheap (roughly 60,000 yen per piece) so I think based on the quality alone they were a good deal. I have a 5th and final piece that was (a LOT) more expensive on its way so stay tuned for a separate thread about that when it arrives...

Can't say with 100% certainty but this one gives me an Ichinomiya vibe and strongly reminds me of a recent fuchigashira acquisition of mine... No idea about the theme though

Last but not least, when it comes to my favourite from this set it's between the first Hamano piece I posted and this Taigong Wang design and I can't decide which I like most...

Now the Tsunenao pieces with their original Sotheby's tags...

Posting the 4 pieces in 4 separate comments just for space...

Hi Tosogu enthusiasts, Over the holidays I acquired a number of new fuchigashira that appear to have come from a single collection. The acquisitions include 4 pieces in total, two signed Hamano Naoyuki and two signed (Ichinomiya) Tsunenao. The two Tsunenao pieces still have their original auction tags from a Sotheby's collection dated November 15th 2000. The other two pieces are missing their tags, but all 4 appear to have been from the same collector/owner. (This does not mean they are from the same Sotheby's collection necessarily...) These pieces are pretty high quality with some interesting motifs and I'm hopeful the mei might be authentic. If not however it's no big deal as the quality was well worth the price I paid for these. Photos taken with my less-than-spectacular phone camera and size compressed but I tried my best... Do let me know what you all think! I'll start with the Hamano pieces:

Very interesting thread! This is the first time I've seen this technique so I'm happy to have learned something new! Did you encounter this blade in Japan Ian?

I see some beautiful stuff there including what (I think) are some pieces with Hamano school influences... (Tiger could also be sekibun as Curran said). The tiger kozuka and the Nioh kozuka next to it both have what look like Hamano style influences with the gold eyes and striking colour contrasts... Are either of them signed on the reverse? If so, please post images of the signatures. It wouldn't be hard to find a buyer for many of these pieces if you're looking to sell. (Hell, I'd probably make an offer on these two myself! Possibly for the tiger menuki too...) As others have said though, take your time evaluating each individual piece, even if it means extra work. Posting images of any signatures here would be a good start.

Not exactly multi-stacked but this tsuba of mine by Marukawa Hiroyoshi (Mito school) has sekigane resized so small that the centrepiece of a tsuba box will not fit... I had to make my own (kinda dodgy) box for it out of a ring box... I think it might have been re-used on a mamori-tanto gifted to a child. (Image below is in the original box, not my dodgy self-made one)

Hi Ian, I feel pretty confident in saying the piece is from the Edo Period but it does not appear to be particularly high quality work and I'm not sure I could ascribe a particular school... If I had to take a guess it feels like it might have some Nara region influences? Curious to see what others with more knowledge and experience think

Sorry for diverging from the topic of the thread being the sword itself But I really, REALLY like that saya...

Those actually look really good though...

Scammers gonna scam Everybody gotta buy bread lol

Colin is right, developing an eye for quality is priority number 1 in this hobby. High standards and an eye for quality lead to a collection of appreciating assets... That said 400 Euro or so for your tsuba seems like a decent price to me. I don't think you did too bad at all.