Den Kanayama

[ROKUJURO]

I purchased a NBTHK papered TSUBA which is denoted as DEN KANAYAMA. Usually these TSUBA have no MEI, so I would like to know what DEN means in this respect.

Could it be a hint that this is a later TSUBA 'in the style of' KANAYAMA?

Thanks in advance for your help! 

[DirkO]

I know Guido Schiller wrote a piece on this, but I can't seem to find it

The idea is that Den means that although it shows the traits of the school/Smith, it also has some additional features. I think the original article was for swords, but might also apply to tosogu?

[seattle1]

Hello:

 Excellent observation and question on your part Jean. I don't believe I have ever seen the "Den" notation on any tsuba, signed or not, and Dirk is quite right, but I believe that the meaning is something may be beyond the usual, but also that something might be missing from the usual, perhaps even both together. When used for swords it usually is taken negatively, the evidence for that being that things so indicated seem to go at a discount from the same call, other things equal, without the Den notation. I believe strictly speaking that one can't infer anything necessarily negative, and that it might also be positive.

 It is a nice looking tsuba. Does it have "iron bones" on the mimi?

 Arnold F.

[ROKUJURO]

Thank you, Dirk and Arnold!

It is 74,7 mm diameter and 6 mm thick. There are indeed TEKKOTSU all around on the MIMI but they are not strong. The photo does not do it justice as the colour is a very dark brown. The surface is smooth and nice in hand. 

Concerning the design, I read somewhere it could be a family MON as well as a wooden rice measuring device (KOKU). Is that correct?

[Soshin]

Hi Jean,

 

I have seen this on shinsa papers for tsuba before. I was able to examine a few tsuba with "den Kanayama" NBTHK shinsa papers. I remember reading Bob Benson's writings or someone else's writings about the meaning of "den" before on the shinsa papers of swords. Let me if I can find something at home.

[Jean]

Den posted before school or smith name means that the work displays the characteristics of said school/smith with additional unusual feature(s) or minus a characteristic encountered in the smith/school work. This is a characteristic of some NBTHK kanteisho.

 

Example: my last sword has a NBTHK kanteisho to Den Ryokai (though Tanobe sensei sayagaki is direct to Ryokai).

 

Why? Because of the utsuri. The nie utsuri in Ryokai/Rai Kunitoshi is a Bo utsuri. On my sword, it is midare, thus the Den Ryokai.

[ROKUJURO]

Merci Jean

I understand. I will immediately look for UTSURI on my TSUBA.

[Curran]

I have seen 'den' on tsuba many many times. Usually I see it with Owari area schools (Kanayama, Hazama, even Yagyu)

Usually it simply means + a feature or - a feature, or showing feature associated with another school.

Tokubetsu Juyo 'Den' swords exist in number, sometimes gaining or losing the 'den' as they go from Juyo to Tokubetsu Juyo. Darcy probably could educate us all much better on that.

 

Here is a 'den' Hirata Hikozo:

http://ginzaseikodo.com/hikozoE.html

My interpretation is they could have just said 'Hirata' but decided to denote that it seems mostly shodai work, but they aren't 100% sure.

Your interpretations may vary. It seems many of us westerners are quick to assume 'den' is a negative since it doesn't 100% fit into a neat box.

With Jean's Den Ryokai, I'd say it was a positive- but that is my opinion.

[Jean]

Jean, mon ami,

 

Be sure that the Den applied for sword has the same meaning for tsuba (at least for NBTHK), nevertheless, I remember Chris B. mentionning it could be different for NTHK, he was to inquire.

 

What is surprising is that there are not more Den kanteisho on mumei Tosogu/Blades...

[Soshin]

Hi Jean C.,

 

I can't find that old article just some long dead links to Bob Benson's website that no longer work but Jean's comments reminded me of this tsuba that was once in my collection.  It has a "Den Kyo-Shoami (傳京正阿弥)" attribution made by the NTHK-NPO.  Not completely sure what the "den 傳" might mean outside of it dictionary meaning and just considered the tsuba a nice work of the Kyo-Shoami School. The kanji on your paper is also "den 伝" which is just the post World War 2 simplification of the old kanji "den 傳" and has the same meaning.  If the current owner doesn't want me to post these photos please contact administrator or one of the moderators of NMB to remove it.  I am only posting this for educational reasons only.

[BIG]

On 8/18/2015 at 12:42 AM, Curran said:

I have seen 'den' on tsuba many many times. Usually I see it with Owari area schools (Kanayama, Hazama, even Yagyu)

Usually it simply means + a feature or - a feature, or showing feature associated with another school.

Tokubetsu Juyo 'Den' swords exist in number, sometimes gaining or losing the 'den' as they go from Juyo to Tokubetsu Juyo. Darcy probably could educate us all much better on that.

 

Here is a 'den' Hirata Hikozo:

http://ginzaseikodo.com/hikozoE.html

My interpretation is they could have just said 'Hirata' but decided to denote that it seems mostly shodai work, but they aren't 100% sure.

Your interpretations may vary. It seems many of us westerners are quick to assume 'den' is a negative since it doesn't 100% fit into a neat box.

With Jean's Den Ryokai, I'd say it was a positive- but that is my opinion.

 

[ROKUJURO]

Peter,

what do you mean?

[BIG]

Arnaud needs advice about the DEN. Thought your thread will help, esp. Currans post about the owari schools.

[OceanoNox]

13 hours ago, BIG said:

Arnaud needs advice about the DEN.

Thank you, Peter, it is much appreciated.

 

On 8/18/2015 at 5:43 AM, ROKUJURO said:

I read somewhere it could be a family MON

Yes, I have found it is called "丸に隅立て角". A dojo friend has this kamon (and has it on his saya in a kuroishime/kuroro contrast).

[Soshin]

The term "den" (see kanji above in my post from 2015) means "in the tradition or style of". This means the tsuba in this context shows most of the important kantei characteristics of the stated school or group but then shows some additional characteristics that are either not often seen or not often associated at all with that specific school or group. I will share a NBTHK Hozon papered tsuba with the attribution "Den Hoan" for reference and educational purposes only. The iron and openwork design were excellent on this fine tsuba.

 

 

        

[ROKUJURO]

Thank you David,

for sharing this picture of your very nice TSUBA!