Show Us Your High Class Tosogu

[John A Stuart]

This is a Kenshin tsuba 献進 It would never be mounted. John

[Tanto54]

My favorite tanto.

 

[CHEN CHEN]

My favorite tanto.

 

IMG_2153 (3).jpg

Very exciting koshirae! Very rare! Like!

[Heringsdorf]

Just received these pictures from Ford Hallam.

He restored a Fuchi & Kashira set and a Kogai for me.

[Brian]

Wow. Guy does damn good work!

 

Beautiful! Before pics?

[Heringsdorf]

I have these pictures of the Fuchi & Kashira and kogai from before the restoration.

The fk mon were in bad shape. On the kogai there was a lot of surface wear and the patina was quite thin.

[Ed Hicks]

Umetada tsuba

[John A Stuart]

That's a great kogai by Naotaka. John

[Barrie B]

Hi all,

 

This set tells the story of a recluse who never went to town for over 20 years. He loved studying and writing poems. He claimed that he considered plum trees as his wife and pet cranes his children.. (The Art Appreciation of Japanese Sword Fittings by Shigeo Fukushi pp103).

 

 

The Fuchi & Kashira have very fine nanako.. Looks a bit harsh in the close up, but to the naked eye looks really fine and even.

 

Barrie.

 

 

[Alan Morton]

Oooh Baz, 

nice stuff,new? .Is that one of your custom boxes ?

Alan

[Alex A]

Nice story Barrie, if my wife was a plum tree, id be heading down town on a regular basis

[Barrie B]

hahaa… yes there are a lot of gorgeous fittings in this thread (and others). Would be nice to have some sort of NMB picture gallery or something to view it all more easily… Its a lot of data to store though, I know..

 

Barrie. 

[Marius]

ko-kinko kamoshika menuki. Charming (IMHO)

 

[Ed Hicks]

Rabbit, Dragon and Tiger Kodzuka...I have no idea what maker or school, but it's nice. Ed

[John A Stuart]

The theme of this is a change for the better. A tiger riding the back of a male dragon, what?, protecting the rabbit or saying leave my prey alone. Maybe a hidden message here. The dragon, the divine, the tiger, evil, the black rabbit (moon rabbit), virtue. So the divine protecting the virtuous from evil? John

[Rivkin]

A very esteemed company, but I will try my recently acquired piece. There is almost identical tsuba by Hamano Shozui, which appears in mutliple texts. I am no specialist, but I think it comes with a little side story. In Shozui's work the egret is underneath the moon and in Juyo commentaries it was suggested that the purpose it is to express a deeper Zen, relating calm and resiliance in face of adversity and uncertainty. Yet, in this work by the 3rd Master, Hamano Noriyuki the 2nd, the subject is changed so that the egret is resting in the mid-day instead. Also, the boat is carved more profusely to create a deeper shadow, which would be appropriate for the day scene. While Shozui's work is often reflected in tsubas by the first Noriyuki, such direct homage on the part of the 2nd generation is very uncommon.

 

[Stephen]

Damn i covet your tsuba!

[Tanto54]

Dear Ed (and John),

 

Tiger, Rabbit and Dragon together almost always stand for the Tokugawa Three: Ieyasu, Hidatada & Iemitsu.  You can see a carving of this representation on the east side of the Nikkō Tōshō-gū (Pagoda at Nikko).

 

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/kassy1946/52894010.html

 

 

 

[John A Stuart]

That's neat, George. John

[nagamaki - Franco]

Rabbit, Dragon and Tiger Kodzuka...I have no idea what maker or school, but it's nice. Ed

 

Would wager the cwazy wabbit was added on at some point and not original to this piece, Waki Goto as a guess. 

 

Thanks to all for sharing.

[Tanto54]

Dear Franco,

 

I'll take your wager...  The rabbit in Ed's kozuka does appear that way, but without the rabbit, the dragon and tiger would be very off-center don't you think?  I photoshopped it to remove the rabbit, and I think it shows that the rabbit (or at least something) was there from the beginning.

 

[nagamaki - Franco]

Dear George, Ed, All,

 

First off, thoroughly enjoy well done dragon/tiger/nanako themes like this one.

 

George, your point is well taken and agree that there was always a third piece, perhaps, even this rabbit. 

What I would look at and examine if in hand, would be the material/workmanship of the rabbit in addition to careful examination of the nanako along the edges of the rabbit. 

[nihonto1001]

Here is a Yoshioka Tsuba.  I was originally mounted on a first rate koshirae for a Hida no kami Ujifusa Katana. Since it is not the original koshirae, but more recently contrived, this tsuba now resides separate from the koshirae.  The katana will eventually be sent for Juyo Shinsa.

 

[brannow]

James,

 

I love it that the hawk and monkey tsuba I sold you is one of your favorites!

 

 

Here are a few from my collection.

 

IMG_3972 (1).jpg

 

IMG_2518 (1).jpg

 

IMG_1699.jpg

[CHEN CHEN]

Tsuba with design of waves and spray

Unfortunately, there is no signature.

 

[Brian]

[Tanto54]

Dear Chen Chen,

 

I really like that Omori Wave Tsuba!!! (nice undercutting, silver and gold as well as differently sized spray water droplets, and looks like none are missing - very well made).

[Thierry BERNARD]

Tsuba with design of waves and spray

Unfortunately, there is no signature.

 

No Mei No Gimei!

 

nice one congrat!

[Stephen]

[CHEN CHEN]

Only one Fuchi