Heianjo or approximation thereof?

[cspage]

poor fellow has lost some inlay. On one section the inlay appears to have turned green as in copper or bronze replacement. It can be slightly seen on the brighter pic in the lower right quadrant. Any thoughts on this tsuba are welcome.

 

Thank you.

 

Colin

[John A Stuart]

I would like to think this is an Oninzogan tsuba of late Muromachi period. The plate just looks like it belongs to that group. It bet it is fairly dense and heavy for its' size. The fret pattern inlay is of the type that appeared on this board in a lengthy thread and popular. John

[Mark Green]

Sure been fitted a few times. I like it!

[cspage]

Thank you, John. I found the discussion on this pattern and can see that I've a lot of reading to do. Over 250 entries. Yummy.

 

Colin

[docliss]

May I take issue with John’s Onin label to this tsuba? This I do for a number of reasons:

• The colour of the brass inlay is the pale yellow of the locally produced metal rather than the ‘rich deep’ colour of that imported from China from the C15.

• The inlay, surely, has not been pre-cast as is that on Onin tsuba, but has been cut from a sheet of brass prior to its insertion into the prepared cavities on the tsuba.

• There is no inlay surrounding the seppa-dai, the kozuka-hitsu or the edge, as one would normally see on Onin work.

• And am I correct in thinking that the kozuka-hitsu is probably original?

 

I agree that there is a katchūshi-like quality to the plate, but that could apply equally to early Heianjō zōgan work – a label that I personally prefer.

 

John L.

[John A Stuart]

Hi John, Yes a lot have the inlay around the seppadai and the hitsuana as well sometimes, but, it isn't a hard and fast rule. There is no differentiation between the nakagoana on both Onin and Heianjo tsubas and the hitsuana when they appear have the kidney bean shape although there can be some real oddities like the sugarloaf type, oval or round. The plate, yes, early Heianjo tsuba had similar plate, so, moot. The big one here is the inlay. Both types have a penchant for organic designs, flowers and plants, even insects. Karakusa appears often as well as kamon with geometric designs filling the gap. It was the fineness of the fret design zogan that lead me to Onin. I haven't heard about Onin having imported brass as opposed to locally alloyed or the colour difference. That sounds interesting. Why would the source be different? Centuries earlier the only brass available was imported and at this time I know brass was imported to allay shortfalls, but, why would one group use one type as opposed to the other? No argument here John, you are probably right, but, would like to know, please. Oh, I forgot some basic information for those following this thread. Oninzogan can be thought of as the father of Heianjozogan tsuba and were themselves derivative of the Katchushi tsuba. This group of tsuba got the name Onin because it was during the Onin wars that they began to make their appearance. This is similar to how Kamakura tsuba got their name from the Kamakura bakufu. The Kamakura and Oninzogan tsuba are the first types to be made by tsubako, artists that specialised in making tsuba and were not tosho or katchushi. John

[docliss]

Dear John

 

I think that we are both talking about a vague distinction between late Onin and early Heinjō-zōgan tsuba — all rather esoteric.

 

I mentioned the possibly original hitsu-ana since on Onin tsuba these are generally a later modification; the few original ones are found only on smaller tsuba.

 

With regard to the use of imported brass, TAS states, on p.41, that ‘the colour of the brass of the Onin tsuba is most important. It is rich and deep in colour, not the shallow colour of the native metal used mostly in the Edo age. … It is logical to suppose that these tsuba were first made in Kyōto because the imported brass is thought to have been brought to the port of Sakai … and then carried to the capital, Kyōto.’ I agree that leaves several questions unanswered.

 

But my main reason for edging to the right of this ‘vague distinction’ is that the brass inlay on this tsuba is certainly not pre-cast, a feature that indicates to me a clear distinction between Onin and Heianjō-zogan work.

 

Regards, John L.

[Ford Hallam]

Hi John ( the good doctor )

 

I'm intrigued by the 2 points you cite with reference to differentiating between late Onin and early Heinjō-zōgan tsuba.

Specifically the claim that the inlay on Onin guards was pre-cast and the difference in colour of shinchu allegedly indicating the place of origin; ie Chinese or local production. It think it speculative to try and use something like colour, which is so easily altered by any number of external factors and conditions, as a definitive kantei point. While it's true that the composition of an alloy has a major effect on the patina colour we must accept that with items as old as these sorts of tsuba the colours that may have developed may be very misleading.

