Merry friends of "Y! Auction".

[Spartancrest]

 I think they used much better technology than the old picture! They are made of steel rather than iron but they do pop up in copper and brass. That one with a fukurin is the first I have seen. I have one myself with an inlaid silver 'Moon' and a hitsu-ana cut in, so there may have been some embellishing going on as well - 'gold' overlay etc.

[Yasaka Azuma]

The producer is making an effort. I have learned that it is a tearjerker.

[Spartancrest]

Yas what do you think of this? https://www.eldreds.com/auction-lot/inlaid-iron-nade-gaku-hokei-tsuba-by-sekizan.-dep_75E43C99FB/

I believe someone was really burnt with the price paid on this very common copy. [My pet hate] Auction house should be ashamed.

[Yasaka Azuma]

Oh, that's the example.
I've also seen some with colored metals in Japan, but I don't think it's possible for swordfittings to be crafted in such a way as to interfere with Seppa attachment.
In other words, it cannot be used as tsuba.

[Spartancrest]

We have discussed commemorative paperweights before [ like that below ] but one has turned up in a combined auction. 

 https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/a-carved-wood-okimono-with-shells-a-tsuba-and-a-b-952-c-6ea45478c8

I think this is how some tsuba copies get confused with what they start out as, this auction does not mention the storage box that would have come with the paperweight, so that subsequent owners have no reference to what they really have. I am not criticizing the estimates by the auction house in this case, the okimono alone may be worth the estimate, but there is a lack of relevant provenance on the tsuba paperweight.

[Yasaka Azuma]

It's true that when the new owner, who doesn't know the situation, puts it up, it suddenly looks solemn, like a real icon or cross. I won't severely criticize that metal plate, lest I incur the wrath of Christians.

 

This is off the topic, but it is reported in Japan that there is a huge cicada outbreak in the eastern states of the U.S. Mito Eizui's cicadas also appear repeatedly in all seasons. And someone buys it at an undeservedly high price.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/t777400699

 

[Yasaka Azuma]

May.

The staple products.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/t807319654

https://www.jauce.com/auction/t805493496

https://www.jauce.com/auction/x781031509

https://www.jauce.com/auction/m492510693

https://www.jauce.com/auction/547004652

https://www.jauce.com/auction/558488108

https://www.jauce.com/auction/h554640431

 

It is difficult to tell from the image, but the gold coloration is unnatural. Also, the fact that the back side is filled with resin is also artificial.
However, the front side looks good at first glance, so you may be tempted to bid on it.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/j728501552

 

I have seen Ishiguro schools with the same design but slightly different details in online auctions. However, all of them do not look authentic.
This time, it came out clad in a label from a famous auction house.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/x779638076

 

This is the new world of Natuo, finished with paint. If you read the year as "kanotou", it might be 2011 instead of 1831 or 1891.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/j728402197

 

The price is fixed at 181,000JPY, but it is a cast product as you can see. In addition, the pipe hole is visible.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/554507415

 

As stated in the product description, the paper does not match the actual item. This is an example of how paper in the Showa era was either bullshit or suspected to be counterfeit.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/o441767475

 

These two are low-end mass-produced products that are often found. On search sites, you can find many tsuba with the same design. A thorough comparison and inspection should be done on all of them to see if they should be avoided.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/l685966835

https://www.jauce.com/auction/p850130753

 

This month we have seen some tsuba titled Higo. This is what the seller claims to be Nishigaki School, but the certificate doesn't even say Higo.
The inlaying skill that is characteristic of Higo school is not seen, and there are still round traces.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/t809058488

 

If you lobby an author or editor to include them in a book, these may be called "Higo's masterpieces.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/o476882597

https://www.jauce.com/auction/f514288835

 

 

 

[Spartancrest]

Hi Yas I have just been doing some research on a book I am about to publish on the Cleveland Museum of Art tsuba collection,  and I came across this auction from 2012 

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20190/lot/10/?category=list&length=12&page=1  There is a guard that is almost identical to the Bonhams auction one in the Cleveland Museum [number 1919.422]  The only real difference is the Bonhams is a total fake!  Zoom in on the hitsu-ana and it is a dead set giveaway. I feel sorry for the person who paid so much, I have a theory that many of these fakes are copied directly from museum collections on-line, in some cases the museums only show the omote side and the forgeries have to resort to a made up design on the ura.

