Jake6500

To me it looks like this, but being made on a loom of some kind, per the description. It looks like a basket, suspended on bamboo rods? Like, there is the main rod (gold) which the basket is folded around, plus two more subtle rods at each end of the basket? As for the significance, no idea. Perhaps this is a Meiji Period object commemorating the old methods of craftsmanship as weaving and textile technologies were in the midst of being upgraded / industrialised in like the 1880's? No idea.

The back I am a lot less sure about but if I had to take a stab, maybe Inari? The long face of the animal on the back reminds me of the face of Inari (fox) statues at Japanese Inari shrines. Komainu and Inari are both common at shrines so this would be my best guess. Maybe this Netsuke relates to Okinawan Shisa? The Shisa in Okinawa were related to both Komainu and Inari, and this might account for the similar but slightly different presentation of the Komainu/Lion on the front. If so, I like it even more! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shisa EDIT: Forgot to mention, Okinawan/Ryukyuan Shisa generally come in mouth open, mouth closed pairs. If this Netsuke really is of a Ryukyuan Shisa, it might suggest that it originally came in a pair with another depicting a Shisa with mouth closed. Though, you probably would have seen that information in the link! Kitsune (fox) Inari typically also come in pairs so this might make sense.

To add another attachment to the thread, I just added this Hannya Mask Tsuba to my collection and feel like sharing... Presumably this also relates to a Noh play, likely one that incorporates Buddhism as part of the story if the scroll is anything to go by. If anyone has any idea which play it might commemorate, let me know! Aoi no Ue seems to make the most sense to me right now.

Glad to have helped Howard! I very much like the piece you've picked up and think it'd be a great addition to a cultural collection.

Hi Howard, Not an expert on Netsuke but this DEFINITELY looks like a Shishi Lion to me. The lion was a symbol in Chinese and Japanese Shinto culture and is often seen on Tosogu such as Tsuba. In Japan these were called "komainu" and in english they're often referred to as "lion dogs". This one has a particularly fierce expression. I have also seen other lion Netsuke before. It is a pretty common iconography for Netsuke (that much, I know). Statues of Komainu were often erected at shrines to ward off evil spirits, which I'd like to imagine might have been the purpose of this netsuke with its fierce expression. A few basic links with some more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komainu https://en.wikipedia...inese_guardian_lions Bonus for the statues (the third picture in this link is a good one for visual comparison): https://www.Japan-ex...anding-Japan/komainu A couple pictures of other lion Netsuke: This last picture really exemplifies the similarities with your Netsuke. Notice the teeth/mouth shape, nose shape and eyes. What I find interesting and different about your Netsuke is the pattern of the hair/fur, which is perhaps a little different. Presumably the artist wanted to add to the ferocity of the piece by deviating from the usual spiral pattern more typical of these pieces.

First and foremost I want to state the obvious: I am not an expert in this field. That aside there are a couple deductions we could make about the age of this mask. Firstly, long-nosed Tengu depictions were thought to have been conceived of in the 14th century, so this mask is certainly not a piece from the Kamakura Period or earlier, but you probably already knew that. It's probably safe to assume this mask is from the Edo Period or later based on it's relatively good condition and the rise in popularity Noh Theatre underwent in the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo Periods. These masks have generally been used either in the theatre or in Shinto festivals so this is a relatively safe assumption to make. What I will say is that the materials lend credibility to the belief that this might be an authentic mask, at least in my mind. I would expect an Edo Period mask of this kind to be made of wood like this one, and the cord resembles the material and appearance of other Late Edo Period and Early Meiji Period artefacts I have seen/handled. A bit frayed which would be hardly surprising given the age, but similar nonetheless. You see this type of cord/rope on a lot of Late Edo or Meiji Period artefacts from inro to yoroi armour. A closer picture of the cord to confirm this would be nice, but you could probably make the comparison just from the last picture alone. It is also very possible however, that the mask might be from the Meiji Period or even a later period than this and altered to look "older". All this being said, in my personal opinion and with my limited expertise, I think it is *plausible* that this item is an authentic Late Edo or Meiji Period piece (think 1800-1910). Here is an example of a Mid-Edo era mask from the Brooklyn Museum for comparison, which would in my estimation be just a few decades older: https://www.brooklyn...ection/objects/27398 I guess the likelihood of this item being authentic would also depend on the sellers overall reliability.

