JohnTo

Hi Dan, I have been experimenting with Renaissance Metal De-Corroder on a badly rusted tsuba. This is an amine complex of hydro-oxycarboxilic acid in water at a pH of 4.0. It claims, and my observations agree, that it ruptures the bond between rust and iron without having any significant effect on the sound metal. Easier than picking away with bamboo or bone. Leave on overnight and wash off with water using a dental brush or Q-tip to remove the softened rust. As you are talking about the INSIDE of a fuch/kashira I assume that you are not worried about damage to the patina. I cannot guarantee that this product will not harm the patina. The tsuba that I have been working on had evidently been 'cleaned' by a previous owner with acid and the patina lost before the tsuba was put aside and allowed to rust again. Long before I got it as part of a job lot. I am I the process of writing up my experiments for discussion/criticism on the NMB. As I indicated, if preservation of the patina is important then this may not be the appropriate treatment as patina is just a type of rust. I have been looking through my collection to find a cheapo/poor quality iron tsuba with a rust scab to see if the scab can be removed without damage to the surrounding patina but have not found a candidate yet. Best regards, John

Hi Jean, I was only going by your original pics. I've attached part of one and highlighted the lines on the inside of the mimi. They look like casting edges and appear in both your pics. But as I said it may have been your photos. Without having the tsuba in hand that is all I had to go on. Your latest pics look OK. Best regards, John

Hi Jean, I have a tsuba with a similar design to yours, pictures attached. It has a dark brown patination and is :Height: 6.8 cm: Width: 6.7 cm: Thickness: 0.5 cm: Weight: 99 g. The iron has a melted look resembling Yagyu work and maybe it is a Yagyu design, but it is cast. The casting lines on the inner edges of the sukashi are easy to spot and I have just taken a pic in poor light. When I look at your pics I can see lines on the inner edges of the mimi, particularly on the right side of the photos. Maybe its the lighting, but they look like casting lines of a mould to me. Best regards, John

Brilliant piece of work Luca. good references to your sources. A very scientific approach to a publication. Thanks. I must admit the brass inlay tsuba had no interest to me until a couple turned up as part of mixed lots. They have grown on me. best regards, john

I started putting my loose tsuba in cd jewel cases, making tailored linings. Cheap, about £1 each. Got a lot of stick from some nmb members when I posted how to do it. Have been using Kiri boxes for my most treasured tsuba, but expensive. Buying in bulk (10) Japan was cheaper, but incurred import taxes, so price went up to £23 each. Got some secondhand ones from a nice dealer in the us and have great fun making new liners, without sharp nails to fix the posts. Getting rather slick at making them with tailored linings to fit individual tsuba. My advice, buy some cheap secondhand ones on Jauce (haven’t tried the site myself) and refit the inserts. Relaxing on a cold winter’s day. regards, john

Disintegrating silk lacing and space needed for storing a collection are my main reasons for not collecting armour. And I suspect that is the same for a lot of others people, hence the relatively low prices for armour in the auction rooms. But good to know that there are still people out there who put in the time and effort. regards, John

Hi Arnaud, Yours is a 'How long is a piece of string?' question. Some people only collect blades, others complete swords, others koshirai and some only tsuba (or other fittings) Whatever floats your boat. I always think that a tsuba is best appreciated by holding it in your hand, often with a magnifying glass. I have 'iron sessions' and 'soft metal sessions', depends upon my mood. For example, in iron sessions I study the balance of the design of sukashi tsuba and the features in the iron, such as tekkotsu. In soft metal sessions I concentrate more on the fine detail of the inlay and engraving. Or, I might combine both and try to understand the theme of the design, like the Yatsuhashi Bridge, or Rashomon Demon as easy examples. I guess that it is what makes tsuba so fascinating. best regards, John

Hi Guys, A special thanks to Curran and Dale for their photos and to Lee, who sent me a private message with a similar hole plugged with gold. I forgot about these slots appearing on gunto, not exactly collectable tsuba. I have also stumbled across another example for sale on Aoi art (https://www.aoijapan.com/tsubamumeiunsigned-36/), a ko-kinko tsuba with NBTHK Hozon attribution (see pic). Being ‘ko’ kinko this may have been an old feature, or more likely added later. This tsuba is the same size as mine: wakizashi. Lee suggested that his example may have been to hide an emergency source of money as it was filled with gold. Nice idea. I can also see why these slots may have been put on wakizashi tsuba to be part of a locking mechanism; it would have been very embarrassing for a samurai to be bowing down in front of a daimyo and have his wakizashi slip out onto the floor. Thanks for all your help: Its all about learning from others. John

