Yamkichibei vs. Iwata Norisuke et alia...

[Marius]

We all know that there are many Yamakichibei forgeries/copies/hommage pieces. Rarely is a genuine Yamakichibei to be found. The most successful producers of Yamakichibei fakes were the two generations of Iwata Norisuke.

 

Question: how to tell a genuine Yamakichibei from a late Edo copy? And how to tell it from a good copy by Norisuke?

 

One might say that we should see it by the quality, but this is not specific enough. I have seen pictures of Yamakichibei signed tsuba owned by forum members and they seem to have a very lustrous, dark and wet patina, which seems beautiful, but otherwise...

 

What to look for, what are the tell-tale signs of a forgery?

 

(sorry, put that in the wrong section, any of the Admins, help, please?)

[Curran]

Iwata Norisuke refers to the 2nd Generation.

Niwa Norisuke would be better to refer to the 1st Generation.

Gen 1 adopted Gen 2 and they worked together for a long time.

 

For starters, while master forgers- they most often signed their work on one side or the other. It just looked like whatever you desired when mounted.

 

There were several generation of Yamakichibei. It can be debated what generation signed a work, or if it is gimei. Yes, there do seem to be many that would be called gimei. Others on this list are better educated to talk about the Yamakichibei tsuba kantei points. Even then, I think it just comes down to the deemed authorities opinion on the signature.

 

Nice one here if you have the wallet, on sale:

http://seiyudo.com/TU-08082.htm

[Steve Waszak]

Hi Mariusz,

 

Well, to answer your question, one needs to consider the particular qualities of the metal itself---the nature of the iron/steel, its color, its density (weight), its treatment (finish [i.e. the "yakite shitate effect"], tsuchime, tekkotsu, etc...). Then there is the design of the tsuba in question: shape, handling of the seppa-dai, mimi, sukashi elements, proportions, motifs/subjects, size... Of course, familiarizing oneself with the Yamakichibei mei doesn't hurt. I realize that these observations are quite general and aren't very useful in and of themselves.

 

There are certain traits real Yamakichibei tsuba are known for. Among these are a distinctive color (a certain "black" associated with Yamakichibei), a peculiar resistance to red rust, a tendency to develop a slight "graying" in the color if neglected for too long, the fact that the mei was placed on the guard before final treatment (many copies apply their signatures last, resulting in too crisp a mei), etc...

 

This subject is a complicated one. The best course is to read as much material on Yamakichibei tsuba as you can, and even better, to examine in hand several known Yamakichibei guards (much easier said than done, I know). One complicating factor is the question of whether the accepted idea of there being two early generations of Yamakichibei is to be embraced. Might there have been more than these two working in the Momoyama and very early Edo periods? Might there have been a workshop of sorts, where a handful of highly skilled artisans, learning from the master, apply the Yamakichibei mei as a kind of "brand name"? There appear to be more than two mei which speak strongly of being authentic...

 

The Norisuke copies are, to my eye, rather easy to distinguish from real Yamakichibei tsuba. The former are too "perfect," too slick, too "in the style of" to be mistaken for the real deal. It's hard to explain, but authentic Yamakichibei have an "energy" or presence to them that Norisuke (or other) copies lack. If you don't have the Owari to Mikawa no Tanko book, where both Yamakichibei and Norisuke tsuba are featured, you really should get a copy. It's in Japanese only, but there is much to see there anyway (try Koshoyama).

 

Good luck on your quest, Mariusz...

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

[Jason K]

As a novice, I would be hard pressed to identify a true 1st or 2nd generation Yamakichibei from a good Norisuke. The third generation, however, is easily identifiable by a cherry blossom stamp after his mei. Unfortunately, this Sakura Yamakichibei did not always stick to the traditional style of his school, finding a good example can be difficult. Not that it helps much, but I try to judge a tsuba based on its merits and not just the signature.

 

Jason