 

It may also be of interest to consider the following extract from the Wakan san-sai zue, an encyclopaedia published in 1716. It apparently drew heavily on a original Chinese text.

 

"It seems that shinchu is made with do (copper). This method was not known in ancient times; it started recently ( mid Edo period?) and is still not very refined. For this reason imported Shinchu from China is used. Nowadays many fine things are made using it and it is always called shinchu. The recipe is one kin of copper, one third of that quantity of zinc and one third of that ( ie, the zinc ) quantity of lead. The vulgar name is Kara-shinchu. If you decrease the proportion of zinc the resulting metal is softer."

 

This would seem to suggest that early Heinjō-zōgan tsuba-shi were quite possibly also using imported shinchu. I would suggest that the colour differences ( and these are often quite clear ) came about as a result of the need for the Heianjo makers to remelt their alloy to create a more malleable metal more suited for wire inlay. Remelting shinchu would result in an inevitable loss of zinc, and probably also lead. This could plausibly explain the colour change.

 

I should also note that the actual composition given in that excerpt seems unlikely to me, the 33% zinc is commonly found in modern commercial brass but 16 or 17% lead doesn't feel right to me at all. I've had analysis' done of shinchu used by Yasuchika I and II...both yellowish coloured and warmer ochre coloured ones. None had more than 15% of zinc and the lead, if present, was less than 2 %. Incidentally, my own recreations of these alloys indicates that the small amount of lead is what turns the alloy from the yellowish tones and gives it a more ochre colour.

 

Shinchu appears in print again in the Manpozenshu, another encyclopaedia, this one published in 1755.

This time it's called Namban shinchu and it use described as " for metal decorations"

 

A final thought regarding the casting of shinchu. Molten brass liberates a great deal of the zinc as it's highly volatile (and toxic) so recast metal would be a different composition from the imported material. Apart from the fact that I can't see any great advantage to pre-casting the decoration it would appear to somewhat problematic too. The whole notion that the decoration on Onin guards was cast really needs to be seriously reconsidered. Frankly, I find the idea quite improbable and unnecessary. ...and this is me being reserved with my opinion

 

regards,

 

Ford

[docliss]

Thank you, Ford, for your as always very knowledgeable and interesting contribution. Your suggestion, that the effect upon the colour of the inlaid alloy of re-melting it is a possible explanation for the differing colours of the inlay in Onin and Heiajō-zōgan work, I find convincing. But your questioning of the mantra, that ‘the brass pieces used as the decoration on Onin tsuba are pre-cast in the design and shape needed’, needs more time for me to assimilate!

 

Regards, John L.

[Ford Hallam]

Hi John,

 

thank you for considering my comments ...let me add to my argument against the "cast inlay pieces" theory.

 

When looking at these Onin guards I find no visual clues at all to indicate the inlay was pre-cast. I assume the author of that suggestion was the writer, or translator of "Tsuba, an aesthetic study."

 

I quote;

" The cast pieces have a smooth appearance on the surface"

In fact anyone who has ever actually cast brass will tell you it tends to need a fair bit of work to render it smooth. As cast surfaces will also exhibit porosity...especially brass. The surface of these inlays has been smoothed with scrapers, as with any type of inlay, and then polished with nagura stones and charcoal.

 

"There are no sharp edges as might be found on carved inlay, though occasionally a few chisel marks may be made on the pre-cast piece after insertion in the plate"

As I already wrote, removing sharp edges from inlays in not difficult. Rather one has to take care not to round the edges of any carving one wants to keep crisp.

 

He then goes on to claim that all the parts of the decoration, thin lines, roped borders and even dots are made from cast pieces. The last, the dot inlay ( ten-zogan) is particularly absurd as this would probably be the most awkward way of inlaying dots

 

When casting pieces like small and thin bits of inlay you have 2 options available to you. Either making the shapes in wax first, encasing the wax models in clay or similar mould making material, melting out the wax and then pouring in the molten metal. The technical difficulties inherent in successfully casting thin sections of brass, even in modern workshops, would suggest that this option highly unlikely.

The other option is to cast the metal into open moulds. Here we are faced with a similar problem though. Molten metal doesn't level out nice a thin and flat in a shallow mould. Surface tension ensure that the cast metal will tend to form useless blobs rather than obligingly filling the desired form. So I think this option is also a non-starter.

