Owari tsuba

[Marius]

Gents,

 

I would like to show you a tsuba which shows how difficult attributions can be (or not that difficult after all :D )

 

It is an iron sukashi tsuba with an reed and oar motif and the following dimensions: 79.1 x 79.6mm x 5mm. Dark brown iron with bones which seem to have a purple tinge. This looks like an Owari piece, but the thinness of the sukashi walls and the elegance of the design and the seppa-dai sahpe remind me of Kyo work.

 

What are your opinions on this one? I would like to know if what we see in this tsuba is the influence of Kyoto tsubako on Owari tsuba design or perhaps just the application of tekkotsu in Kyo sukashi work. In other words - Owari or Kyo?

 

PS: I just wanted to add that this tsuba came in custom-fitted box, and it has an NBTHK Hozon paper.

[lotus]

Quoted from Jim Gilbert's site :

 

  Quote

We see some tsuba of this period that have characteristics of both Kyoto and Owari sukashi. These guards can have the bold, symmetrical designs associated with the warrior aesthetic of Owari, but are instead executed in the softer iron of Kyoto. Some simply look like more delicate versions of Owari tsuba. Other designs use fine sukashi cutting like Kyo, but are finished with more texture and activity to the iron surface than the typical smooth finish of Kyoto work. Are these Owari style guards made in Kyoto, or was the Kyo influence reaching the tsubako (guard makers) of the country towns? Of course the fashions that arise in major urban centers usually later spread to the outlying areas, influencing their sense of style. But was that the case here?

 

The tekkotsu on the rim and the rougher finish of the iron lend me to think Owari.

 

However, as you say, the thin walls and design are much, much more Kyo influenced. Due to the thinness, one would think the metal would have to be softer as well. Slightly rounded rim, asymmetry, and narrow seppa-dai are seen more in Kyo works.

 

My vote would be that it is a Kyo guard with some Owari spices thrown into it (Kyo-Owari).

[hxv]

Mariusz,

 

I would roll the dice and guess Owari. The iron finish does not have the Kyo look.

 

Regards,

Hoanh

[Marius]

Patrick,

 

nice quote, thanks. If Jim Gilbert doesn't know, who am I to say I have a clue

 

Hoanh,

 

The boldness of the tsuba is incredible. So I go with you regarding the Owari attribution. But Kyo influence is clearly visible here. Refined, elegant Kyo design executed with the typical Owari strength.

 

This is one of my favourite pieces :-)

 

BTW, NBTHK origami says Owari. For whatever it is worth...

[paulb]

Hi Mariusz,

From the few examples I have seen I have always considered Kyo work to have a much finer, or smoother (perhap satin) finish. This looks more rustic than anything I have seen of theirs, which I know is not too many.

I would lean towards Owari.

 

Edit: oops sorry my mail followed your post Just for once Imight have been right bout fittings

[lotus]

Perhaps it is an Owari-Kyo? An Owari guard influenced by Kyo design. In any case, it is an absolutely wonderful tsuba!

[Soshin]

Hi Mariusz K.,

 

Something we can agree on this is a nice tsuba. To me it is a nice Owari Sukashi tsuba with a very Kyo-Sukashi design. I submitted a guard in Febuary to the NBTHK that I think is a Owari Sukashi tsuba. It has a more conventional Owari design. I hope to hear back soon with the results.

 

 

 

Yours truly,

David Stiles

[Curran]

I think I would have guessed wrong on the NBTHK attribution of this one.

From the mimi I would have said "Owari", but think the NBTHK would have looked at the confusion of elements and gone "Ko-shoami or shoami".

 

I might be simply reflecting the mindset of the NBTHK from 10 years ago, vs their current frame of reference. Interesting post.

[Marius]

Gents, many thanks for the comments :-)

 

I must say, it is difficult to show in pictures what this tsuba is all about. It is pretty big, and the tekkotsu is really bold, but not exaggerated. Also the colour is quite something - purplish tekkotsu in a dark chocolate plate.

 

As for the attribution of this tsuba: the point is that attributions of unsigned tsuba are sometimes very very tricky. It seems that we, the collectors cannot break out of this "put them in neat boxes" mentality. The drive to attribute is so compulsive, but once we see a tsuba like this, we are confused and fail to remember that besides the great styles/schools, there were countless "provincial" tsubako, some of them real artists. And that schools/styles were mingled. Just like in swords - the gokaden is a construct to facilitate research. These constructs have developed into a fetish. We fail to see the context of our pieces of kodogu. We are obsessed by attribution and not interested in the period, the koshirae it was used with, the artistic trends of the time...