Hi guys, Can anyone help me as the reason for an additional ‘hitsu ana’ on this tsuba? The tsuba is a recent addition to my collection and is a cleverly designed 24-petal kikka gata (chrysanthemum shape) that utilises groups of three petals to form the trailing edge of each of the eight wings of four butterflies. The design is the same on each side. The plate is shakudo and is ‘signed’ Umetada. The nakago ana has 9/10 round tegane punch marks, probably a maker’s mark. The four butterflies on each face have the leading edges slight raised from the surface and the details of the butterflies are outlined in gold and silver nunome. In addition to the usual kogai/kodzuka hitsu ana there is an addition rectangular slot (0.9 x 0.2 cm) cut between the nakago and the kogai hitsu ana. This would have been hidden by the seppa when mounted (judging by the outline on the seppa dai). The inner surfaces of the slot are smooth, cut vertically and are patinated, so it does not look as if it was cut post manufacture. Any ideas as to what it is for and the correct name? Other stats for the tsuba are: height 6.7 cm, Width:6.2 cm, Thickness (rim): 0.3cm, Weight98 g. A virtually identical tsuba is currently for sale on a Japanese website (https://www.touken-matsumoto.jp/en/product/shousai/TSU-2356) that does not have this slot. This one has a NBTHK Hozon and a Torigoe Kazutaro/Sodo Sensei hakogaki authentication and is also signed ‘Umetada’ but with a wider chisel, different writing style and placed on the upper right of the seppa dai, rather than the mid left as on mine. I’m not particularly bothered about these differences in the signatures as these were about 13 generations of masters, plus pupils, and many just signed ‘Umetada’ and did not include personal names. I prefer to concentrate on the quality of the workmanship which I think compares very favourably with the other example. The two tsuba probably came from the same workshop and were a stock design made by different artisans, perhaps separated by several generations. I have read that although most members of the ha signed ‘Umetada’ with the kanji (埋忠), as this example, some substituted the kanji for Ume with 梅 (plum). This was because 埋忠 could be read as ‘bury loyalty’ and may be considered insulting or revolutionary. Markus Sesko cites a juyo rated tsuba signed Myoju Umetada that has the kanji 埋 obliterated. Ideas please. Regards, John (just a guy making observations, asking questions, trying to learn)

Hi Thomas I wasn’t going to post this Gendai tsuba as I had already done so under a different thread, but as you have only had one reply so far I thought maybe I should post it again. This large copper tsuba is inscribed Morihira (Yanagawa Morihira, 1899-1971). I don’t like to claim whether signatures on tsuba are genuine, so many fakes about, but the tsuba does appear to similar in style to other works by Morihira that have appeared at auction (https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21101/lot/248/?category=list, and Aoi Art, order number F21216), that is a copper tsuba decorated with gold and silver gilding, katakiri and kebori engraving, scratched gold kodzuka plugs and flower shaped tegane punch marks. The shape of the tsuba may be best described as sumi-iri-kakagata (lit: notched in square). The front (omote) of the tsuba shows both a shishi and peonies, whereas the reverse (ura) only shows the shishi. Interestingly, the shishi on the omote has a silver body and a golden mane and tail, whereas the combination of silver and gold is reversed on the ura. The heads on both animals is copper. Shishi are often represented as playful creatures, but these two are muscular with a fearsome pose and the silver shishi has a head which looks rather like Hannya, the Japanese female demon. The engraved peonies on the omote are coloured with silver and gold gilding and the petals are in a darker shade of silver. The outlines are defined in katakiribori (half cut carving) and kebori (hair carving) and, particularly the silver, darkened to add extra tonality to the design. The nakago ana has four 32(?)-petal chrysanthemum punch marks on each side, purely for decoration and the tsuba is signed on the lower right face of the ura Morihira. There is also a single kozuka hitsu ana, filled with a gilt cat scratched plug. Shishi are mythical guardian lions in both China and Japan and it is also the name given to a group of political activists (Ishin Shishi 維新志士) in the late Edo period who opposed the westernisation of Japan. The peony is regarded as the king of flowers and in Japan symbolises bravery, honour and good fortune. It is likely that this tsuba was made in the 1930’s when Japanese militarism was at its peak. However, if this was the intention of Morihira then I think that he failed. Instead of the shishi being fearsome macho guardians they appear rather camp (IMHO). Possibly other potential buyers thought the same, which is why I was able to buy it cheaply in comparison to other Morihira tsuba that I have seen. When this tsuba first came up for sale I had no interest in it and so it seems nor did anyone else as it was unsold. Six months later it came up again and I wanted to buy something in remembrance of my nephew, Gary, who had died shortly before the sale. Gary was very much an extrovert ‘in your face’ type of guy and I this tsuba reminds me very much of him. Height: 8.75 cm, Width: 8.4 cm, Thickness (rim): 0.7 cm; Nakago: 0.4 cm, Weight: 254 g Best regards, John

