Ono Tsuba

[Curran]

Just killing time while cooking dinner.

         This is an Ono Daisho [NBTHK Hozon] that I had fitted recently.

          If you have time, please share your own Ono.

          Yoko Ono not welcome.

 

Not inebriated. I'm just a bit bored before dinner.

[Dan tsuba]

Hi Curran.

Merry Christmas!

Your tsuba looks like some sort of water wheel.

I will leave the cast or hand forged aspect of it alone (don't need any more downvotes!).

Ha, ha, ha, ha, etc!

[Steve Waszak]

Very cool, Curran.  Thanks for posting these.  Is one of these from the Tsuba page Jim Gilbert had here a while ago?  

[Jake6500]

Interesting design, seems like a mix between Daikoku's mallet and the Karmic Wheel design!

[Curran]

2 hours ago, Steve Waszak said:

Very cool, Curran.  Thanks for posting these.  Is one of these from the Tsuba page Jim Gilbert had here a while ago?  

 

Nope. Jim G. offered me his Water Wheel a long time ago, and I had to decline at the time. I regretted it for many years.

Got the chance to fix it later, and jumped on the ones above.

 

Left one is a bit bigger and thicker than the right one. Knotty tekkotsu and wet [yakkite] type patina on both. I think the smaller one on the right is the one that is a bit more tekkotsu gnarly.

Ono is treated as a dumping bin by the NBTHK, thus you see some boring pieces and some great pieces with the same NBTHK attribution.

 

I thought I had my One-n-Done [Tokugawa mon] Ono tsuba, but I couldn't resist these last year after a decade or more regretting not buying Jim Gilbert's.

No idea to whom he sold his Ono.

 

 

[Steve Waszak]

Ah, okay.  Well, these are really appealing.  Congrats on acquiring them.  Such an expressive design for the subject.  

[Spartancrest]

13 hours ago, Curran said:

Not inebriated

     Yoko Ono melons    Could be banded hair ties?   

 

 

It is Happy hour somewhere in the world  

[GeorgeLuucas]

Lovely tsuba Curran! And nice double box. Thank you for sharing, I always enjoy seeing pieces from members collections. 
 

Not even Yoko could split up that pair 

Cheers,

-Sam 

[rkg]

Curran,

I've always liked that theme EDIT:  Those are very nice pieces.  thanks for sharing!

Here's a few Ohno as per your request, plus a couple that have been called Kanayama, owari, etc as well as Ohno...

 

gear (tokei) theme:

 

sunrise (hi no de) theme:

 

Bamboo (take) theme:

 

Riceball, head bag (kubi tsunagi), etc. theme (I don't know if the board member that purchased this still has it, but if he wants to comment on whether the NB thought this was a Ohno, please do...)

 

This one Is a head scratcher.  I've seen extremely similar (in terms of both theme and workmanship) binned as Ohno, Owari, and Kanayama.  Make of it what you will:

 

 

And finally, this was labeled as being an Ohno by the seller, but the general consensus is that it should be binned as an owari tsuba, so...

 

Best,

rkg

(Richard George)

 

[hobnails]

Hi Guys I only have one Ono which I have posted before but here it is again 

[Tim Evans]

Some images I have collected over the years of suspected Ono tsuba. I  don't own them nor have I seen them in hand, so feel free to disagree. 

 

[Toryu2020]

[Toryu2020]

[Curran]

20 hours ago, rkg said:

Curran,

I've always liked that theme EDIT:  Those are very nice pieces.  thanks for sharing!

Here's a few Ohno as per your request, plus a couple that have been called Kanayama, owari, etc as well as Ohno...

 

gear (tokei) theme:

 

sunrise (hi no de) theme:

 

Bamboo (take) theme:

 

Riceball, head bag (kubi tsunagi), etc. theme (I don't know if the board member that purchased this still has it, but if he wants to comment on whether the NB thought this was a Ohno, please do...)