To Douglas Edgar Mills maybe you are Spartan-not-so-Sensei, but to me on the topic of Tsuba as a relatively new collector, you are Spartan Sensei

Hi Peter, Did you mean the part of the Tsuba at the bottom, underneath our immortals and their cauldron? I hadn't heard of this theme before in Japanese culture but after doing a bit of research I was surprised to find out that this is a thing in a number of shrines around Japan. I had done some research about Buddhism (particularly in Kamakura Period literature) as part of my academic studies but this particular cultural iconography completely escaped me!

Uwaaaa... These photos are certainly not as flattering! As always I have much to learn from Spartan Sensei!

So this brand, Ryumon is a producer of kitchen knives and modern katana's. As far as I can tell they are a Chinese brand I think(?) based in Longquan, Zhejiang province. All of their products are modern ones with no historical value. https://www.swordsof...st.com/ryumon_1.aspx That said if you bought these modern Tsuba for display purposes and didn't pay too much, or bought them knowing they were modern pieces, I rather like them.

Hi forum members, I just thought I'd share this for you all, was browsing Ebay today just wasting time, looking at Tsuba (as you do) when I noticed this newly listed item that resembles the theme (Daoist Immortals) and artistic style of Dirk's Tsuba which kicked off this thread. Thought I'd share in case anyone is interested, think it might be a great addition to someone else's collection. I believe one of the immortals in this one is Liu Haichan (Gama Sennin) again... https://www.ebay.com...2:g:4XkAAOSwNG9mbZgk

I wonder if the two refer to a particular (perhaps the same) Noh or Kyogen play as their theme or if this is coincidental. I have a hunch that Tom's might be themed around the Noh play Momijigari as it features both the Hannya mask and what looks like a Japanese Maple Leaf(?) which is associated with the story. https://en.wikipedia...ki/Momijigari_(play) Yours however does not feature the Maple Leaf, so maybe the two are related to different plays.

Aside from the cast marks, the Hitsu Ana being that clean (?) in and of itself usually is indicative of a reproduction. I'm not sure if that's the best way to put it but hopefully everyone knows what I mean. If the entire piece looks too clean to be around 200 years old, particularly around the Hitsu Ana and Sekigane, also sometimes the Mei, then it probably isn't.

This might be peripheral but I would imagine Tosa artisans would have been looked down upon simply for historical reasons dating back to the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 when the Chosokabe (ruled Tosa Han) sided against the Tokugawa and lost. Animosity between the samurai of Tosa and the Bakufu continued until the Meiji Restoration and collapse of the Edo Period in 1868 due to the treatment of the tozama (the great daimyo who had opposed the Tokugawa and their respective domains, Tosa, Choshu and Satsuma). These domains also happened to be the ones that fought to restore imperial power (not a coincidence) and many of the earliest, most prominent Japanese politicians of the Meiji Period were from these domains such as Japan's first prime minister Ito Hirobumi who was from Choshu and Itagaki Taisuke, who served with Hirobumi as Home Minister in Hirobumi's Second Administration was from Tosa. It would therefore not surprise me that works from artisans in Shikoku would have been looked down upon in general, but particularly so if the work came from Tosa. Simply put, looking down upon Tosa with distrust was sort of the unofficial position of the Bakufu itself throughout the Edo Period. The Chosokabe in Tosa were also the most powerful samurai clan in Shikoku so to see this mistrust and animosity extended to Shikoku as a whole would hardly be surprising.

I'm inclined to agree Colin, although I do find the thought of it interesting in and of itself.

Regardless of whether these Tsuba constitute "cubism" or not, I find the idea rather interesting. Usually when discussing the relationship between Western and Japanese (Edo Period) art the relationship is in the reverse as Van Gogh is known to have been inspired by ukiyo-e art which inspired the wider Japonaiserie movement in Western art circles around the late 1880's and 1890's. You can see this in the vibrant colours of Van Gogh's Sunflower series. I would say the idea of Picasso's cubism potentially influencing later Meiji Period Tsuba is extremely interesting, regardless of the validity.

