Your Ideal Tosogu Publication.

[Kevin Adams]

Just like the title says - what kinds of things do you look for in a book about tsuba, or fittings in general? I've been perusing my references recently, and have been a bit frustrated by image quality, image size, poor colour correction, lighting, etc.

 

It got me thinking about what it seemed I was looking for in the photography, and how it was lacking. How would your ideal tosogu publication look?

[Antti]

Instead of covering vast amounts of tsuba, I would like to see less tsuba but in greater detail, with large color pictures and more in depth knowledge. A storage device containing high resolution pictures for a closer look could be included.

[Marius]

Kevin, 

 

Mine would have excellent pictures, dimensions and a relatively narrow focus.

[Jean]

Historical evolution, schools chronology with their main features and tsubako, all this illustrated with detailed study of typical tsuba with Hi Rez coloured pictures.

[rkg]

Aside from the givens (Written in a language I could actually read, with detailed accurate descriptions, lots of clear images with accurate scale, etc), my ideal publication wouldn't be a book - it would be an electronic document so it could be easily searched, have very high resolution images that you could zoom waay in on, VR image sets so you could rotate the piece in many directions and see how it changes in the light, incorporate other media/links off to other information if it makes sense, etc.

 

Best,

 

rkg

(Richard George)

[b.hennick]

Great ideas that I would like to see put in print or on-line. Most books that I buy tend to have good to very good photography and at least some English. In general the quality seems to be getting better. 

[Grey Doffin]

Hi guys,

Later this year, if released on schedule, the JSS/US and NBTHK/AB,EB will publish a book that might meet your expectations.  Stay tuned; it will be exciting.

Grey

[Jean]

I am already Grey, I hope it will be published before my passing

[Antti]

Please keep us informed Grey!

[Gunome]

For me the ideal publication is a book explaining the feature of each school with the attributions criterions. Of course with a lot of example in photo.

[Pete Klein]

I wish there was one authoritative text on kantei points for ALL schools and makers. Of course, it doesn't exist in Japanese either. That aside, I wish all of the major texts in Japanese were available in English translation. It would be interesting to see how their thoughts have changed over the years and how they differ from what have become 'ours' due to the limited nature of texts available to us in English or other languages.

[lotus]

I realize I am resurrecting a 3 year old thread but would like to know if there are now any current books that fit some or all of the previous posters "ideal" criteria? Or anything even close?

[kissakai]

Initial post

Just like the title says - what kinds of things do you look for in a book about tsuba, or fittings in general? I've been perusing my references recently, and have been a bit frustrated by image quality, image size, poor colour correction, lighting, etc.

It got me thinking about what it seemed I was looking for in the photography, and how it was lacking. How would your ideal tosogu publication look?

 

I had to reply as I have a tsuba book currently for sale and I hope I’m not being too pushy

 

https://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=greville+cooke&type=

 

Markus Sesko helped me with and he did say that big names sell but unknowns have little chance of selling many books. As I am unknown outside the NMB and a few collectors I am the classic example of an unknown. For examples since Jan 2018 I’ve sold 1 download and 5 hard copies. I created the book to show what was available but hidden so book sales were never the primary aim. With this in mind I kept the price as low as I could. The download for the Birmingham tsuba book is £20 / $26

 

 

I’ve cherry picked some of the replies:

 

‘the limited nature of texts available to us in English or other languages.’

My book is 100% English

 

‘my ideal publication wouldn't be a book - it would be an electronic document so it could be easily searched, have very high resolution images that you could zoom’

I have a download available

 

‘Hi Rez coloured pictures’

I use large images

 

‘Mine would have excellent pictures, dimensions’

Mine has good images and dimensions

 

As it is my own book I can’t really be objective but if any members agree or disagree with my comments please fire away

 

 

Grev

[lotus]

Grev -

 

That looks great, is it only available in ebook format or can I get it printed?

 

Thanks,

Pat

[kissakai]

Hi Pat

Click on the link above and you will see two options for two different tsuba books
Full colour images with well for over 500 different tsuba
Also enlargements of the mei and quite a bit more background information
Good value or what!

 

Link to my original post so you can see some comments etc

 

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22902-tsuba-from-birmingham-uk/?hl=birmingham

 

Grev

[lotus]

Ahh yep, I see it now! One more question, can you zoom in with the PDF to see the nature of the iron? If you know what I mean. That might make the E-Book more valuable to me...

[kissakai]

You can zoom in on the preview page of the eBook

Could one of the other NMB members who bought the eBook let me know if you can zoom ideally how big and is the detail still good after a maximum zoom

[lotus]

Yeah, was basically wondering if you can see more detail in the ebook vs printed. If so, that makes the decision easy peasy.

[lotus]

I ordered the PDF and am very pleased with it. You can zoom in a decent amount. Higher rez images would have been awesome but would have probably doubled the size of the PDF. Though in this day and age, storage is cheap...

[kissakai]

Thanks Patrick for your comment

There were taken at 1080 resolution

The other thing about this book is there are groups of schools so comparising them side by side is helpful especially when looking at the hitsuana and the seppa dai shape

One more point is there are quite a few with raised rims

The other book in PDF form has some interesting tsuba especially the restored tsuba

 

 

Grev

[christianmalterre]

very simple!

 

a closeup from Omote !

and

a closeup from the Ura!

side.

plus/ if available?

 

a closeup from different ankles of its ( execution of)  mimi ( Tsuba ) or in  Tosogo ( cut out / filemarks of its rim)

 

 

( in Tsuba, filemarks may equally indicate...such, it is importent so to observe the inner Sukashi cut and file minutiously filed Sukashi walls. Of course!, too!)

( this is but more relevant on to more contemporary bulk produced Tsuba / Stilism of Motif

of course.....typically Edo to late Edo.....and so on.....)

 

in earlier Tsuba you had to pronounce on the surface treatment of course....

 

AND HERE WE ARE !

 

 

me

[lotus]

Christian -

 

I like your ideas very much.