2nd Tsuba any help would be great thanks

[Ask]

Hi large Tsuba?

H-9.4cm,w-9.3cm,d-0.3cm

I think iron?

It has various things in design if you can see.

Torii,五重塔 or ごじゅうのとう shrine but there are lots of them so does it really help?

Maybe clouds or water,the sun or moon, its different on both sides.

Usual questions where, when,who buy?

How to clean a little.

Thanks

John

[Ask]

Sorry forgive the spelling on buy (shame),by whom.

[John A Stuart]

That is a Kamakura tsuba. A classic design. Late Muromachi or Momoyama period. Artist unknown. John

[Geraint]

Hi John.

 

Nice tsuba! Check your PMs for some info.

 

All the best

[ROKUJURO]

John,

 

as has been said, your TSUBA is in KAMAKURA BORI style. But the NAKAGO ANA does not look genuinely old and some hints in the SUKASHI may prove that this is a later (cast?) copy. It has of course to be seen in hand to make a safer statement.

[Marius]

I am with Jean. Later copy, possibly cast.

[John A Stuart]

Too fuzzy for me, ?? John

[Ask]

Thanks for the input either way no loss, as I said I found them at work so no problem.

As they say in Japan " あした は あした の かぜ が ふく。

Can't do anything about pic quality I only have iPhone no digital camera sorry.

[Antti]

Thanks for the input either way no loss, as I said I found them at work so no problem.

 

Do you work in an antique store, or a museum or something?

Just asking because Ko-kinko tsuba are notoriously hard to find in a workplace like a department store, travel agency or the zoo.

[Ask]

No I take down very old houses in Japan :-), we often find things.

I have a few items that I've no idea what they are?

The guys I work with think I'm crazy because I bring some of it home,they literally bin everything. It's so sad.

John

[Marius]

show the other items, they may be interesting. Hope none of the houses was a real, old wooden house...

[Ask]

Almost all the old houses in Japan are wooden it's what they used,wood and soil for walls.

Most of the new houses are wooden too.

Flats or tower blocks are called mansions they use reinforced concrete for those.

I will post some photos tomorrow.

[kaigunair]

wow, neat find. has a good chance of being a real kamakura bori example...the nakago ana being added later is still ok for something this old. and having the added nakago ana makes it seem even more legit!

 

[Dr Fox]

No I take down very old houses in Japan :-), we often find things.

I have a few items that I've no idea what they are?

The guys I work with think I'm crazy because I bring some of it home,they literally bin everything. It's so sad.

John

 

For me John, your craziness will save some very interesting pieces. I suggest you go completely 'mad' and gather all you can. The pieces you have shown are all items of social history. Too easily discarded and lost forever.

[Ask]

Thanks Denis, I'll continue to look around when I can.

[cabowen]

I can't help but wonder how you came to be employed in Japan on a demolition team???

 

While I lived in Japan I often came upon demolition workers tearing down old storehouses (kura) and homes. I was able to get many nice bits and pieces but it always disturbed me to see these structures demolished knowing how much skill, never mind the blood, sweat and tears that goes into their construction.

 

There is a small movement to deconstruct and rebuild these old homes but it usually ends up costing more than what it would be to simply build a new home from scratch. I came across several older homes that I could have had for free if I removed them. So sad to see these end up in landfill sites....

 

When I was in Japan just after the earthquake/tsunami a few years ago, they were tearing down all sorts of old, beautiful structures. Many times they are torn down simply because they are in the way of new construction. I came across the demo of a small kura at that time that was being removed so they could enlarge a parking lot. I spent hours there watching and taking pictures. I was able to salvage several old, large iron spikes that I will have made into a tanto or tsuba in the future. Here are a few pictures...Note the nice door in the last photo...wish I could have taken that home...

 

[Marius]

This is so sad Chris

[Curran]

Tsuba is a Kamakura bori.

Kamakura bori is a wood carving technique, only used to render a certain aesthetic in metal in this instance.