Dale is correct about the subject, it is Ariwara no Narihira (825-880) writing one of his famous poems. Toki shiranu yama wa fushi no ne itsu totemo ka no komadara ni yuki no furu ran Fuji is a mountain that knows no season. What time does it take this for, That it should be dappled with falling snow? I also have an iron tsuba with this subject (attached). Narihira was also the author of the poem that provides the subject for the yatsuhashi (8 plank bridge) so popular in Kyo sukashi tsuba (Karakoromo kitsutsu narenishitsumashi arebaharubaru kinurutabi oshizo omofu.) I have a beloved wife. Familiar as the skirt of a well- worn robe And so this distant journeying fills my heart with grief Apparently written when he was banished from Kyoto for having an affair with a high born lady of the court. So much for the beloved wife! best regards, John

Hi Damon, Welcome and nice tsuba. I have a couple of comments/questions regarding your post. 1. A very common linking element in sukashi tsuba is karigane (geese). I’m Ok when they form part of the design (see Kyo-sukashi mokko tsuba with 24 karigane), but in tsuba #2 (saddle, whip and bit, by Hidemitsu) there is a single karigane at the 1 o/clock position, which has no apparent association with riding equipment. Why were karigane so popular when they have no apparent connection with the design? 2. I particularly like your Echizen ju Kinai saku tsuba with the broken pot and waves. I have recently been trying to find out more about this design. The RB Caldwell masterpieces collection had an almost identical one attributed to Yagyu (see pic of tsuba and catalogue description). Not papered and does not look Yagyu workmanship to me. The second is on sale at Aoi Art (see pic) and has a NBTHK Hozon attribution to Kyo-Shoami, which looks right to me. Its interesting how three similar tsuba can be attributed to three differing Schools. Also I’m intrigued by the design, a broken pot and waves, which does look like it might be Yagyu originated. What does it actually signify? There is a Torigoe reference to a Japanese legend (see pic) on the RBC tsuba, but I don’t have access to this. It is also reminiscent of the Kurasawa film Kagemusha in which Takeda Shingen is buried at sea in a giant pot. Anyone got more info? Best regards, John (just a guy making observations, asking questions, trying to learn)

I see that Dale has posted two examples of nanban mask tsuba from my collection, so I won't post them again. A different line of research that I have tried to follow is Korea. The Japanese invaded Korea in the late 16th C under Hideyoshi and finally withdrew when Ieyasu established the Togugawa shogunate in the early 1600s. Some people date these 'Canton' tsuba from this time period, whereas others date them later, but I think both dates are guestimates rather than based upon evidence. I have failed to find any detailed examples of Korean swords from this period, but some looked very much like Japanese swords. Could these tsuba have originated on Korean swords and been taken back to Japan as war booty and reused? As I said, my research has drawn a blank, particularly with regard to the shape of Korean sword tangs. Best regards, John

Hi Geraint, Very nice tsuba. I'm particularly impressed with the boldness of the design in that the artist has only connected the body of the tsuba to the mimi at the three apexes of the triangle. The diamonds and karigane are free floating and look rather fragile and easily broken off, unlike the examples from Dale. But the tsuba is thick, 6 mm, so it does have strength and the free floating parts are OK. The unusual design, roughly (hammer) finished mimi and tekkotsu would lead me to Owari. They did make large tsuba and I believe that Yagyu was an offshoot (it does have Yagyu features) Kanayama (usually smaller, but did make large tsuba) and Shoami (who made just about every genre through their numerous branches) would be secondary guesses. thanks for the post, best regards, John