 

But my main objection to this theory is that there is no need of it. It seems to to have been dreamed up by someone who had absolutely no practical knowledge of basic metalwork technique. It's the sort of comment I've heard from visitors to my own studio when they see how things are actually made. People simply assume metal is easily poured into moulds and there you have it...the finished piece. I wish! :D

 

While I'm dealing with this section I want also to mention the use of the term suemon zogan. In the TES this is described as broad, raised areas of inlay. This is incorrect. Sue actually refers to a small post and mon in this case is the word we use to denote the piece to be inlaid. (Mon-gane) Suemon is correctly applied to appliqué type work and can't really be called true zogan ( inlay) Some early kozuka show this technique. You'll recognise it when you can see that the main decorative element is actually resting on top of the nanako ground and not set into the plate. It is held in place by means of the previous mentioned post. This passes through the plate and either glued in place or the post bent over. The technique was also common on Meiji period vases.

[cspage]

Thank you for this discussion. I'm relatively new to all of this and have just read those references to pre-cast inlays, which sounded pretty strange to me. But I thought "who am I to question the standard references on a subject I know so little about, even though casting those tiny threads of brass seems so terribly inefficient and impractical?" Thank you, Ford, for validating my sense of logic. I realize logic doesn't always apply, but it does have its place, sometimes.

 

Colin

[John A Stuart]

Having a good natured debate about a subject like this is NMB at its' best. Thanks, John and Ford. John

[Kevin]

The other option is to cast the metal into open moulds. Here we are faced with a similar problem though. Molten metal doesn't level out nice a thin and flat in a shallow mould. Surface tension ensure that the cast metal will tend to form useless blobs rather than obligingly filling the desired form. So I think this option is also a non-starter.

 

I am reminded of a practical I did for MA Archaeology, namely casting copper and bronze arrowheads using open moulds and Bronze Age technology. What you got was basically an arrowshaped blob, with rounded edges and surfaces. It needed a lot of work to turn it into something you could call an arrowhead. Very nice once you'd put the work in, but don't imagine that you'll get a perfect arrowhead out of an open mould, complete with flat surfaces.

 

As Ford said, molten metal doesn't obligingly level out, even in bulk. In small quantities, it is going to be even more problematical - lots of blobs. Casting thin sections? Forget it, there are easier ways.

 

But my main objection to this theory is that there is no need of it. It seems to to have been dreamed up by someone who had absolutely no practical knowledge of basic metalwork technique.

 

That was my impression on reading it - but then again, I've worked in light engineering. :-)

 

Kevin

[Rich T]

While I'm dealing with this section I want also to mention the use of the term suemon zogan. In the TES this is described as broad, raised areas of inlay. This is incorrect. Sue actually refers to a small post and mon in this case is the word we use to denote the piece to be inlaid. (Mon-gane) Suemon is correctly applied to appliqué type work and can't really be called true zogan ( inlay) Some early kozuka show this technique. You'll recognise it when you can see that the main decorative element is actually resting on top of the nanako ground and not set into the plate. It is held in place by means of the previous mentioned post. This passes through the plate and either glued in place or the post bent over. The technique was also common on Meiji period vases.

 

Interesting stuff Ford, and for those that would like a visual reference

 

 

 

If you look at this Sojo kogai, and at the position of the puppy, find the corresponding area on the back and there is the back of the rivet, I believe hammered down and finished off flush. The profile shows the gold puppy, in kataschi-bori, almost like a menuki, resting on yop the nanako.

 

I have this technique (the post fixing) described as Karakuri-dome (絡繰止). I admit I had not heard the term Suemon used for the decoration on the front but it makes sense. I think the majority of kodogu that used this were Kozuka and some kogai, most tended to be early Goto works I believe but I am sure there will be some Ko Kinko and Mino thrown in there as well.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

[Markus]

I assume the author of that suggestion was the writer, or translator of "Tsuba, an aesthetic study."

 

Hi Ford. For a supplementation to this thread, I checked the Japanese "Tsuba-geijutsu-ron", or rather the chapters on

Ônin- and Heianjô-zôgan.

 

though occasionally a few chisel marks may be made on the pre-cast piece after insertion in the plate"

 

In chapter 6 "Heianjô-zôgan tsuba", the corresponding passage reads:

"When comparing the shinchû-zôgan of Ônin and Heianjô, we can see that at the former, the decorative elements (i.e. the mon) are

produced just via casting (lit. it reads "by putting it into a mould"), whereas the latter show also some additional carvings on the mon."

