What's the deal with hitsu ana that have a rounded center? What are the facts versus tall tales?

[Winchester]

I feel like I need Columbo on this one: 'Just one more thing...' 

 

I've been trying to find source material that will tell me what the story is with older tsuba that are 'rounded' in the center of the hitsu ana. 

 

Here is an example from a recent purchase: https://japaneseswor...unusual-tachi-tsuba/

 

Were these indicative of age? Any information you can share? I believe this is an early piece, but it is frustrating that of the few books I own and hours of searching, I just find second or third-hand references that say it means it's older....Why? More info.? Just trying to understand and learn more is all...

 

Thank you in advance and any opinions on the tsuba are welcome.

[Tim Evans]

I think you mean the nakagoana? These holes are usually rectangular. The purpose is to mount it on a non-Japanese sword, usually Chinese or European.

[Winchester]

Yes, the nakago ana. Sorry for my mistake. 

 

From your feedback, then this would not necessarily indicate age on a given tsuba? Again, I am just trying to learn and understand. Thank you

[Spartancrest]

Hi Brian, check this older thread - it deals mainly with namban tsuba but shows the altered nakago-ana to fit different swords - please also note many namban guards were designed and crafted with the square/rectangular hole and not altered later. There are also a slew of guards where the nakago-ana was cut in an oval or round shape for Yari and other polearms.  It seems logical to me that the altered nakago-ana were done relatively more recently on an existing older guard but just having the alteration tells you nothing about the age of the guard itself.

   A very old guard for certain but when was the nakago-ana recut? Not when it was made or the sukashi would not have been positioned where it is.

 

 An extreme example from the Ashmolean museum EA1978.250 - I suspect this was altered to form a Maedate for a helmet

[Winchester]

Really appreciate it, Dale. Thank you 

[Spartancrest]

The quote from Japaneseswordbooksandtsuba  "The atypical shape of the ryo-hitsu also indicates an earlier piece"  It shows the elongated "bean" shape hitsu that were indeed found on early guards, many hitsu were also rectangular in shape and like the one you are referring to, were cut in after the guard was first made, at a much later date. Once again this tells us the hitsu is "old" but does not tell us just how much older the guard is. So I don't see the hitsu shape actually tells us how old the guard is [at least not when it is cut in later] JMO

[Bugyotsuji]

Used to have this one myself, but having scratched my head bald, I must have sold it. Regretting it now.

 

 

 

 

 

[kissakai]

Someone added a post about hitsuana and age which was interesting but the author agreed it was only a guide but a nice post

 

[Tim Evans]

Age attribution on early, unsigned tsuba is a difficult subject because there is not a lot of hard evidence. The earliest signed pieces are from the Muromachi period, so these signed examples can be tied back to a known person. Even so, in some cases we do not know exactly when they worked. Some early tsuba are documented as being donated to shrines on a particular date, so that helps establish some data points. But, we may not know how old they were when that happened. There are also datable kozuka and kogai examples (we know which Goto masters made them and when they worked). Masayuki Sasano did much original research tying changes in style of kozuka and kogai to hitusana shapes and established a dating regime based on that research. His findings are in Tosogu no Kigen and Early Japanese Sword Guards, Sukashi Tsuba. Of course, later tsuba smiths copied earlier styles sometimes so hitsuana shape is not definitive for date; the other aspects of the tsuba, such as proportion, construction, decoration and oxidation need to be taken into account. The best way to learn is to look at a lot of tsuba in-hand with some personal guidance. Going to a sword show and asking questions from more experienced collectors is a way to do that. Preparation for doing this study is a collection of reference books to build up a visual knowledge of ages, styles and characteristics. 

 

A few comments on the images in this thread.

• You asked about if the rectangular hole crossing the nakoana can be a dating element. Chinese tsuba, or kagonami, were first imported into Japan probably by the Portuguese mid to late 1500's, so the appearance of that feature dates from that time period. If this is seen on older tsuba then it was added later. 
• There are a few tsuba with really big center holes shown above. I think these were modified to fit on a wooden sword (bokuto or bokken) and was a fad among the kenjutsu practitioners probably in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 

 

 

[Winchester]

Thank you, Tim, for the detailed response / answer. It is most helpful and I appreciate it.