It would appear that Piers and Dale have more examples from 'Mr Suzuki's'workshop' in Nagoya. I started a post on 'Mr Suzuki's workshop' back in 17 Jan 2021 in order to highlight a genre of tsuba that were regularly appearing on Ebay and auction sites and often described with words like shakudo nanako, plus Mino and Goto. They were in fact Nagoyamono and made from nigurome, the base of shakudo without the gold. They had an identical form (see takarabune example below) with a characteristic pattern of tagane-ato around the nakago ana and NMB members sent in about 20 different designs. In view of the tagane patterns i surmised that they came from the same workshop and this was a quality assurance marks (I have a rubbish one without the tagane marks which I assume failed QA). Mr Suzuki was the fictitious name that I gave to the unknown owner of the workshop. From your examples and the pics I took of another 'shakudo nanako' tsuba that I saw at Bonhams this month (May 12, lot 135, see attached) It would seem that 'Mr Suzuki' produced a range of nigurome tsuba besides the original shape that I posted. So much to learn, John

Thanks everyone for you replies, and offers. I'm following one up. For others buying boxes the following may be of help regarding costs and quality based upon my purchases on Ebay. Bulk buying from Matsu Kage. 10 standard boxes with cushions for £150. But when you add on postage, UK import tax, admin costs for collecting the tax the cost goes up to about £22 per box. Second hand 5 tier double box from Japan about £86, thats £8.60 per tsuba, but it means that you have 10 tsuba in one large box. Small (10 cm square) boxes on ebay, 6 for £50, thats about £8 each. Poor quality finish (Chinese?) and only really suitable for wakizashi size tsuba. thanks again for your help, John

Hi Guys, Can anyone out there give me the name of a supplier of kiri tsuba boxes that come without inserts. I'm in the process of boxing up some of my tsuba but I'm not using the standard inserts that come with a one size nakago peg, held in with a couple of steel tacks. I'm making my own tailor made inserts (see pics) without any nails so that the tsuba does not slide around, knock the peg lose and scratch the tsuba on the nail. It seems that I'm paying about £25 for a kiri box and then throwing the insert away, which seems an expensive way of doing things. Box 1: tsuba on standard ill fitting pad. Box 2: box with replacement insert Box 3: box with replacement insert and tsuba all the best, John

Lovely photo. The mantis has the same defiant look as the one on one of my favourite tsuba (late Edo, Bushu school, Mantis and wheel). I usually have this one out on display as when the room is in the semi darkness the golden eyes still shine out at me. Regards, John

Hi Bruno, I would put my money on a Kyoto school, probably Kyo-Shoami. This is based upon the complex picture type of design rather than a symmetrical pattern. Regards, John

Hi Bob, I should have added that I love your crane Shoami as a PS to my post. I still have not got a crane, but I'm looking. Best regards, John

Hi Grev, I have several tsuba which I think might be Kyo-Shoami, etc (my and auction house attributions, so shaky), but as you want just Shoami I'll post this one as the artist just signed himself as Shoami Yoshishige. I'm not quite sure what 'Shoami' actually means as a school as I gather that tsubako were distributed throughout Japan working in the 'Shoami' style. The tsuba has a crossed feather design with specks of gold and one hitsu-ana plugged with gold. The tsuba is signed Shoami Yoshishige. Crossed feathers (tigai taka no ha) was used in the mon of several clans including the Abe and Asano families (of the 47 ronin fame). Usually the left feather is placed over the right, but it is documented that the Asano reversed this configuration. Unfortunately it is not possible to determine the configuration used in this tsuba Two tsuba artists, using the same kanji, are listed in the genealogies charts of Markus Sesko, the first is Yoshishige Gorosaku a student of Goto Takujo (second generation Kibei line, died 1637) and younger brother of shodai Kuninaga. He was famous amongst Kasu engravers, lived around Kan’ei (1624-1644) and received a stipend of 50 koku of rice from the Kashu Lord. The name Yoshishige seems to have been handed down to later generations. The second is a pupil of Muneshige, 5th generation of the Myochin school. Of these two artists the latter is more likely as the Myochin tended to work with iron and the Goto with soft metals. However, various branches of the Shoami School were widely distributed around Japan and this Yoshishige may have worked under a different name while working elsewhere. Height: 8.1 cm; Width: 8.1 cm; Thickness: 0.4 cm Best regards, John