 

He then goes on to claim that all the parts of the decoration, thin lines, roped borders and even dots are made from cast pieces. The last, the dot inlay ( ten-zogan) is particularly absurd as this would probably be the most awkward way of inlaying dots

 

I think I found the corresponding passage in chapter 5 "Ônin-tsuba". Here it reads:

The suemon of Ônin-tsuba is different to those of Heianjô-zôgan-tsuba, namely in the way that various casted and differently sized mon are

combined and set onto the tsuba (lit. just "combined and set", suete aru 据えてある). But it was just the time when the arrangement

and combination of such mon showed a considerable progress. Regarding pieces with ten-zôgan, it is said that this mostly concerns

early pieces, but there is no such a chronological discrepancy. Towards the rim, a concentrical linear element is applied, and in between,

rows (four at old pieces) of ten-zôgan are inlayed. These dots are small and in relative close formation on older works, but get larger

and more sparse as time went on."

 

So the Japanese text does not mention literally that the ten-zôgan elements are cast.

Well, I must admit that I don´t have the English version so it is possible that I just don´t got the right passages.

[Markus]

Forgot to mention...

 

In my opinion, the translator did a good job and experience had me shown that at projects of

the scope of a "Tsuba, an aesthetic study", it can be hard to hit all the nuances on the head

for each sentence and paragraph.

But it is very interesting and informative that we are "working" now at exactly those "nuances",

and it is always a good thing to leave things not untouched but revise them for an overall

improvement. This reminds me of the saying "権威の謬説は一世紀を誤まる", "A wrong theory of

an expert leads astray a century".

[John A Stuart]

That is great Markus. From your passages quoted it seems that both techniques are used. When the technique for applying mon is studied though, they seem to be applied in the same fashion as the figurative elements. All the mon on Oninzogan I have access to are primarily of the maru type (circled elements). When looked at closely you can see that they are inlayed in seperate pieces and not a one piece casting. The line breaks are very apparent. As to the chasing after being inlayed, that is a very common aspect on the tsuba of plant themes as well as some of the mon of not maru type eg. kikumon,sakuramon, most of these were of pieced inlay as well. Actually Heianjozogan tsuba continued that aspect of the type. There are some that have fairly large hanazakari that may have been cast and then chased prior to inlay or pegging. These are relatively large elements and may lend themselves to the technique. I am not able to tell and Ford's arguments are compelling in that the technique would be less than efficient. I do not know at what size gassing etc. would be too problematic or using dies on hot brass was possible. Never the less, very interesting. John

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Richard,

 

that's a perfect example of the sue-mon technique I was describing. I know the term you mention; Karakuri-dome . It's not incorrect at all, merely a alternative label. My point was merely to indicate that calling large, slightly raised areas of inlay suemon was a misunderstanding of that term.

 

btw, I've been admiring and enjoying the newer images you have on you blog of tsuba, particularly the angled views from the side.

 

Marcus,

 

thanks for looking at the original Japanese text for us. I have long wondered how closely the translation follows the original text. In this case quite accurately it seems. For me this makes it easier to pin point the origin of this odd, and unsubstantiated theory re; cast inlay pieces. I think also that you're absolutely right when you point out the very real need for us to reassess received wisdom like this.

 

Unlike many aspects of this study of ours this particular question can in fact be settled convincing and scientifically. When metal is cast is solidifies with a characteristic " as cast" grain structure. In the case of brass type alloys this is very distinct and actually quite visible to the naked eye. Chances are you've perhaps seen this effect. If you take a moment to examine cast brass door handles...particularly older ones on public buildings, (unless they've been polished bright ) you may see what appear to be flecks of crystals in the metal surface. These are often quite large, up to 4 or 5mm across.. This effect is called kesho in Japanese and is a defining trait of cast brass and sentoku in particular. The moment the cast metal is worked these grains begin to break down and in reducing a cast ingot of say 10mm thick by the time it's been hammered down to a 1 or 2 mm thick sheet all visible ( to the naked eye) crystal structure will have been obliterated. The different internal structures of these 2 phases of the alloy are very different and can quite easily be seen in microscopic images of the etched metal.

 

I doubt that anyone will volunteer an Onin guard so we could remove some inlay and examine it in this way but never the less you'd expect to see at least some hint of "as cast" grain structure in these pieces of inlay in the same way you can see it on cast door handles....if they had been cast.