 

Like Yagyu tsuba, there seems to have been several phases. I've seen a few thin early ones with a remarkable feel like ko-tosho or ko-katchushi ones> There were one or two well photographed in the Compton Collection. Cary Condell also had a beautiful one.

Later phase ones tent to be thicker, and iron less pleasing though they look right from top down. These we sometimes see on Aoi Arts and elsewhere.

Then sometimes we see cast ones.

[Ask]

Your photos are what I do,and what you say is about the size of it.

Sometimes in the way,sometimes to make new and sometimes dangerous but almost always a little sad.

I'm a daiku or carpenter but my Japanese is still improving so it was a case of taking a construction position to get to work and improve normal conversation,the thought of teaching is awful and the wife is Japanese.

[cabowen]

That is really interesting....I would imagine it must be very difficult to be a carpenter and to tear down these often times amazing pieces of craftsmanship.

 

There are some people making a good amount of money by salvaging the doors, shoji, beams, etc. and reselling. Also, I met a few people that took these old houses apart, relocated, and rebuilt them. My togi-shi is good friends with several traditional carpenters who do a lot of this work and I have seen many in progress, as well as finished examples.

 

Have you thought about getting into the salvaged materials or reconstruction end of it?

 

Sorry for highjacking this thread...

[Ask]

No problem.

I'm just trying to improve my language ability at the minute and to be honest most of the buildings we take down are rotten or very damp but we always save what we can,there is a lot of recycling here.

[David McDonald]

Dear John

 

Something a number of us on the list would be interested in

is pieces of very old bamboo to make mekugi.

 

If you ran across anything like that I would be interested.

 

I got some a few years ago from a about 150 year old restaurant.

Sure makes nice mekugi.

 

Just a thought.

 

david mcdonald

jswords@mcn.net

[Ask]

Hi David I old bamboo all day I will have a search today.

[Ask]

Hi David take :-) no pun intended ( bamboo, take, たけ、竹) your pic.

Ranging from a few months to around a hundred years old.

It's no problem for me to get it to you but I'm not paying postage or buying envelopes :-)

[Brian]

Now if you can find a few old, smoked and hard pieces about the thickness of chopsticks and cut into short pieces, you could package a few in padded envelopes and sell them all day here. Make a few bucks for yourself.

 

Brian

[Ask]

:-) if I knew how to do that it wouldn't be a problem.

[David McDonald]

Dear John

 

Bamboo, older the better, wall thickness in the 1-1.5 cm or more. If it has been close to a fireplace

so has been smoked for many years even better. The joints will be in the 10 to 20 cm range so

was closer to the bottom of the plant. diameter in the 10 cm to 20 cm range.

 

The key is to have the individual fibers closely packed (end grain of the bambo). Most likely a name for

this but I do not know.

 

If you have something like that I can paypal you the cost of the tools and mailing and for your time

and once I get the package will be happy to cut up in small strips and resale at costs to all on the

board that are interested. The strips are about 0.8 cm to 1.0 cm wide and thick (cutting off the inner

softer parts).

 

Maybe there are others in other countries who would also do something like this. But I can mail all over the world. What ever works.

 

You can buy a bamboo saw at Tokyo Hands (a hardware store). And there is a bamboo fro (a hatchet like tool to

split bamboo).

 

send an email to jswords@mcn.net with a paypal account and I can send you some money to get

the tools and postage up front if needed.

 

thanks

david mcdonald

jswords@mcn.net

Hi David take :-) no pun intended ( bamboo, take, たけ、竹) your pic.

Ranging from a few months to around a hundred years old.

It's no problem for me to get it to you but I'm not paying postage or buying envelopes :-)

[Ask]

Hi David nice to hear from you,I'm new to all this. If I'd known it had to be smoked I could have gotten a lot from light brown to black colour from the roof of my last job,it was a really old place with a thatched roof there was lots of it.

Sadly the place we are finishing now was not quite so old but from Tuesday we are starting a new place,as soon as I come across any I will mail you.