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The One That Got Away

Teimei

By Teimei
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Teimei Rising Star

Teimei

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Hi guys,

 

something happened 2 days ago, i never thought i would actually experience myself.

 

A tsuba arrived via mail from the usa... right to my doorstep!

 

It was some kind of a religious moment to me and i am manly enough to admit, that i cried (Well okay, the last thing was a joke!)

For the first time in ten years i was not forced to drive to my local customs office, to negotiate with the local staff to get my stuff. Maybe they deleted me from some kind of watchlist or it was just luck. Probably the latter.

 

The tsuba i received is quite a big piece. Made in the late or very late edo-period and has a juzu-theme. In the photos the patina looks very grey-ish/black-ish, while in hand, it is a very nice dark brown.

To me it looks like one the nichiren school of biddhism would use. After a quick research, i was quite fond of that school actually.

 

Measurements:

 

92,27 x 92,24 mm

& a thicknes of 4,58 mm at the seppa dai (it hardly fits in one of my standard boxes)

 

post-2703-0-74639000-1507999368_thumb.jpg

post-2703-0-33505700-1507999393_thumb.jpg

post-2703-0-88677700-1507999416_thumb.jpg

post-2703-0-09479700-1507999438_thumb.jpg

post-2703-0-88997900-1507999464_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

Has anyone an idea what school it could be?

Feel free to leave a comment.

 

 

 

regards,

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Teimei Rising Star

Teimei

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" Has anyone an idea what school it could be? "

 

yes.

 

this is a Haguro Tsuba!

 

the name Haguro is taken from a long-standing legend attributing this type of Tsuba to the mountain priests entrnched up on Mount Haguro.

 

 

Christian

 

 

Thanks Christian and Brian! The connection to shugendo is definitely interesting.

 

regards,

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Curran Grand Master

Curran

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These once papered specifically "Haguro".

example:  http://www.kusanaginosya.com/SHOP/400.html

I cannot recall if I have seen a 'Haguro' paper in recent years, and I don't know if the NBTHK has quit with this specific attribution. At the 2015 DTI there was one that had gone Juyo some time in the more distant past.

 

They also get called or referred to as -Shonai Shoami-.  Copy paste from a text: 

"Shonai corresponds to the present city of Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture. It was the castle town of the Sakai family and home to many kinko and tanko craftsmen. The transmission sais that in olden times there were juzu-tsuba in nikubori-ji-sukashi made (107) by priests/monks of Mt. Haguro. The latter was an important center of pilgrimage for shugendo mountain ascets."

Look up Mt. Haguro--

 

 

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Curran Grand Master

Curran

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Shonai=     Shodai Yasuchika, Sekibun, shodai and nidai Ikkin, and also Juzu tsuba and Shonai Shoami.

 

Those are some of my favorite artists. We tend to tut-tut those things subcategoried under Shoami, but not all Shoami are equal.

 

See Shonai in Haynes-Torigoye translations available from the Northern California Token Club (Group).

Once again, one of the best bang for the buck books. I think it is around page 231 or 232?

 

______________________________________

Stephen my older brother, you lost me with the ninja gloves thing.

I don't get that one, but I might be too straight of an arrow [as evidenced in my avatar-  A+ to anyone that can translate the death poem]

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Teimei Rising Star

Teimei

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These once papered specifically "Haguro".

example:  http://www.kusanaginosya.com/SHOP/400.html

I cannot recall if I have seen a 'Haguro' paper in recent years, and I don't know if the NBTHK has quit with this specific attribution. At the 2015 DTI there was one that had gone Juyo some time in the more distant past.

 

They also get called or referred to as -Shonai Shoami-.  Copy paste from a text: 

"Shonai corresponds to the present city of Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture. It was the castle town of the Sakai family and home to many kinko and tanko craftsmen. The transmission sais that in olden times there were juzu-tsuba in nikubori-ji-sukashi made (107) by priests/monks of Mt. Haguro. The latter was an important center of pilgrimage for shugendo mountain ascets."

Look up Mt. Haguro--

That tsuba is a great example and i was not aware that the NBTHK ever used landscapes on a paper. Maybe i send my tsuba in to see what they make of it. Looked Mt. Haguro up. Belongs to the same group of mountains as Mt. Gassan (like the school of swordmaking).

 

Shonai=     Shodai Yasuchika, Sekibun, shodai and nidai Ikkin, and also Juzu tsuba and Shonai Shoami.

 

Those are some of my favorite artists. We tend to tut-tut those things subcategoried under Shoami, but not all Shoami are equal.

 

See Shonai in Haynes-Torigoye translations available from the Northern California Token Club (Group).

Once again, one of the best bang for the buck books. I think it is around page 231 or 232?

 

______________________________________

Stephen my older brother, you lost me with the ninja gloves thing.

I don't get that one, but I might be too straight of an arrow [as evidenced in my avatar-  A+ to anyone that can translate the death poem]

Wow, quite a lot of info in short period of time! Thank you and i will surely need some time to understand all the connections you made.

 

regards,

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Curran Grand Master

Curran

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That tsuba is a great example and i was not aware that the NBTHK ever used landscapes on a paper. Maybe i send my tsuba in to see what they make of it. Looked Mt. Haguro up. Belongs to the same group of mountains as Mt. Gassan (like the school of swordmaking).

 

 

Yes, one of the three 'sacred' mountains- if my memory is correct.

 

To be more direct:   I don't know if the NBTHK would paper to 'Haguro' any more.

Many of the 1980s, 1990s, and 00s attributions are not seen by me on recent year papers.

 

This isn't to say they won't.

Periods of certain attributions evolve and devolve.

On old green NBTHK papers you would see 'Tochibata' school attributions, but I don't know if I have seen any modern era NBTHK Hozon or Tokubetsu Hozon papers with that attributions post 1982.

While I think of Tochibata as a small separate school as per the older books, I don't know if the NBTHK supports that idea any longer.

It might be the same with Haguro.

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Teimei Rising Star

Teimei

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It is magnetic or alloy?

Is the insert there definitely a separate piece and not cast as part of the tsuba? 2 Things to look at carefully.

Definitely magnetic and the inserted part is a seperated piece. Patinated copper not shakudo would be my guess.

I thought more of a modern made piece and not a cast copy.

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