Higo sukashi tsuba

[Lorenzo]

I am trying to study higo sukashi tsuba and on the various examples I find on the internet I got in this:

 

 

 

I like the piece, but I can't understand who made it. Nishigaki perhaps? It was published here

 

I was also searching for a better picture of this example or a similar one, if someone has a book to scan I will be thankful

[John A Stuart]

The site you got this pic from has two Nishigaki, one Akasaka, one Higo and four 神吉 .The one you show is this 神吉. Kamiyoshi I think. According to the text the tsuba go from upper left, Nishigaki, Nishigaki, Akasaka, Kamiyoshi, Kamiyoshi, Kamiyoshi, Higo, Kamiyoshi. John

[Lorenzo]

Thank you John . You are correct, that kanji reads Kamiyoshi. It is quite difficult to me to understand the attribution though..

 

Anyone has a better picture please? Searching for Kamiyoshi I can find other tsuba, but not pieces similar to the example posted (with the sakura(??) cut out)

[Curran]

Lorenzo,

 

The Kamiyoshi were ordered to take up the Hayashi tradition in the late 1700s.

 

From photos, I think it is sometimes hard to distinguish their work from other Higo work. The one *quirk* many people remember about the school is that generations (2nd and 3rd?) did not sign their works, but rather marked them with distinct square (or rectangle) punch patterns (certain number up top and down below).

It should be very easy to read up on them.

 

Whenever a later Higo tsuba shows those punch mark patterns, it often gets called Kamiyoshi.

There are many tsuba where the punch mark patterns are 'not right', and it is interesting that the NBTHK does not necessarily regard these as gimei- but doesn't paper them as Kamiyoshi.

 

Good Kamiyoshi are desirable: http://www.nihonto.us/KAMIYOSHI%20RAKUJU%20TSUBA.htm

It is not uncommon to see that something late Higo gets called "Kamiyoshi" if unpapered.

[Mark Green]

Hey Lorenzo,

I just got a great new Sukashi book. It has some great pics. I will send you a few, or put a few up on the Brush.

Mark G

[Lorenzo]

  Curran said:

Whenever a later Higo tsuba shows those punch mark patterns, it often gets called Kamiyoshi.

 

Thank you for your valuable words Curran. That is exactly what I wished to know; seems so hard to me to find a reading key for higo sukashi work attribution.. not easy to me at all but the challenge is very interesting. Thank you again.

 

  Mark Green said:

Hey Lorenzo,

I just got a great new Sukashi book. It has some great pics. I will send you a few

 

Thank you so much my friend