 

This one Is a head scratcher.  I've seen extremely similar (in terms of both theme and workmanship) binned as Ohno, Owari, and Kanayama.  Make of it what you will:

 

 

And finally, this was labeled as being an Ohno by the seller, but the general consensus is that it should be binned as an owari tsuba, so...

 

Best,

rkg

(Richard George)

 

 

There are some great ones in there. I recognize one or two of Jim Gilbert's.  Thank you for sharing.

As you know, my thoughts on Ono tsuba have been back n forth over the years. Sometimes the NBTHK seems as uncertain as I am.

 

Others are sharing some really nice ones in this thread.

[Curran]

20 hours ago, hobnails said:

Hi Guys I only have one Ono which I have posted before but here it is again 

 

Thank you for posting this one. I don't remember it from before. 

What is the signature on the left:  Shita___  +  _____(shige or suke)?

 

[Winchester]

What is the meaning of hats on the tsuba—symbolism?

 

It (gasa?) seem to have been a motif going back to Muromachi.

 

Thank you

[hobnails]

Hi Curran I believe it says Shimomura Fukushige 

[Toryu2020]

Brian the travelling hat and walking stick are symbolic of a sophisticated court lady in exile - I believe it is imagery from Genji Monogatari...

 

-t

[GRC]

Curran, congrats on completing your daisho. That's always so satisfying.

 

There's some nice tsuba in this thread, but...

collectively, these are fine examples of how no one has any clue what an Ohno tsuba might actually be.

It's just another "catch all" category for thick, unsigned, somewhat lumpy surfaced, sukashi tsuba (ranging from simple geometric symmetry to more elaborate but still simple "scenes") that don't fit nicely into any other bins.

Oddly enough, there are some real out of character smooth ones posted on here as well...

There's quite a few tsuba posted here that I would quickly disregard as being "Ohno", but that's based on my own preconceived notion of what fits in this mythical category. 

We know that these tsuba makers actually existed, but we don't know for certain what specific types of tsuba they produced (again no period documentation to tell us what they made).

 

@Curran, where do you see Ohno 大野  in the squared mokko shaped tsuba with the waves and the mei?

 

Here's one of those more elaborate scenes of chidori (plover birds) flying above waves that gets binned and papered as "Ohno"

 

[Curran]

2 hours ago, GRC said:

@Curran, where do you see Ohno 大野  in the squared mokko shaped tsuba with the waves and the mei?

 

 

Just taking the owner at his word that it is Ono. 

Though very rare, there are signed Saotome.

Some of those signed Saotome look very different than tsuba we normally think of as Saotome.

 

Allowing that there might be signed Ono that defy convention, I asked the correct reading of the signature so I could look it up.

Hopefully tonight or tomorrow.

________________________________________________

 

Edit:   As coincidence would have it, I have a copy of Art & Sword Vol 3 beside my desk. Opening it up, on page 5 it discusses several Ono artist signatures.

One of them is "Bishu (Ono) ju Fukunari".  

To my eyes, the (Fuku) character looks similar to the one on Chris' tsuba. The (shige) character can also be read (nari)- though I agree with @hobnails that I would have translated it as (shige).

 

I will look into this a bit more tonight or tomorrow.

Chris' tsuba might be a rare signed Ono tsuba, but I have no idea what time period this Bishu Ono ju Fukunari worked.

Maybe he worked in the 1800s, whereas many of the Ono we talk about seem to be 1600s and 1700s works.

 

Curran

 

 

 

[GRC]

I recall reading that the original lineage of Ohno smiths gave up making tsuba and became ship builders sometime around the mid-Edo period.

So if that mokko tsuba is from that area and late Edo, then it has no connection to the original group, other than that it was made in the same area.

It really does look remarkably different from all the other type of tsuba that have been labeled as "Ohno" so far.

It's an interesting thing to dig into though... wonder if that smith's name comes in in a meikan? ...hopefully with a date and lineage 

 

[Curran]

1 hour ago, GRC said:

I recall reading that the original lineage of Ohno smiths gave up making tsuba and became ship builders sometime around the mid-Edo period.

 

That would be the "Hoan" group. Not Ono.

