Den Yagyu

[BIG]

Arrived today..

 

[Toryu2020]

Beautiful.

[Stephen]

Love it

[Bugyotsuji]

Nice Peter! 
How thick is it?

[BIG]

Thickness of edge : 0,61, Length : 7,31 and Width : 7,1 Weight : 103,5 gr.

[Vermithrax16]

Excellent iron, congratulations!

[Soshin]

Nice tsuba! Thanks for sharing on NMB in Tosogu form, the iron looks excellent and interesting, I can imagine how great the iron would feel in hand.  

[sabiji]

Looks like a tsuba from Ms. Tsukada-san. Very nice piece, I have been watching for a long time.

I'm also expecting a tsuba from her that I just couldn't say no to recently....

[BIG]

Yes Thomas a „hidden sleeper“ from TOUKEN KOMACHI. Pics from Ms. Shiho Tsukada. 

 Tsuruta san sold a kodai yagyu with suigetsu motiv. But I bought this den yagyu..

 

Futatsu-Hiki Ryo-sukashi

Hozon issued January 26 Heisei 21 ( 2009 )

Iron

Maru Shape Kaku-Mimi, Koniku

Ji-sukashi

Ryo-Hitsu hole

There appears spiral shape, Ji-mon both on omote and ura

Taste of iron rust in blueish calm tone and fine frosted surface

exellent condition and fine surface

Size length 7,31

width 7,10

thickness of edge 0,61

weight 103,5 gramm

[BIG]

Big hands and recommendation for Ms. SHIHO TSUKADA

 

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[Char]

Very nice! Futatsu-Hiki Ryo motif would be interesting to know which clan used this Tsuba.

[BIG]

Hi Gary, its a martial arts design by yagyu Toshikane. It means that you have two possibilities ( but not the golden middle way ). Hiki means counter attack on the backwards move. 

There is an old saying in German: IN GEFAHR UND HÖCHSTER NOT BRINGT DER MITTELWEG DEN TOD

[Katsujinken]

Lovely. Touken Komachi is a great shop. 

[ROKUJURO]

Peter,

a very desirable TSUBA!

Is it really KAKU MIMI? On the pictures it looks more like a rounded rim.

[BIG]

Hallo Jean, ist so. See that I post more pictures.

 

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[Curran]

On 9/7/2023 at 10:29 AM, BIG said:

Hi Gary, its a martial arts design by yagyu Toshikane. It means that you have two possibilities ( but not the golden middle way ). Hiki means counter attack on the backwards move. 

There is an old saying in German: IN GEFAHR UND HÖCHSTER NOT BRINGT DER MITTELWEG DEN TOD

 

Germans always have the best sayings.

 

[BIG]

Hi Curran

 

FRIEDRICH VON LOGAU

 

 

[FlorianB]

Hello Peter,

 

a little gem indeed!

But what a difference good pictures make comparing to the original images from the website:

I suppose that's the reason it hasn't sold earlier…

 

Best, Florian

[kissakai]

A stunner

This school if/when available is out of my price range (at the moment!!!!!!!)

Well done

 

[BIG]

Yes Florian, this and the „not selling“ years..

 

Hi Grev, Im glad finding it. There are not so many items on the market. Some people gave me advice to buy the AOI kodai yagyu with motiv moon and water ( suigetsu ), was sold in the AOI auction. The last auction price I noticed was 165000 yen. Think it was sold for about 180000-200000 yen.

 

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[BIG]

Hallo Jean, mimi picture..

 

 „Rounded-square“

[Soshin]

Thanks @BIG for the additional photos of your fine tsuba. I really like Yagyū tsuba but do not own any antique ones, but I have two modern tsuba one I had a custom made for my martial arts training sword. It has a classical Yagyū design. In the photo below I am using the modern Yagyū  tsuba and demonstrating Yagyū Seigōryū Battō (柳生制剛流お抜刀). My teacher trained at the Yagyū Kai in the 1980s under Yagyū Nobuharu 21st headmaster of Owari Yagyū Shinkage Ryū.      

 

 

Here is a photo of my Yagyu Tsuba Utsushi unmounted from the sword and the historical example with NBTHK paper reference. The design of the tsuba references the first kata set of the Honden: Sangakuen-no Tachi.  

 

 

 

[BIG]

Thanks David, surely the yagyu swordmanship will give you the right feeling for the yagyu tsuba.

 

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[Soshin]

Hi Peter Reusch,

 

I think it does and it lets me appreciate the designs at a deeper level. I will keep trying to acquire an antique Yaygu tusba example for my Japanese sword fittings collection. 

[kissakai]

I wonder why the 'den' attribution

Looks good to me

 

 

[BIG]

The den compares the same level as yagyu, nothing bad about it..

 

http://world.seiyudo...m/product/tu-080219/

 

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[Curran]

40 minutes ago, kissakai said:

I wonder why the 'den' attribution

Looks good to me

 

 

 

My personal opinion is that Den- matters a lot less with fittings than with swords.

In usage, it is equivalent to "More or less".  With a few schools like Kaneyama tsuba, the NBTHK seems to use it as a short change. With other schools, it is more of a positive away from kodai or other vague descriptions.

With Higo schools, I would say the Den- is almost always a positive.

 

With Yagyu, it is hell of a lot better than Kodai Yagyu. So basically Yagyu "More or less". ie. Very much Yagyu  = NOT kodai-Yagyu.

 

This one was with Touken Koumachi and looked a relative bargain. If I did not already have my "One-n-Done" TH Yagyu of a design with significant meaning to me, I would have picked up this one.

I will admit I thought about it a bunch of times. There aren't many good tsuba out there at a decent price. This was one of a small group waiting to get picked off. Peter pulled the trigger. Good to him.

[BIG]

Yes I was trigger-happy with this tsuba. Important is the HOZON paper and the tsuba itself. Matches with the first „generation“ IMO.

 

Curran please end this thread with some nice pics of your yagyu. All is said and discussed..

 

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[OceanoNox]

9 hours ago, Curran said:

With Yagyu, it is hell of a lot better than Kodai Yagyu.

Not being familiar with this, what is better with den than kodai? This is written 古代? Does it mean it's too old to be sure about the origin?

[BIG]

„Den“

a mumei tsuba is attributed/judged to a special school/TRADITION. Please read KANAYAMA den above with Currans den translation for owari groups/schools.

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