Hi Bruno, Thanks for the example of another 3 lobed tsuba. I still can't help wondering why mokko gata tsuba with three fold symmetry shapes and designs are not nearly as popular as those with four fold symmetry. The Japanese are very superstitious and the number 4 (shi) also means death and is considered bad luck, so they usually they avoid things with 4 in them. However a 4-fold mokko gata shape is probably referred to using the alternative form of numerals (yotsu), i.e it is a yotsu-gata shape rather than a shi-gatsu one. regards, John

Chris, Steve. Thanks for your replies, especially for the information regarding Umemura. Good old NMB for helping me learn so much about tsuba over the last couple of years. I also thought that the shakudo shoji were a later addition and that the shakudo shim on the mimi might have been to repair a sword cut (practice, not warfare) as it would have been from a downward cut across the back of the blade. I still have not found another example of a three lobed mokko tsuba though. It seems such a pleasing and practical shape that I thought it would have been more common. best regards, John

Hi Bruno, Just seen your tsuba. the design looks familiar. I posted this tsuba some time back. It was part of an old collection I bought at auction. It was not in great condition and had a lobster kashira rivited to the seppa dai. Probably used as a paper weight. My tsuba is iron and I put it down to possibly of the Ono school using a Yagyu design. Pics of mine with kashira attached. Best regards, John

I’m posting this tsuba in the hope that some of you can help me answer the questions at the end. Essentially it is a katana sized iron sukashi tsuba with a pair of large namako (sea cucumber) openings, which have been partially filled with shakudo shoji and a border for a hitsu ana. The iron has a deep brown, purple appearance with couple of fold lines and a few granular tekkotsu on the mimi and plate. I would guess that it is 19thC workmanship. One side of the seppa dai has been cut back for a small kogai hitsu ana and the other side has been cut back to accommodate a much wider kodzuka (?). Both hitsu ana are bound by shakudo inserts; an abstract cloud (?) on one side and shoji chess pieces on the other. The tsuba differs from the usual namako sukashi tsuba in that the body is formed of three mokko type lobes instead of the usual two. I have searched through several hundred pictures of tsuba in books, catalogues and was surprised not to find another three lobed mokko tsuba. I suppose that three lobes resembles the Tokugawa mon and its use may have been restricted in the Edo period. The nakago ana is surrounded by shallow tegane marks on one side and is fitted with copper seki gane. The tsuba is signed on the seppa dai ‘Echizen ju Umemura’, or possibly Baimura (越前住梅村). The left namako opening has an irregular cloud shaped piece of shakudo inserted which seems able to accommodate a very wide kodzuka. The other namako opening has a pair of shakudo shoji (Japanese chess pieces) inserted and inlaid with gold identifying the pieces as the knight and lance . on one side and the promoted silver and the promoted lance . on the other (I think). Ooops, I don't think the shoji pics will upload! At the bottom of the tsuba there appears to be another shakudo insert across the mimi (I don’t think it is just a polished piece of iron). This piece is 4 mm square, with perfectly cut straight edges and just a ‘sliver’ in thickness. Possibly it was put there to hide a small imperfection in the iron. Statistics: Height: 7.2 cm, Width: 7.3 cm, Thickness (rim) 0.5 cm, Weight 106g Questions: Has anyone information regarding the maker Echizen no ju Umemura? I can find no tsubako named Umemura (lit. Plum village, but possibly read as Baimura). The tsuba does not seem to have characteristics of the Echizen Kinai school. The three lobed Mokko shape is unusual, does it have a name? Sesko lists 5-,and 6- lobed forms as itsusu-mokko-gata and mutsu-mokko-gata, so three would be mitsu-mokko-gata using the same form of counters. Any ideas on why the small square of shakudo was inserted into the mimi? Is there any significance on the choice of shoji pieces? I’m not familiar with the game but I understand that most pieces are double sided and flip over if captured. Best regards, John (Just a guy making observations, asking questions, trying to learn)