Iron wavy tsuba, inlaid with shakudo fukurin

[Exclus1ve]

Hello! 
A very unusual shape, shakudo inlay, fukurin made of shakudo too. I would like to know more about this tsuba. I would appreciate your comments!

[Exclus1ve]

I wonder if the shakuda figurine and fukurin were made later or made together with tsuba?

And what causes the irregularities near nakago-ana?

[Steves87]

You mean the tagane ato?

[MauroP]

Hi Viktor, the shape of your tsuba in unusual indeed, but not unique. The "wavy" shape is described as 皺目文 - shiwame-mon (wrinkled pattern). The irregularities near the nakago-ana are just yose-tagane made on the omote side to fit a particular sword tang.
About the subjet depicted the man holding a broom in Chinese clothings could be "Kanzan and Jittoku" (where Kanzan is represented just by the scroll). Or could be the sixth Zen patriarch, Daikan Enō reading the stanza composed by his opponent Jinshū.

 

[Exclus1ve]

Quote

 

You mean the tagane ato?

Yes. Why should they be made in places where sword fasteners are never installed?

[Exclus1ve]

9 часов назад MauroP сказал:

Hi Viktor, the shape of your tsuba in unusual indeed, but not unique. The "wavy" shape is described as 皺目文 - shiwame-mon (wrinkled pattern). The irregularities near the nakago-ana are just yose-tagane made on the omote side to fit a particular sword tang.
About the subjet depicted the man holding a broom in Chinese clothings could be "Kanzan and Jittoku" (where Kanzan is represented just by the scroll). Or could be the sixth Zen patriarch, Daikan Enō reading the stanza composed by his opponent Jinshū.

 

Thanks!

I often see this woman portrayed together with Bisyamon-ten (Japanese 毘沙門天). I have a kashira with the same woman. So who is she?)

 

[Steves87]

2 hours ago, Exclus1ve said:

Yes. Why should they be made in places where sword fasteners are never installed?

 

As Mauro says they are also known as yose-tagane; although, in some ways both are not the best description. I think yose-tegane is often more of a decorative feature (often symmetrical and consistently placed), and tagane-ato is more functional. It would be good to get this 100% confirmed. I would not be surprised if the hammer/chisel marks on your example are called something else altogether, as they are a little more extreme than the norm. But apologies, and to the question.... They are done to displace metal at the nakago-ana for a more snug fit to the blade nakago. This is also another way to do the job of the sekigane, and I still can't be sure that if a Tsuba has both, it means it has been fitted to two blades, or if it means it is done in conjunction for an extra sturdy fit. Even if the metal is displaced too much with the deformations, the positive is that it can also be filed back down for fine tolerance.

[Exclus1ve]

Ford Hallam wrote about this in more detail earlier.

 

[FlorianB]

5 hours ago, Exclus1ve said:

So who is she?

I don't think the Tsuba in question portrays a woman at all (Sorry to say on International Women's Day! ).

IMHO the motif depicts Kanzan and Jittoku, two chinese Zen monks alleged living in the 7th century.

While Jittoku is holding his typical broom, Kanzan is not shown but represented by the scroll (rusumoyo). Frequently broom and scroll alone symbolize this unique pair.

[Exclus1ve]

2 hours ago, FlorianB said:

I don't think the Tsuba in question portrays a woman at all (Sorry to say on International Women's Day! ).

IMHO the motif depicts Kanzan and Jittoku, two chinese Zen monks alleged living in the 7th century.

While Jittoku is holding his typical broom, Kanzan is not shown but represented by the scroll (rusumoyo). Frequently broom and scroll alone symbolize this unique pair.

I think you're right! Is the same character depicted on tsuba and kasir along with Bisyamon-ten? Or are these unrelated plots?

[FlorianB]

On the Kashira a courtier is shown with his typical "kanmuri" or court cap (could also be something similar chinese). The other character might be Bishamonten definitely.

 

 

The story behind this scene I'm not able to tell. The scroll might be a sutra with which the courtier summons Bishamonten.

The latter points to something unseen, probably depicted on the missing Fuchi?

[Exclus1ve]

The set is full, but the Fuchi only shows the Bishamonten spear and …?

[FlorianB]

It's a fan. First I thought of a gumbai or Japanese war fan used by military commanders.

However it's an unusual, archaic looking model. Maybe chinese?

 

I'm only guessing so I hope someone else could tell the story of this scene to clarify the details.

[FlorianB]

I found a connection between Bishamonten and Shomu Tenno (701 - 756). The latter did a lot to establish Buddhism in Japan and one of three important sutras was the Hokke-kyo. In this sutra Bishamonten promises to protect men.

So it may be the depiction of Shomu Tenno (thus the archaic look of the fan) holding a sutra scroll.

 

It’s only a guess but maybe it is worth to research in this direction.

[Exclus1ve]

I found a similar set with the same plot. The name "Three Kingdoms”, but there are no details.
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/u1176005508

 

[Exclus1ve]

I also wanted to ask if there has ever been such an inlay technique? The base of the figure is flat, and it partially hangs in the air. Or is it due to the unusual shape of the tsuba?

[Matsunoki]

The figure does not look inlaid. It looks “stuck on” or sometimes referred to as onlaid often done with one or two short metal pins with a pitch like filler. Personally I think the figure has been added later to what was a plain iron tsuba. 

[Exclus1ve]

11 минут назад Мацуноки сказал:

Фигура не выглядит инкрустированной. Он выглядит «застрявшим» или иногда называемым накладным, часто выполняемым с одним или двумя короткими металлическими штифтами с наполнителем, похожим на шаг. Лично я думаю, что эта фигура была добавлена позже к тому, что было простой железной цубой.

Yes, I also tend to think that the figure was added later. So this fastening technique was often used on tsuba?

[Matsunoki]

2 minutes ago, Exclus1ve said:

So this fastening technique was often used on tsuba?

Maybe not often but I’ve seen a few. It’s a quick way to add visual impact without all the trouble of inlaying. Sometimes you find Kamon added this way or menuki adapted and added using this quick cheap method. The method was widely used during Meiji on metalwork, often it’s difficult to actually spot if it is done well but the quality of the “add on” can give a clue. 

[Matsunoki]

…..in fact looking at the scroll I think you can see two pins that have been used to crudely attach it?

[Spartancrest]

   Viktor, you can often see Kanzan & Jittoku with hairdos like princess Leia from Star Wars           Your tsuba has the same look. 

 

I agree the figure and the scroll look added later - they chose a difficult surface to mount them on, the undulations of the plate are a problem. I have a small wavy tanto guard with poppies that may have been added later.

[Exclus1ve]

It's really funny)) 

 

[Exclus1ve]

On 3/14/2025 at 4:55 PM, Matsunoki said:

…..in fact looking at the scroll I think you can see two pins that have been used to crudely attach it?

Curious how the figures are fixed to the tsuba? Are the pins soldered to the tsuba?