[Yasaka Azuma]

Dale, it's exactly as you said. This makes your discovery the third, no doubt about it that someone is making a mold from a picture.
Buyers can buy a file that removes burrs, and then they can complete their tsuba and enjoy the self-satisfaction of owning a museum piece and the same type product. If it is made in Japan, it will be repeatedly found in online auctions. Maybe it is made in a foreign country?

[Spartancrest]

It would not be so bad if they were marketed as 'replicas' [and priced that way] and these are not utsushi which would be a compliment to the original, these are deliberate fakes meant to deceive. It is a very interesting hobby isn't it ! 

[Spartancrest]

I  think this one needs a little sanding to get rid of the gloss finish!  https://www.jauce.com/auction/x785779529

that poor Ox must have slid off the seppa-dai, he needs to be put down, I hate to see animals suffer. 

[Yasaka Azuma]

The cow is fat and looks happy enough. In the past, Japanese cows were thin and had bones showing in their hips. The Cattle body condition score is below point 2or3.　
https://blog.goo.ne.jp/tsuba_001/e/f651c8fd65136e7690ba4e030eeba8f9

[Spartancrest]

What is going on with ebay? This guard is listed three times and with three different prices - and it is not the only example.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/324643235985   https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/324444689023   https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/133721764429

[Brian]

Likely middlemen. It's for sale for X in Japan, so they list it at a much higher price, hoping if someone falls for it, they purchase it and sell for a profit.
Not illegal, but not exactly honorable either.

[Yasaka Azuma]

It looks like they are using the exact same images even though they are for sale separately.

[Brian]

Of course, because they are using the original seller's pics where it is listed in Japan. Likely one of the auctions.

[Yasaka Azuma]

June.

The staple products.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/k552984449

https://www.jauce.com/auction/s828320735

https://www.jauce.com/auction/n510319983

https://www.jauce.com/auction/c912721837

https://www.jauce.com/auction/o484358392

https://www.jauce.com/auction/g531464028

https://www.jauce.com/auction/x784229289

https://www.jauce.com/auction/b548611075

 

Isn't Mimi's darkening of skin a trace of electrodes?

https://www.jauce.com/auction/d532126887

 

I'm not sure if Showa's kiwame of being Nagatune's early name is correct. However, there are cracks in the casting defect on the back side that is not worn.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/w475070782

 

Yin and Yang Kon remains perfect without Chikara-gane. Is there a Ko-Goto that hasn't worn out even a single Dragon's Scale ?
Isn't this a casting burr or soot? There are many doubts. But looking at the NBTHK paper, I have no choice but to silence.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/g509223321

 

At least in the case of the Goto school head family, the direction of the dragon swallowing the sword is fixed except in rare cases. It is often the case in modern replicas that they are turned upside down.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/q455098325

https://aucfree.com/items/v611509961

 

A clever piece of casting with chisel added to the recent casting, as usual, comes with paper. I criticize not whether it is a period Mito-kinko or not, but a technique.
A slight amount of paint sticks out, and that smoothes the casting mold with a brush. These are difficult to find without a magnified image.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/d528270232

 

Not punched nanako, unengraved dragons and clouds, but good at casting. Also, the finer the work, the more difficult it is to paint every corner.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/f518570249

https://www.jauce.com/auction/561793735

 

It is not clear from the image alone whether it is assembled by brazing or casting. However, I hesitate to make a successful bid for such a tube-marked item for more than $ 1,000.
He might say "Just stay out of my business!" However, it is a relatively common design and is sold at specialty stores for about half the price.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/x787403053

 

reference sample

http://ginza.choshuya.co.jp/fs/sale/kodogu/3201_3250/3209/ｋ3209.htm#

 

Mito-kinko bamboo and tiger big tsuba. It weighs nearly 10 ounces and seems to have never been fitted to a sword. Buyers may be able to impress someone.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/r494060689

 

[Yasaka Azuma]

Well, it's been a year since I started this thread. I've covered most of the (blatant) tricks that have been circulating lately, so at a good stopping point.
I think that's the end of my updates. Thanks, all.