A quick look into parrots and parrot species in Japan indicates that there are no parrot species native to Japan, as has been said already. Parrots were only introduced as invasive species some time in the 1960's. The post about parrot ukiyo-e is quite interesting and really shows the cultural impact of the opening of Japan's borders in 1853 and the influx of Western culture at the time.

Thank you very much for your hard work. This has helped a lot and expanded my understanding!

Hi there veteran board members and translators, I recently picked up a new Tsuba and am looking to have the hakogaki translated to see if I can get more information about the Tsuba itself, the school of craftsmanship or the period of its manufacture. I have already attempted to see what I could find out through image to text translation and that was somewhat informative, but there were sections that could not be translated this way. From what I could gather, it depicts Benkei at Gojo Bridge (knew this from the original listing) from the Noh play Ataka which was popular during the Edo Period along with numerous Kabuki spin-offs. The hakogaki also appears to confirm the round iron base and brass fittings/decoration which matches the Tsuba itself. Catalogued in 1980? If anyone with better Japanese language skills is able to translate the rest it would be much appreciated! Here are some images of the Hakogaki and the Tsuba itself:

You're 100% correct. I wrote my post thinking about my two Kinai Tsuba as if they are exactly the same and use the same exact techniques but in reality they are sightly different! This one is overlay whilst the other one I own uses inlay technique, and this one is brass whilst the other one uses a smaller, more sparing amount of actual gold and has a different design (though it still features the Aoi/Hollyhock). I was mostly thinking uncritically about the colour when I wrote the previous post, brass having a "goldish" colour. Both Tsuba are also inscribed the same way (Echizen-Ju Kinai / Echizen-Ju Kinai Saku) as mentioned in the description you have posted.

Translating the hakogaki on the box is a great idea, though I lack the Japanese skills to properly do so myself. I did glean some limited information with image to text translation, namely that the box matches the Tsuba (specifies circular iron base and brass) and that it was catalogued Autumn 1980 by a "Yukito Abe". Some new information to work with. It also gave me a bit more information about the theme. The scene depicted is Benkei on Gojo bridge, specifically from the Noh play Ataka written in 1465 which was popular during the Edo Period along with its many Kabuki adaptations spanning the entire 18th and early 19th centuries (the latest being Kajincho, 1840).

I'm still new to collecting Tsuba but I have yet to see one like that with a different base metal, and one of the kanji is absent as has been pointed out already. A lot of Kinai works feature the Hollyhock leaf which is because the Kinai school was one of the official schools of craftsman for the Tokugawa Shogunate. A lot of them also tend to be open works. Given that the Tsuba is neither an open work, nor does it feature the Hollyhock and it is also missing a kanji in the inscription I would be dubious about its origins. Here are a couple photos of one of my Echizen-ju Kinai. I have two like this that are similar designs featuring the Hollyhock leaf, both using an iron base with modest gold adornment like so:

Hi all, I recently started an Edo Period Tsuba collection and am still building my knowledge base about different schools of craftsmanship or appraisal. I have two Tsuba that are authentic Echizen-Ju Kinai Tsuba with iron bases and gold inlay. Whilst these are not certified through the NBTHK I am confident in their authenticity based off my own research and comparisons to other authentic Tsuba by the same school in the same Edo Period Han. In addition to these, I have a Hozon certified Tsuba depicting the deity Daikokuten. Once again, this Tsuba has an iron base and gold inlay. My last Tsuba which I recently acquired is different from the others and therein lies the reason for this post. Whilst the seller whom I purchased the Tsuba from appears to be reliable (a lot of their items are certified) my most recent addition is an uncertified piece with little information to work with. The Tsuba has an iron base again, however this time the decorative fittings appear to be from brass and depict Benkei at Gojo Bridge. As there is no inscription or information about the artist or school of craftmanship and as I have no experience until now dealing with Tsuba decorated/fitted with brass, I was hoping to seek some expert advice here. Any potential information about the artist, the school of craftsmanship or about how to authenticate/assess Tsuba with brass decoration like this would be appreciated!