Nozarashi Tsuba Details Wanted

[Northeastern Port]

Hello Scholars, Collectors, Historians and Enthusiasts! New member here, long time lurker.  I’m posting some pictures of this amazing tsuba and looking for historical details and any input you folks can give!  Some of you might have seen it for sale a while ago and I paid a good amount for it.  I’m utterly fascinated by the Nozarashi theme and have collected as much info as I could about the theme in general, most of which is from this forum.  Thank you for this great resource.  I’m mostly looking for info about this piece specifically.  Thank you again!

John F

[Northeastern Port]

Dimensions:

[SteveM]

You might have already seen this thread

 

 

[Spartancrest]

A very old thread but with some interesting images, you may already have come across? - sorry I can't add any specific information on your piece.

https://nihonto.com....shi-tsuba-with-poem/

https://www.worthpoi...d-moon-dai-sho-tsuba

[Northeastern Port]

Yes!  Thank you for the link.  I’ve read through all the postings on this forum regarding Nozarashi, skulls, bones, torn fans, armor laying in the tall grass.  
 

Anything I’m missing that relates to the Nozarashi theme?

 

I appreciate all the input and consideration.

[OceanoNox]

Here are some thoughts.

 

● I think it was mentioned in an old thread, but maybe not quite clearly: The poem that is engraved on some skull tsuba akin to "being under crossing swords is hell, one step forward is paradise". There is a variation in a book written by a Mr. Hayashi (鐔―意匠と技の美, 林 盈六, 2012), where it says "being under crossing swords is hell, just keep cutting and then is paradise" (切り結ぶ太刀の下こそ地獄慣れ　ただに切れ切れ先は極楽).

I am not sure why those poems are associated with bleached skulls on some tsuba, but they are apparently known in kendo, where there is a concept of sutemi (throwing the body/life away): the idea being that trying to not get cut will get you killed, and committing to the attack will allow you to win.

 

● The tsuba you posted seems to fit the Ono no Komachi theme. An earlier post referenced also an aname tsuba (tsuba with a plant growing through the eye socket of a skull): I think aname means simply that "eye hole", as it is said that the wind blowing through it makes a sound like Ono no Komachi's wailing. Her spirit also complains of the pain in the eye due to the pampas grass growing out of the socket. The stories mention that she used to be beautiful and popular, but as she aged and became poor, she returned to her birthplace, but died outside (the words I saw were 野垂れ死に, dying a dog's death).

 

● This is not quite relevant, but it reminds me of a French comic book titled "Kogaratsu": in one story, he meets a noble lady who murders her way into succeeding a lord, and the protagonist opposes that a fair battle would have been a better way (to avoid being found out, she murders a lot of people to make it look like a maniac). She replies that the men would certainly have enjoyed battle, and calls the samurai's honour and fame "the rattles that please men so much". This seems also close to the Basho poem, that was cited by @Baka Gaijin in the old post, that I copy below:

夏草や

兵どもが

夢の跡

 

Natsukusa ya

Tsuwamonodomo ga

Yume no ato

 

The summer grasses—

For many brave warriors

The aftermath of dreams.

⇒ I think the translation loses meaning, because the kanji 跡, means trace or ruin (as in castle ruins). This shows much more the futility of trying to rise in the world by strength of arms.