Someone in there pissed off the wrong person.

One version was that he spat on someone that he shouldn't, but since one version of "tsuba" can also mean "spit" (唾)  [different kanji than our sword hand guards]

.... maybe that is just garbage goballygook that someone mistranslated in some way.

 

Just FYI.... if you are in Japan hanging out and tell someone in Japanese that "tsuba" are your hobby, you might get some confused looks.

 

 

[Spartancrest]

25 minutes ago, Curran said:

you might get some confused looks.

It happened to me in Nara - I can never go back to that antique shop again! [You should never ask if the salesman has any "old spit" for sale ]

[GRC]

2 hours ago, Curran said:

That would be the "Hoan" group. Not Ono.

Thanks for the correction Curran 

Clearly not getting enough sleep these days, and should have double checked that before posting lol 

[hobnails]

Hi guys this Tsuba originally came from Ron Watson and he did the research I was fortunate enough to purchase off my mate who got it from him as he bet me to it ,here is the link to my first post in this thread 😎

cheers Chris

 

 

[Iaido dude]

On 12/25/2024 at 5:19 PM, Curran said:

Just killing time while cooking dinner.

         This is an Ono Daisho [NBTHK Hozon] that I had fitted recently.

          If you have time, please share your own Ono.

          Yoko Ono not welcome.

 

Not inebriated. I'm just a bit bored before dinner.

This is a lovely daisho. I remember seeing a tsuba with the identical composition on Jauce, but with a ruined patina from corrosion and blackening. It always pains me to see such damaged pieces that have great form. Reminds me of how many that have been lost.

[Iaido dude]

On 12/26/2024 at 12:59 PM, rkg said:

Curran,

I've always liked that theme EDIT:  Those are very nice pieces.  thanks for sharing!

Here's a few Ohno as per your request, plus a couple that have been called Kanayama, owari, etc as well as Ohno...

 

gear (tokei) theme:

 

sunrise (hi no de) theme:

 

Bamboo (take) theme:

 

Riceball, head bag (kubi tsunagi), etc. theme (I don't know if the board member that purchased this still has it, but if he wants to comment on whether the NB thought this was a Ohno, please do...)

 

This one Is a head scratcher.  I've seen extremely similar (in terms of both theme and workmanship) binned as Ohno, Owari, and Kanayama.  Make of it what you will:

 

 

And finally, this was labeled as being an Ohno by the seller, but the general consensus is that it should be binned as an owari tsuba, so...

 

Best,

rkg

(Richard George)

 

Richard, I'm glad to discover that you are on NMB after admiring several of your pieces that Fred Geyer calls "Ikenie tsuba" (sacrifice for the Kirishitan faith). Both of yours are of the earliest style (c. 1552) produced in the Momoyama Period for the new Christian samurai during the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The motif is the Jesuit IHS radiant light symbol (shakoh). Watch makers and the so-called tokeishi tsuba only make their appearance in the Tokugawa era. With the ban on Christianity and the persecution of Christians, several subsequent styles emerged that attempted to conceal the Ikenie imagery in subtle ways--softening the unmistakably Christian radiant light symbol. I think that the similarity to the amida yasuri iconography could have been used to hide the Christian symbol within a Buddhist one, although I'm sure that the Kirishitan did not wish to invoke this connection. I have yet to acquire Ikenie tsuba because most offered for sale are in poor condition. In addition, I am drawn to the ones that have the features of Kanayama and Ohno tsuba consistent with a Momoyama Tea aesthetic, which are rare. There beautiful Ikenie tsuba in the Varshavsky collection.

[Iaido dude]

23 hours ago, GRC said:

Curran, congrats on completing your daisho. That's always so satisfying.

 

There's some nice tsuba in this thread, but...

collectively, these are fine examples of how no one has any clue what an Ohno tsuba might actually be.

It's just another "catch all" category for thick, unsigned, somewhat lumpy surfaced, sukashi tsuba (ranging from simple geometric symmetry to more elaborate but still simple "scenes") that don't fit nicely into any other bins.