 

This is obviously a generalisation. I see this vice in myself, and in many fellow-collectors, but fortunately, not all of us share this obsession

 

But I digress...

 

Here is another example of a tsuba which displays a confusing array of characteristics is this one (which used to be in my collection at some point):

http://kodogunosekai.com/2011/09/28/who-can-it-be-now/

[myochin]

This a very nice and intriguing tsuba Mariuszk.

It almost seems that the attribution is to the mimi alone.

As you point out, the seppa-dai and the ryô-hitsu both point towards a Kyô, as well as the fine design.

 

What I find most interesting is the comment by Curran regarding a Shôami attribution. Have a look at Sasano's Masterpiece book p121.

What would we do without Shôami, lol.

 

Paul.

[myochin]

Then again, the hitsu could be just a little too elongated for Kyô...

 

Paul.

[Marius]

Paul,

 

the tsuba in Sasano is a good example, thanks for pointing it out. Funny how I react to strong tekkotsu - if it is there, it must be an Owari tsuba. Apparently, things are not so simple :-)

 

So the conclusion is: Kyo-Shoami with particular bold tekkotsu?

[Henry Wilson]

Nice tsuba. To me the metal and the way it is worked is why it has been papered to Owari.

The motif of reeds and an oar (芦に櫂) is interesting and wonder if it hints to this story:

 

From JAANUS

  Quote

Sensu Kassan　船子・夾山

Ch: Chuanzi Jiashan. A painting subject of the meeting between the Chinese Zen 禅 priests Chuanzi (Jp:Sensu 船子) and Jiashan (Jp:Kassan 夾山) during the 9c. Chuanzi, after leaving monastic life, took a job ferrying a small boat across the river at Songjiang 松江, present day Shanghai 上海. While on his boat, Chuanzi was fond of instructing his passengers about finding self-realization, lifting an oar and asking "Do you understand?" He thus gained the nickname the "Priest Ferryman" (Ch: Chuanzi Heshang; Jp: Sensu Oshou 船子和尚). One day the priest Jiashan (805-880) came on board the boat and Chuanzi engaged him in a dialogue. According to one version, Chuanzi threw Jiashan into the water, then hit him three times with his paddle, whereupon Jiashan reached enlightenment. In any case, Chuanzi, realizing that in Jiashan he had found a worthy successor, jumped into the river and sank. Typically paintings show Jiashan on the boat and Chuanzi in the water. Among Japanese painting on the subject, Hasegawa Touhaku's 長谷川等伯 (1539-1610) screen painting *fusuma-e 襖絵 in Tenjuan 天授庵 of Nanzenji 南禅寺, Kyoto, is well known.

 

 

Also the paddle motif seems to be connected to Ashikaga

http://www.yamabushiantiques.com/BM%20K ... 0Tsuba.htm

 

Just some thoughts.

Posted from iPhone.

[lotus]

Well, based on the Sasano example and the bold tekkotsu, I think it could just as easily be a ko-shoami piece. Some of the early ko-shoami pieces have very Owari-like iron.

[Curran]

  mariuszk said:

Paul,

 

the tsuba in Sasano is a good example, thanks for pointing it out. Funny how I react to strong tekkotsu - if it is there, it must be an Owari tsuba. Apparently, things are not so simple :-)

 

So the conclusion is: Kyo-Shoami with particular bold tekkotsu?

 

 

Think I said 'Ko-shoami', but meant more 'Kyo-shoami'. I'd forgotten there was a similar one in Sasano. I don't have access to that book at the moment.

Kinda splitting hairs, as I think it falls into late 1500s /early 1600s in that zone that is physically between Kyoto and modern day Nagoya (Owari). Ise, Iga, or Oumi ? I'm saying this from the iron a bit, as I don't think ore traveled very far at the time. I just sold a favorite 1500s Ise katchushi tsuba that has little tekkotsu, coloration and some similar feel to this one. Ise iron seems to be harder, darker, more blue with lower carbon content. As it gets a bit further north towards Mino and some of the "Oumi" (I think I was taught a different word for this region) stuff seems to have the same blue black iron with tekkotsu, but just a tad softer.

I'm thinking/typing aloud, so I hope this makes some sense.

[christianmalterre]

...does make perfectly sense in mine eyes...Yes...

 

Christian