 

Anyway, this is a lot of work to discredit a theory that has no basis for it's claim anyway :D I like to see some evidence for that claim....other than "it says so in the Bible"....I mean the aesthetic study"

[Kevin]

This reminds me of the saying "権威の謬説は一世紀を誤まる", "A wrong theory of

an expert leads astray a century".

 

I remember my sort-of-mentor, the late Dr Peter Reynolds, telling me something almost identical. :-) He followed it up with the remark that if the data disagrees with theory, then the theory is wrong, no matter how cherished, deeply held or widely established that theory is.

 

Kevin

[Bob M.]

Hi everyone ,

 

Maybe a daft question , but would it be possible, paticularly with the tsuba in question , that the design was carved in and then the tsuba itself being used as the mould ? If the brass was very hot , it should flow into the grooves - maybe fluxed (?) to help with adhesion . Possibly done by immersion of the tsuba into a small bath of molten brass ?

 

Don't know if such a technique would be possible - Ford?

 

Cleaning up the rest of the tsuba afterwards could be a bit of a problem though , although there might also be compounds about that can be used to dissuade adherence on parts of the iron .

[Rich T]

Hi Richard,

 

btw, I've been admiring and enjoying the newer images you have on you blog of tsuba, particularly the angled views from the side.

 

Thanks mate, I appreciate that, I am experimenting at the moment with a new flash for my camera, I need to work on the lighting a fair bit but the Ezo menuki on that page are getting closer, just a bit blown out.

 

 

I doubt that anyone will volunteer an Onin guard so we could remove some inlay and examine it in this way but never the less you'd expect to see at least some hint of "as cast" grain structure in these pieces of inlay in the same way you can see it on cast door handles....if they had been cast.

 

I am having a scan through "The Techniques of the Japanese Tsuba-Maker" but I am not having much luck there. These guys cut more tsuba in half than I can ever begin to imagine LOL. If I see an old rusty one on Yahoo Japan, I will buy it and send it to you for decapitation

 

Cheers

 

Rich

[docliss]

OK Ford, So I am now converted regarding the rejection of the mantra about the pre-casting of the inlay on Onin tsuba. But, since the method of production of both Onin and Heiajo-zogan tsuba is now accepted as being similar, where does that leave your proposed explanation for the difference in colouration between the inlay on the two groups?

 

John L.

[Ford Hallam]

Hi John,

 

thanks...and welcome to the heretic club :D

To be honest I don't know that the apparent colour differences are that reliable at all. I made the suggestion almost in passing as a possible reason but as we can't actually be certain yet where the material come from, who made it or even why the composition changed...we can only guess. Specific analysis' of selected representative examples would help establish some parameters but even there there are bound to be variations.

 

As regards the whole Onin / Heanjo classification I would suggest that the early dot and wire inlay work that characterises the classic Onin guard is well establish and pretty secure. The classic Heianjo tsuba with ducks, mon, leaves scrolls etc...and on a courser steel ground compared to the Onin steel plate is also quite distinguishable. It seem to me that there are some pieces that seem to be transitional works and the problem then arises when collectors need to put them in one or another category. I think attempts to find various esoteric minutiae by which we can distinguish them will always be flawed because we would be attempting to reverse engineer labels and categories where in fact none existed.

 

Hi Bob,

 

your suggestion that it might be possible to melt the alloy directly into a prepared cavity is, I think, quite possible. In effect it would be no different to brazing onto steel. The problem would arise when you need to keep the metal contained and tidy. This process you describe is actually very similar to the way sahari tsuba were created. It's a bit like champleve enamelling but in those cases the excess is simply filed away and the inlay is level with the ground, not raised. Also, the evidence does show that the actual inlay pieces are often made up of more than one piece so ruling out an in situ melt approach.

 

Just to put some images up for those who may not be particularly familiar with these guards here are 2 fairly classic examples. Both assessed as being Muromachi period. The images come from an exhibition catalogue of sukashi tsuba dating from the Kofun period to the Edo period. This was held in 1999 at the Sano Art Museum and contained many National treasures, Important Cultural Property and Important Art Objects. Probably the finest exhibition of it's kind ever assembled.

