Kanshiro Nishigaki

[Spartancrest]

Many years ago I posted an interesting guard that I had just purchased - it was almost universally thought to be a modern cast fake [it is certainly not cast]  Today I have found another attributed to Kanshiro Nishigaki (I) copper with identical fukurin in brass. https://www.jauce.com/auction/h556950818   The one I have, has enameled  plates either side over a copper core. [I did at the time think the base plate was iron but it is non magnetic, so copper or Shibuichi?] I am wondering at what the board will think this time?  [ I will be watching the auction with great interest]

 

[Yasaka Azuma]

That vendor has been on a roll lately. I have a feeling that all of them are going to be expensive again.

[Curran]

Vendor:   well, yes, he does post some good papered items in a short supply world.

and shilling seems to be fairly commonplace on Yahoo!Japan. This guy could get extra bids on a 1999 Lincoln penny and turn it into 2 or 3 cents.

 

As to the Kanshiro:   I see it as an homage piece to an older style. It isn't papered- or more likely the NBTHK papers aren't being shown and got shoved in a drawer. Current NBTHK probably papered it to something else.

    --- I am traveling and don't have my books available to me at the moment to look up what the attribution is on this design in Tsuba Kanshoki or other of the big books, BUT the point is the 'Kanshiro' (supposedly in Ito-san's Nishigaki book, yet I don't remember it) is an homage to the old style. If antique, I'd view yours as also an homage piece. The one on Yahoo!Japan doesn't strike me as Kanshiro, and I am 50/50 on the one in Ito-san's book being Kanshiro. While Ito-san is a scholar par none and certainly 7 leagues ahead of the current NBTHK when it comes to Higo works, I still sometimes doubt the attributions on a few pieces in his books.

 

Conclusion:   ignore the Kanshiro attribution on the Yahoo!Japan one and hit the old big books to understand what the originals were.

I want to say that they were attributed as Mirror Maker tsuba, but the old attributions might simply be Ko-Kinko. Yours would be a later homage or utsushi of that style.

 

[lonely panet]

Well i dislike it, and canbe put in the other group of people that think suspiciously.

 

You could Call me ignorant, you could call me correct, but i am just a student 

[Yasaka Azuma]

  On 5/17/2021 at 10:00 AM, Curran said:

Conclusion:   ignore the Kanshiro attribution on the Yahoo!Japan one and hit the old big books to understand what the originals were.

I want to say that they were attributed as Mirror Maker tsuba, but the old attributions might simply be Ko-Kinko. Yours would be a later homage or utsushi of that style.

 

Expand  

I had an online discussion with a ko-kinko collector in Japan, comparing some of the items listed, and he was of the same opinion.

[Spartancrest]

Thank you all - indeed I would love to hit the books, but so few are in English [or German] the only ones I can read.

So Kanshiro is out, who is in? I too don't think my guard has great age, utsushi of who or what? I did have an image of yet another with the identical fukurin, in that case there was a slightly raised central plate both sides with conventional nami (wave) engraving, the thin (shakudo) plates were riveted at the seppa-dai in sanmei fashion. [unfortunately the image is now missing from my database] Whatever they are, they are all linked by the style of fukurin (odawara?)

I just came across this image - same fukurin

[Curran]

Ah yes "Tachi-kanagushi".

 

Basically = Ko-kinko for a tachi   attribution.

I'm more than fine with that. The Ko-Mino tsuba would be a more specific version of Tachi-kanagushi.

 

I talked to a friend about the Yahoo!Japan one. Both of us thought it more likely Shoami than Higo (Kanshiro).

The friend was excellent to scan in the translation of Ito-san's comments on it and it was atypically weak commentary. The Kanshiro book is the thinnest of his books, and I'd put it forth that this one was "filler".

I kinda like it, but only because the Hikozo [see Nihonto.com ones for sale] ones are all Juyo and above my pay grade.

[Spartancrest]

Thank you Curran, glad it isn't 'Tacky' Kanagushi like my wife thinks! 

Wow I just had a look at Nihonto.com $48,500 is in a different financial universe to the one I live in! PM me if you like and I will tell you what I paid for mine!

[Curran]

Once I get out of my current muddy trench of things, I will. Currently in the thick of it, but more than 51% through the current wave of work and associated mayhem. I'm only rarely online at the moment.

 

    This is one where the Edo => 'shoami'    Pre edo =>  'tachi kanagushi'  is financially rather discriminatory. By calling it Kanshiro, Ito-san certainly helped whomever owned this one. I agree that the particular one might be Higo or by a Higo dilettante, but the logic in his writing to attribute it to Kanshiro seemed a bit long armed stretch to me.

 

Gotta go... stayed here too long this morning. 10 minutes late now.

 

[Spartancrest]

Updating the auction of the not -  'Kanshiro' -  it sold with 66 bids for ¥ 501,000 or roughly $4,500 US, with fees probably closer to $5,000 US. Which only makes me smile when I think how much I paid for mine - utsushi or not. 

[rkg]

If you look at the bid history, it appears that the winner was some gaijin (usually the buyers with lotsa transactions are agents), but apparently a Japanese bidder (due to the relatively small number of xactions) was the underbidder...

Fun, fun, fun

Best,

rkg

(Richard George)

EDIT: here's the abbreviated bid history:

[Infinite_Wisdumb]

  On 5/24/2021 at 5:25 PM, rkg said:

If you look at the bid history, it appears that the winner was some gaijin (usually the buyers with lotsa transactions are agents), but apparently a Japanese bidder (due to the relatively small number of xactions) was the underbidder...

Fun, fun, fun

Best,

rkg

(Richard George)

Expand  

interesting info, thanks!

[Curran]

Well, I hope the new owner is happy with it.

I hope it isn't someone I know that ends up showing it to me later and asking what I think.