[b.hennick]

Dear Yas san

Thank you for your efforts to teach us the tricks used by people who caste tsuba and other fittings. You have opened people's eyes. I must admit that the 3rd, 4th and 7th items shown would have caught me. I have enjoyed the journey that you took us on. I hope that some time in the future you will continue this trip.

[Brian]

I also enjoy them, although I don't comment much. Feel free to add anything you see or would like to. People are taking notice, and if anything...it is showing how scary things are getting. I would fall for a lot of these.
Thanks for your efforts!

[BjornLundin]

Thank you!

 

Your reports have clearly pointed out the minefield that is out there. Interestingly, some of the items have fetched high prices in the auctions. 

 

Please continue to add suspected items, so that we (me) can continue to train our (my) eyes and brain. 

 

Best Björn

 

[Spartancrest]

Hi Yas don't give up -  [ Who would I talk to! ]

We would all rush out and buy junk like this - https://www.jauce.com/auction/b563922550  just because it has a Ghost and a skull on it!

 

[Spartancrest]

And another https://www.jauce.com/auction/x786125475

[Torrez]

On 2/28/2021 at 2:24 AM, Yasaka Azuma said:

For Feb.

The staple products.

 

https://www.jauce.com/auction/w442781419

https://www.jauce.com/auction/537042340

https://www.jauce.com/auction/n490118751

https://www.jauce.com/auction/o458262355

https://www.jauce.com/auction/r469970161

 

This maker, Hosono Sozaemon Masamori, he is known as an expert of fine line engraving and flat inlay.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/512859713

https://www.jauce.com/auction/p833731620

 

reference sample
鴨河原図鐔　細野惣左衛門政守

https://blog.goo.ne.jp/tsuba_001/e/c3c35dc69973f922934e4fde9d0fde32

 

Although it is a modern mass-produced product, it sells at a high monthly price of 470 to 570 USD. It is a breadwinner.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/j705133324

https://www.jauce.com/auction/w448836534

https://www.jauce.com/auction/q414528942

 

In another flea market, it was clearly marked as a replica of the showa era and sold. The body and semegane are integrated, as is often the case with castings.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/u417797616

 

The laminated pattern cannot be seen in the images on the back and sides.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/o454698954

 

Kozuka on the left has collected a lot of bids for hidden reasons. Seeing that, a similar product appears.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/u417754864

https://www.jauce.com/auction/d507241102

 

The gold color of the clothes may have the paint sticking out or left unpainted.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/g492998792

 

The Toryusai school "kuchi beni" is made by fitting and shaping and decorating. It simply poured melted copper.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/f491592791

 

reference sample

https://blog.goo.ne.jp/tsuba_001/e/c1dc3d5119deb1e974eab5d250fafdfe

 

Crushing around nakago-hitu with chisel is a characteristic of the middle Muromachi period. However, the drills and file marks that open the slogan are modern.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/f493714066

 

Is my search inadequate? The metalworker Goto-norisuke is not on the list I can read. This kind of cursive style is rare for Junjo's signature.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/q419799490

 

It was revealed that the failure of the casting process was a casting work. It is also characteristic that the edge of seppa-dai is slightly raised.
https://www.jauce.com/auction/q425350830

 

 

Dear Yasaka san, I have found this post of yours and am very hopeful you will clarify if you suggest the shown pieces signed and attributed to Hosono Sozaemon Masamori are actually modern reproductions/fakes. i just happened to be the buyer of the F/K shown above and of another set attributed to the very same maker. Will greatly appreciate your honest opinion on both! Many thanks

[terminus]

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/l1001421571?lang=en&rc=yaucc_sp
 

this “Natsuo” tsuba has interestingly 30+ bids on it already! What are people’s thoughts?