What school is this tsuba?

[Iaido dude]

Here is a tsuba I saw online. I think it would be instructive to get a consensus on its attribution including “school” or specific smith, period of production, and motifs. 

 

It has a square rim and what appear to be globular tekkotsu on the mimi.

Dimensions: 82 mm x 80 mm, 5.7 mm (mimi), 4.9 mm (seppa-dai). 

 

 

[Scogg]

My brain says: OWARI

My heart says: AKASAKA

My gut says: I am just guessing 

Whatever it may be, I like it.  
-Sam

[kissakai]

I like what Sam says and I'd like to throw Kanayama into the selection

Nice tsuba

 

[Iaido dude]

I think that the features are consistent with Owari or Kanayama, but stay tuned. The rim is square. Nearly all Akasaka have rounded rims. It is dished, whereas Akasaka guards are thicker at the seppa-dai and thin towards the mimi. And tekkotsu are generally not found on Akasaka. I also find this tsuba very compelling. It has a fluidness and vitality that I associate with Kanayama and Wabi Tea Culture. However, the karigane appear to be more recent than Momoyama and Early Edo in their styling and execution (hence the Akasaka feeling). 

[Spartancrest]

Two cents worth - Kanayama with yakite shitate 焼手仕立 - I love the slightly melted look. 

[Iaido dude]

It really does appear to be. The size is a bit bigger than most Owari, but there are always exceptions. 

[Curran]

Is this not a modern (20th & 21st Century) tsuba by Issei Naruki?

 

I believe he has passed and his tsuba are now earning NBTHK Hozon.

That one tekkotsu throws me a bit. Otherwise, this looks like his workmanship.

 

[edit 10 minutes later:  ah, now I understand. Found image source]

[Iaido dude]

Bravo, although I wonder what specific features tipped you off. Noriki is a master contemporary smith who was born in the first half of the 20th century. He creates exquisite utsushi of Owari province guards of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. I didn’t include a pic of the ura with his mei on purpose for this exercise because I want to make a point about the significant flaw of attribution on the basis of the color and surface treatment of iron sukashi tsuba as propagated by Sasano sensei and his students. The smiths who created Owari province tsuba were highly skilled at forging iron plates with surface treatments to express many different styles and artistic sensibilities (e.g. wabi, sabi, mono no aware, yugen). The Noritsuke school and contemporary smiths like Noriki can likewise create these effects including tekkotsu and yakite shitate. The last photo below shows a tsuba (encircled) of the identical composition in Noriki’s workshop. Just look at the array of styles and composition and features on display among his creations. He creates homage pieces with his mei. We were all “fooled,” which attests to Noriki’s artistry and immense skill. 

 

https://www.jauce.com/auction/m1177516137

 

 

 

 

 

[Curran]

For many years, I owned one of his Nobuiye utsushi before trading it to Prof. Arnold Frenzel for a different tsuba.

The high sheen yet matted 'almost yakite' patina really stuck with me.

 

For a while, a lot of his tsuba came to market.

That has since dried up and price on them going up a bit.

I've often debated owning another one. I wasn't that crazy about my former Nobuiye utsushi, but some of his utsushi are very pleasing.

 

[Curran]

I also suspect that I saw this tsuba before.

   There is also something about the Issei Naruiki seppa dai that seems consistently his work to me.

[Iaido dude]

There are several forged tsuba of this “model,” it seems so you may have seen this composition before if not this specific one. He’s quite good, but the price tag on this is actually quite a bit higher than several Kanayama Suba that I own. I was just fortunate enough to recognize what I was buying for bargain prices in the past. Still, I find his work to be very good. I might be in the market for a very convincing Nobuiye utsushi. 

[Curran]

a long time ago...

[Iaido dude]

Gifu prefecture appears to be a very active swordsmithing region. My new custom iaito is en route from there after months of waiting.