Is there a consensus on appreciation of tsuba?

[OceanoNox]

As written in another post, I am reading and re-reading the "Tsuba" book by Ogasawara Nobuo (first published in 1975 in the "colour books" collection of Hoikusha). One specific section caught my eye: he states that currently tsuba are appreciated either through the glass of whatever shelf they are stored in, or in a small box to be held in the hand. But he further writes that this is a ”resting" position, and that the tsuba finds its real meaning when it is a part of the koshirae. Following this, the nakago ana and hitsu ana should not be seen as empty spaces, but filled or covered by the tsuka and kogai/kozuka. The book shows some examples of tsuba with those three holes filled, to show how the impression differs from the usual point of view.

My question is then: is it a common way to look at tsuba? It never occurred to me until now, but then again I am a relative novice.

[JohnTo]

Hi Arnaud,

Yours is a 'How long is a piece of string?' question.  Some people only collect blades, others complete swords, others koshirai and some only tsuba (or other fittings)  Whatever floats your boat.  I always think that a tsuba is best appreciated by holding it in your hand, often with a magnifying glass.  I have 'iron sessions' and 'soft metal sessions', depends upon my mood.  For example, in iron sessions I study the balance of the design of sukashi tsuba and the features in the iron, such as tekkotsu. In soft metal sessions I concentrate more on the fine detail of the inlay and engraving.  Or, I might combine both and try to understand the theme of the design, like the Yatsuhashi Bridge, or Rashomon Demon as easy examples.  I guess that it is what makes tsuba so fascinating.

best regards, John

 

[Geraint]

Dear Arnaud.

 

John has covered a lot of very good points.  However I wil share with you that some years ago I was looking at a tsuba when the fancy came upon me to see what it would look like mounted.  As a more general collector than some I have swords that I was able to use and the transformation was extrordinary!  I must confess that I have not done this with every tsuba, especially not kinko, but the concept did change my understanding.  The seppa dai is a significant area of metal and while of course it can tell us some things about the tsuba it is a dark mass in the centre of the design.  A sukashi tsuba, when mounted has a lightness that the seppa dai can obscure somewhat when viewing in hand.

 

I know it doesn't make sense, after all the tsuka and saya are even larger, yet................

 

Give it a try if you have koshirae to hand, if not make up a short length of dummy saya and tsuka just for the purpose.  

 

All the best.

[OceanoNox]

29 minutes ago, Geraint said:

when the fancy came upon me to see what it would look like mounted.  As a more general collector than some I have swords that I was able to use and the transformation was extrordinary! 

Dear Geraint, thank you for sharing your experience. I was really wondering if this way of looking at tsuba was something people did at all. I shall certainly try when possible.

[Dan tsuba]

Hello Arnaud,

 

So, I used to train in Iaido.  I mounted an actual "Edo period" tsuba on two of my iaito swords.  It was really neat to train with an actual "piece of history" attached to my iaito.  I had to add some metal filler in the nakago-ana, but they worked great!

 

With respect,

Dan

[OceanoNox]

16 minutes ago, Dan tsuba said:

So, I used to train in Iaido.  I mounted an actual "Edo period" tsuba on two of my iaito swords.  It was really neat to train with an actual "piece of history" attached to my iaito.  I had to add some metal filler to the seppa-dai, but they worked great!

Good evening Dan. Thank you. Did they "look" or feel different?

Doing iaido myself, it is also something I have been thinking about (I am not overly fond of the tsuba provided on iaito or shinken). It's good to know you managed to do it.

[Dan tsuba]

Hello Arnaud,

 

About the “Edo period” tsuba on my iaito.   Well yes, they looked completely different than the “new” tsuba I replaced them with on the iaito.

 

But about “feeling different”.  My personal opinion is that with an “actual piece of history” attached to the iaito, the sword carried a different “spirit” (in a good way!).  Some may know what I mean, others may not.

 

With respect,

Dan

[b.hennick]

Yes, I  have placed a tsuka on a tsuba to get the feel for how it would look. It can be transformative.  

[kissakai]

I think this is a good idea and you don't have to pay mega bucks

Especially if the tsuba has a theme you can relate to

 

[Geraint]

Hi Grev.

 

Are you referencing the original post or the idea of mounting a real tsuba on an iaito?

 

All the best.

[Curran]

On 12/1/2022 at 12:36 PM, JohnTo said:

Hi Arnaud,

Yours is a 'How long is a piece of string?' question.  Some people only collect blades, others complete swords, others koshirai and some only tsuba (or other fittings)  Whatever floats your boat.  I always think that a tsuba is best appreciated by holding it in your hand, often with a magnifying glass.  I have 'iron sessions' and 'soft metal sessions', depends upon my mood.  For example, in iron sessions I study the balance of the design of sukashi tsuba and the features in the iron, such as tekkotsu. In soft metal sessions I concentrate more on the fine detail of the inlay and engraving.  Or, I might combine both and try to understand the theme of the design, like the Yatsuhashi Bridge, or Rashomon Demon as easy examples.  I guess that it is what makes tsuba so fascinating.

best regards, John

 

 

Great answer by John.

   I liked Kunitomo and Hazama tsuba for years, though few outside of Japan seem to appreciate them. Sahari inlay is neither iron nor exactly soft metal. A 3rd category of session, and a lonely one - but I liked them.

 

 

[kissakai]

I was referring to iaito only