Oddly enough, there are some real out of character smooth ones posted on here as well...

There's quite a few tsuba posted here that I would quickly disregard as being "Ohno", but that's based on my own preconceived notion of what fits in this mythical category. 

We know that these tsuba makers actually existed, but we don't know for certain what specific types of tsuba they produced (again no period documentation to tell us what they made).

 

@Curran, where do you see Ohno 大野  in the squared mokko shaped tsuba with the waves and the mei?

 

Here's one of those more elaborate scenes of chidori (plover birds) flying above waves that gets binned and papered as "Ohno"

 

It occurred to me that AI might be able to synthesize the core features that are generally regarded as foundational to the group of tsuba that we commonly refer to as Ohno/Ono. I have used ChatGPT, which of course doesn't provide an annotated bibliography of sources, but can be a powerful tool for "casting the net." The user of course makes the final determination and judgement on the summary without interpretation. The strength in relation to the topic of this post is that it is not inherently biased towards the personal view of the user IF the query is not biased.

 

My search query is: "What features define the ohno or ono (different spelling) or 大野 (Japanese kanji) tsuba (Japanese sword guards)?"

 

Here is the result. I will just say that what I appreciate from this synthesis is the inductive nature of the definition, specifically the physical and aesthetic features, which often get short shrift in any definition that relies purely on historical documents including related period arts and crafts works for determination of what is "fact" versus "fiction." I have always held that in the absence of mei, theses modern categories are an attempt to describe a synthesized set of recognizable shared features of aesthetics and construction, which are highly likely to reflect a related group of artists following shared aesthetic principles and methods of production. 

 

The Ōno or Ōno-ha (大野 in kanji) tsuba are a distinct category of Japanese sword guards that reflect particular stylistic and construction techniques. These tsuba are often associated with the Edo period (1603–1868) and are admired for their elegant simplicity, restrained decoration, and excellent craftsmanship. Here are the defining features of Ōno tsuba:

1. Material and Finish

• Typically made of iron, often with a smooth and subtle patina that develops over time.
• The finish tends to emphasize the natural texture of the metal, showing the craftsman’s mastery of forging and surface treatment.

2. Shape and Size

• Most Ōno tsuba are circular (marugata) or slightly oval (nagamaru gata), though other shapes can occasionally be found.
• They are often medium-sized and exhibit well-balanced proportions. [Steve comment: there is no thickness range given]

3. Design Aesthetic

• The designs are generally understated and minimalist, often incorporating openwork (sukashi) motifs.
• Common themes include natural elements such as plants, waves, clouds, and animals, executed with delicate precision.
• Symmetry and balance are highly valued, giving the tsuba a harmonious appearance.

4. Technique

• The openwork (sukashi-bori) is a hallmark of Ōno tsuba and is usually intricate but not overly ornate.
• Chiseling and carving techniques are precise, emphasizing fine details within a minimalistic framework.

5. Influence

• Ōno tsuba often reflect influences from the sōken (austere or Zen-like) school of tsuba-making, which values simplicity and a focus on practical beauty.

6. Symbolism

• The motifs and themes often have deep cultural or philosophical meaning, reflecting Zen principles or Japanese aesthetics like wabi-sabi (beauty in imperfection and simplicity).

7. School and Makers

• The Ōno school or lineage of artisans produced these tsuba, but the term might also refer to a broader stylistic classification influenced by the school.

These sword guards were not just functional components but also works of art, reflecting the tastes and values of their era. Collectors and scholars often prize Ōno tsuba for their balance of utility and artistic expression.

[Iaido dude]

What is astonishing is that the ChatGPT synthesis iessentially distills the consensus views of the contributors of Ohno post I started previously. The dating extends beyond the Early Edo likely because there are numerous claims of late Edo Ohno tsuba. I have also argued that tsuba that are too busy and elaborate are not characteristic of Kanayama, Ohno, or Yagyu tsuba or anything produced during the Momoyama period in Owari Province. They may represent late pieces influenced by other styles.

[Iaido dude]

7 hours ago, hobnails said: