Large tsuba mei - assistance

[blades87]

I have a large circular tsuba that I am having a bit of trouble identifying the last kanji and my translation doesn't make sense:

 

Here is what I think it is so far:

十六原宗 - ju roku hara mune or is it ju roku genshu?

 

Unfortunately, I do not have a tsuba reference book, so this mei is a bit more difficult for me to understand.

 

Cheers,

 

Toby

[John A Stuart]

It looks like a modern steel tsuba of some sort. I can not make heads or tails of what it is supposed to be reading, even not sure of the kanji. They might be 寸六原宗守 John

[blades87]

I would agree that it is a modern tsuba (late 1800s to 1900s). Here are some more pictures.

[Nobody]

This is only my guess, and I might be wrong.

The mei may be 十六原宗守 (Jurokuhara Soshu).

Jurokuhara might be a place name in Fukushima.

[John A Stuart]

I thought the first kanji might be 寸, but if it is 十, then 十六原 could be Isahara. If 宗守 isn't Soushu it could be Munemori. I can not find a Munemori with this kanji for 'mori'. I have a feeling this may be a late Myochin tsubako. John

[Nobody]

I thought the first kanji might be 寸, but if it is 十, then 十六原 could be Isahara. ...

You are right. When it reads Isahara, it also could be a family name.

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Toby,

 

I'm intrigued as to what you base your assessment on when you write the following;

I would agree that it is a modern tsuba (late 1800s to 1900s). Here are some more pictures.

 

That's quite a time span, 100 plus years ...

 

My take on this is that it is nothing more than a flat plate of mild steel ( standard 5mm stock) that been sanded on a linear belt sander, hence the very characteristic vertical scratches. This been very neatly cut out and has had a name added in Japanese...however the name has been struck with a punch(giri-bori) rather than cut with a chisel(kiri-bori). I'd suggest the work of an apprentice gendai swordsmith or an iaido practitioner( it does look as though it was mounted). Judging by the corrosion ( and taking into account the finish) I'd say it probably no more than 20 years old but likely less.

 

ford

[blades87]

Thanks for the feedback, Ford.

 

The assessment is a rough estimate (e.g. it's not 300+ yrs old) and is based on shape, style and level of corrosion. As for the the mei being stamped, I would tend to disagree because if you look at parts of the mei, you can see rising edges in some of the marks, which is indicative of being struck by a chissel versus a depression and uneven marking that is indicative of a stamp.

 

The main purpose of this post is to better understand the mei and not to assign a specific period to the tsuba. I am not qualified to assign a definitive period to this piece and made an estimate by comparing the shape and style of the tsuba to tsubas from different period that are published online.

 

Cheers,

 

Toby

[Ford Hallam]

Toby,

I never mentioned stamping...I said "struck with a punch" , perhaps I should have been clearer. The punch used was a wedge shaped punch that leaves little "arrow head" indents (with the edges raised as in your example) to form a continuous line. This is the technique called giri-bori.

 

Here I'll have to quote myself;

...a related process (giri-bori) where the word giri means kick. In this technique the metal is not removed but only displaced by means of a wedge shaped punch. It is this technique that swordsmiths use in signing their mei on nakago.

 

The word for both punches and chisels in the metalworking tradition of Japan is tagane. We make the distinction by prefixing the word with either kiri (to cut) for chisels and giri (to kick) for punches.

 

 

If you'd care to learn a little about the different ways of tsuba-shi used to sign tsuba you might find the discussion here of interest.

 

ford

 

p.s. The way the "mei" follows the edge of the nakago ana is quite unorthodox and is a further indication this is the work of a hobbyist and one who probably didn't understand the basic principles of calligraphy very well.

[blades87]

Many thanks, Ford and I apologize for taking the the terminology of stamping out of context.

 

I will check out the link you forwarded so that I can learn more about the different techniques of inscribing mei on tsubas.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Toby

[Ford Hallam]

No problem, Toby

 

glad to have added a little.

 

regards,

 

ford