Satsuma Tsuba

[Teimei]

:steamed: FINALLY!!! :steamed:

Sorry    and hello everyone,

 

today i recieved a new tsuba, a kind of tsuba i was on the hunt right from the beginning when i started collecting nihonto and tsuba.

Like a lot of people, i am quite fond of the satsuma clan (their history, the way how they´re koshirae looked...) and now i was able to buy a kyo-shoami tsuba from the 18th century with they´re mon as the theme. The steel is of great quality and the patina in nearly mint condition. The color of the steel is a bt darker than in the pictures. It came in a high class kiri-box and with an hozon certificate from the early 90´s.
The paper states that teh theme is the satsuma mon... at least i could recognize the cross-shaped kanji for it !

But i also so tsuba with nearly an identical theme that were described as kutsuwa(horse bit).

Is it a moot decision of the NBTHK or a specific way to seperate both theme´s from each other? Of course you are free to leave a comment.

 

 

dimensions:

80.55 mm  x  79.61 mm  x  5.51 mm thick

 

school:

kyo-shoami, 18th century

 

 

 

 

regards,

[Teimei]

a few more pictures

[Kurikata]

Hi ,

 

I remember Grey having sold on similar.... (http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/tsuba-%26-kodogu/t225-owari-or-satsuma-tsuba)

 

You have a very nice one ! 

 

Cheers

[Teimei]

Hi ,

 

I remember Grey having sold on similar.... (http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/tsuba-%26-kodogu/t225-owari-or-satsuma-tsuba)

 

You have a very nice one ! 

 

Cheers

Hi Bruno,

 

yeah i know. I was even inquiring for that one ! Thanks for the compliment .

 

regards,

[Guido]

The paper states that teh theme is the satsuma mon...

 

Well, I don't know how to put it more delicately, but the papers don't say anything like that. They say Kyō-Shōami (and therefore it isn't a Satsuma tsuba), and that the motif is jūmonji, i.e. shaped like the (Japanese) number 10 - quite common, not only in Satsuma. A very nice tsuba nontheless.

[Teimei]

Hello Guido,

 

like i said i only could recognise the cross-shaped kanji, which i thought stands for the mon. At least it still looks like the satsuma-mon .

Thank you very much for the correction!

 

 

best regards,

[Pete Klein]

Guido -- where is the 'Kyo'? I see the 'Shoami'.

[BIG]

This is sellers describtion...

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/18-C-SUKASHI-KATANA-TSUBA-NBTHK-Japanese-Samurai-Sword-Fuchi-Kashira-Menuki-/272078206284

 

Best Regards

[Pete Klein]

"the papers don't say anything like that. They say Kyō-Shōami" Guido

 

Where on the NBTHK Hozon paper is 'Kyo-Shoami' written?  The picture is posted above.  I just want to know if I am missing something.

京正阿弥

 

[Guido]

Where on the NBTHK Hozon paper is 'Kyo-Shoami' written? The picture is posted above. I just want to know if I am missing something.

As usual you don't, and I stand corrected. The papers indeed only state Shōami. A Freudian slip on my side.

[Pete Klein]

Sort of interesting - Freud actually had to wear a slip as he was quite hirsute...

[Stephen]

what did he have two??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/18-C-SUKASHI-KATANA-TSUBA-Japanese-Samurai-Sword-Fuchi-Kashira-Menuki-Kogai-/272097155091?hash=item3f5a411813:g:XycAAOSw5dNWjV4o

[Brian]

Wow. Interesting!

They are different tsuba. This one he calls Kyo Shoami. Dimensions are almost identical.

Oh that tricky, tricky Eric...

[Stephen]

broke up daisho?...lol

[Brian]

Considered it....but same size. Still possible, but ???

[ROKUJURO]

He is listed as selling from YOKOHAMA as well as from New York at the same time. That is called 'bilocation'. Marvelous!

[Pete Klein]

I wish my 'bilocation' was Kyoto and Napa, CA.  LOL!

 

PS:  Nice tsuba, Florian - it's very 'Pure'!  I forgot to mention it above all the off-tracks/hijacks. 

[Greg F]

Hi Florian I really like this tsuba, good score. Cheers.

 

Greg

[MauroP]

Two more Shōami tsuba and a Satsuma one (at least according to NBTHK kanteisho):

http://www.jp-sword.com/files/tsuba/cross.html

http://www.jauce.com/auction/p495785562

http://www.kusanaginosya.com/SHOP/23.html

Bye, Mauro

[Toryu2020]

Florian is right about one thing - the jumonji in a circle did evolve into the mon we know as the Satsuma mon. So maybe not from Kyushu but could still be a Shimazu warriors sword guard.

-t

[Henry Wilson]

Nice bold tsuba. As Pete says very clean. It is interesting that the hitsuana were pugged after kanteisho were issdued by the looks of it.

[vajo]

First, you show a very nice tsuba! I like it.

 

Sorry for the following question.

 

Is that tsuba a similar design / school? (from my collection).

 

 

Thank you

 

Regards 

 

Chris

 

 

[Teimei]

Hi guys,

 

so sorry for my lack of participation(kept a low profile at the weekend), but i am sure you had fun without me !

1. I should really quit my job as soon as possible to learn some kanji! Thanks Guido and Pete for correcting me .

2. Some very nice examples of the same theme here, just keep on posting!

 

Yeah, my taste is quite puristic mostely simple iron sukashi tsuba with little or no decorations. Both hitsuana are plugged with silver. The job was not done yesterday but defenitely after the issue of the papers.

 

The second tsuba is nearly identical to mine, but a bit thicker and without an paper. Don´t know where Eric was at that time, but my tsuba was sent by USPS from NY.

 

 

regards,

[Stephen]

Hes out of NY his business associate is in Japan.

[Rodenbacher]

The motif of this Tsuba hasn't anything to do with Satsuma, it shows a horsebit, a very common topic for a warrior class which was riding horses everyday: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antique_Japanese_%28samurai%29_horse_bit_%28kutsuwa%29.JPG

[Teimei]

The motif of this Tsuba hasn't anything to do with Satsuma, it shows a horsebit, a very common topic for a warrior class which was riding horses everyday: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antique_Japanese_(samurai)_horse_bit_(kutsuwa).JPG

Hi Peter,

 

i have seen this design mentioned as Satsuma-Mon, Jumonji, Kutsuwa or simply as Cross-design. I just like the clean lines of it, wether or not it is in any way affiliated with satsuma or the shimazu-clan.

 

For the real fans, i looked for something 100% Satsuma and like always youtube blessed me with a little gem !

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s75uRJBCFXw

[Pete Klein]

I love NHK World.  The beginning of this with the phallic inference is hilarious!  LOL

[Gordon Sanders]

"impresssssssive". :-)