Onin

 

 

Heanjo

[Ford Hallam]

...and just to be mischievous here's a classic Ko-Tosho tsuba ( early Muromachi)from Tosogu no Kansho

 

 

 

looks just like an Onin guard before it's decoration was applied. Could it be that the first Onin guards were just early tosho tsuba that got pimped in the period of the Onin wars? All this brass inlay was probably shiny when new too. :D

 

But as some of you already know I have my doubts about he whole tosho / katchushi designation anyway. Looking at the early examples presented in either of the catalogues I've mentioned it seems pretty obvious to this metalworker that we are simply seeing a clear evolution of technique and style. The labels we use may be handy to distinguish particular early types but I think we need to keep in mind these are retro-fitted labels. I think tsuba makers have always been a dedicated group of artisans who met a huge demand for their wares. I simply don't buy the idea that swordsmiths and armour makers had time to moonlight on accessories. The technical "evidence" offered in the tsuba themselves ( ie, hammered rim or not, the look of the steel and the degree of piercing) is not at all convincing, it's only vaguely circumstantial and hardly constitutes any evidence at all.

 

btw, it's a public holiday here in SA...that's why I've got time on my hands...he he, and the devil makes work for idle hands

[Rich T]

To add to Ford's last comments, lets also not forget that a lot of these names for these tsuba which where mostly unsigned , were thought up in the mid to late 1800's by people such as Akiyama and Ogura. It is believed either these names did not exist before then, or they were called something else (who knows what that may have been). Obvious signed works were known about, as were the big schools such as Akasaka, Higo etc. but all of larger groups of unsigned work we really know very little about.

 

It is quite possible that Tosho, Katchishi, Ko Shoami and others were all the same work/style, like wise in sukashi, Owari, Shoami and Kyo work crosses over to the point of becoming hard to distinguish between.

 

All these tsuba blur and bleed in and out of each other. It's a tough road......

 

Rich

[kusunokimasahige]

A question on the imperial mon, could this have come from a courtier's sword?

 

KM

[Ford Hallam]

cheers, Richard

 

I really appreciate everyone's patience and consideration of many of the rather challenging points I've made.

All these tsuba blur and bleed in and out of each other. It's a tough road......

 

I absolutely agree with you here, Richard, but let it not be said by the next generation that we weren't up to the task of seriously and diligently evaluating what we believe. This forum makes possible a debate that would have been unimaginable 20 years ago...and as John ( Stuart) said earlier, this is NMB at it's best

 

Regards,

 

Ford

[Mark Green]

This has been a great, very interesting topic guys.

Fun

I have a related question I would like to ask you Tsuba guys. I will make a new thread though.

Please check it out if you have the time.

Mark G

[zuiho]

Hello,

I feel like a bit of a usurper as I do not collect tsuba. However, I do have a tsuba of the same style

inlay as the one that started this thread. It is also , I think, of the same time period. I would call it

perhaps, kyo-shoami, as it is an openwork design of mitsu duome design with fretwork brass inlay

on the arms of the commas. The inlay does not rise above the surface of the iron.

However, I would not call it Onin or Heianjo and the technique

employed, from what I could discern, does not match most of the above discussion of cast inlay.

It would have to be an insane metalworker who would cast bits of wire to use as inlay.

Smiths can create spools of brass wire by pulling rods through succesively smaller holes in an iron

plate. I have seen it done at a demonstration of blacksmithing.

It would then be a simple matter of cutting off lengths of brass wire and pounding them into the

grooves forming the design on the iron surface much like laying in an umegane on a sword blade.

The surface could be finished with a file or polishing stones.

Furthermore, the tsuba in question seems only to have a decorative design with no meaning.

The inlay is also of rough workmanship with poorly controlled lines and angles (as is my own example).

 

Onin and Heianjo work appears to favor symbolic and representational images which, indeed,

are formed by inlaying cast or cut brass pieces. It is also, in general , much better crafted.

 

I guess my real point is that while the tsuba in question may have attributes seemingly in common

with Onin or Heianjo tsuba it does not belong to either of those traditions, in my opinion.

I think Mr. Ford Hallam had the best post on this but I felt compelled to add my two cents.

 

William G.

[Bazza]

snip

Smiths can create spools of brass wire by pulling rods through succesively smaller holes in an iron

plate. I have seen it done at a demonstration of blacksmithing.

snip

William G.

Thank you all for a thoroughly interesting and absorbing thread. Re the quote above, the wording suggests Western 'smiths', but I'm pretty sure that I have seen a Japanese drawing of an artisan pulling wire through a hole in a steel plate. Can anyone else confirm this???

 

If I'm efficient, tomorrow (it's near midnight here in eastern Oz) I'll photograph my Yoshiro zogan tsuba and put it here.

Regards,

Barry Thomas.