TSUBA

[sencho]

OK... I know relatively nothing about Tsuba, and am always interested to read what the Tsuba 'spurts have to say on the subject.... so I guess I am starting to learn about various terms, etc...

 

Anyway, this is the Tsuba which is with the Koshirae for the mammoth F/K thread. I previously descrivbed it as "a dreary little fella", but I actually want to learn more about the style and possible age. It doesn't really fit with any of the threads on tsuba that I have seen so far.

 

Anyone care to comment and offer appraisal on to what it is?

 

"Cheers!" in advance :D

[John A Stuart]

Hi, The tsuba that most resemble yours, with that shape nakagoana, tagane, and that style of cutout sukashi is katchushi or perhaps tosho. They had very similar style. The geometric shapes seem more prevalent in katchushi tsuba but appear in both. Is that mimi slightly rolled, uchikaeshimimi? That would be another common characteristic of both styles. John

[sencho]

Thanks John,

 

Yes the rim is very slightly rolled.... just a barely perceptable "lip" on both sides around the mimi , easier to feel than to see... saying that I am not familiar in the techniques used, so I guess it could have been rolled or the "lip" formed by some other technique.

 

I have been looking online and fail to see many tsuba of this shape and also the parallelogram or "lozenge" shaped sukashi....

 

Anyway... thanks for the info John...

 

Cheers

[John A Stuart]

Hi Nigel, I put these pics to compare. I tend to katchushi. What do you think? The bottom one describes a bound monkey, which is how hard it is to id a theme. Those rhomboid shapes could refer to something that actually exists. John

[sencho]

Hi John,

 

Thanks... yes I see the similarity.... especially the (lozenge,diamond, parllelogram....) rhombi sukashi ...

 

I wonder what this is supposed to symbolize.... especially with the other smaller sukashi... the two tips of "tear drops" seem to want to meet the points of the Rhombi.... the sukasi at the top almost looks like a bullrush or something.... this stuff is very abstract and I guess is all open to interpretation.

 

This tsuba, to which I previously paid no real heed, is becoming more and more interesting to me...

 

Thanks for your info, John

 

Cheers!

[Henry Wilson]

The diamonds shapes could represent a family mon.

 

The two commas (teardrops) are probably futatsudomoe which I think have a shinto-based religious significants and are also an old family mon.

 

I tried a google on futatsudomoe but in work the PCs block some sites, but I found this on mitsudomoe

http://www.hagurumadaiko.com/3.%20Taiko/Gegenwart/mitsudomoe.htm

 

 

http://uk.search.yahoo.com/language/translatedPage?tt=url&text=http%3a//www.hagurumadaiko.com/3.%2520Taiko/Gegenwart/mitsudomoe.htm&lp=de_en&.intl=uk&fr=FP-tab-web-t340

 

I hope this helps

[sencho]

Henry,

 

Thankyou very much.... I am digging out my mon book... by the way my wife loved the link... she is a Taiko drummer ... see http://www.fushudaiko.com

 

OK back on topic.... yes they do look like this...

 

Here is some info from the brilliant site JAANUS

 

http://www.aisf.or.jp/%7Ejaanus/

 

Also tomoe 巴. A pattern of one or more curled tadpole shapes inside a circle. The pattern is also called right tomoe, migidomoe 右巴, or left tomoe, hidaridomoe 左巴, depending on the direction in which the pattern curves. When the comma shapes are placed in opposite directions, the term kaeruko domoe 蛙子巴 is used. The expressions 'double tomoe' futatsudomoe 二つ巴, or 'triple tomoe', mitsudomoe 三つ巴 are used depending on the number of tadpole shapes used. The pattern was used to decorate the eave-end semi-cylindrical tiles *nokidomoegawara 軒巴瓦, *nokimarugawara 軒丸瓦 on Buddhist temples. The pattern first appeared in the Heian period and has continued to be popular to the present day. Sharp pointed tomoemon forms in the Heian period gradually changed to short rounded forms by the Edo period. The same is design is also found on roof-tiles in China, where the tomoemon is associated with water. Therefore, the tiles are believed to ward off fire. A tile with this design is known as *tomoegawara 巴瓦 or hanamarugawara 端丸瓦.

 

A design pattern comprised of one or more spherical head-like shapes each with a connected curving tail-like shape which ends in a point. The character tomoe 巴 means eddy or whirlpool; however, it is not clear if this was the original idea of the design. Some scholars are convinced that it stems from the design on leather guard worn by ancient archers-tomo 鞆 thus tomo-e 鞆絵, a tomo picture. Others say it was originally a representation of a coiled snake. It may be the oldest design in Japan, because it is similar in shape to the magatama 勾玉 jewelry beads of the Yayoi period. It appears as a design on the wall paintings of the Byoudouin Hououdou 平等院鳳凰堂 (1053; Kyoto) and in the Illustrated scroll of the Tale of Genji, Genji monogatari emaki 源氏物語絵巻, of the early 12c. It was widely used from the Kamakura period onward and is often found on utensils, rooftiles and family and shrine heraldry. Its frequent appearence in connection with Shinto shrines indicates that it was thought to express the spirit of the gods. Patterns of one, two and three tomoe exist, some facing left, others right.

[Henry Wilson]

Fun for all the family is very important in this sword / fittings collecting game.

If you can get the wife on board then it makes the collecting a lot easier

 

The taiko drum site looks great and the info from JAANUS is fantastic.....

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Bungo]

so what school you guys think this is ?

note the sun rays and the " rolled " rim

 

milt the ronin

[Henry Wilson]

I am no expert at all but I would say Umetada. Maybe Ko Umetada.

 

It bears a striking resemblance to a piece that I own, especially the file marks and raised rim. The file marks are quite pronounced compared to mine though and mine has a single grape vine leaf sukashi.

 

It looks convexed in shape and the metal has what appears to be a browny red finish to it, all similair to features of the tsuba that I have that has been attributed to Ko Umetada......

[Pete Klein]

Looks like a Kyo Shoami Tadatsugu.