Masahide Tsuba

[Davidarmy]

Simple tosho tsuba

D. Easley

[Brian]

Far from simple...quite stunning.
When uploading from phones...edit and save the pic, stops it rotating due to a common cellphone/internet bug.
Trying to decide why the shape of the ana. But that is a lovely tsuba.

[Kurikata]

I personnaly like these tsuba with poems or dedicated incantation. Very nice piece as Brian mentioned. If someone can give a translation , it would bring a part of the clues.

[Davidarmy]

Suishin Masahide (kao)

Roku juu ni ou-Sixty-two year old man

Bunka Hachi Kanoto Hitsuji Nigatsu Hi-

Bunka Eight Younger Ram February Day

(1811)

 

 

It is the last line of a quatrain by Wang Wei, poet of the Tang Dynasty.

It is very difficult to translate into English but it basically says "even though he dies, his chivalry lives forever."

[Peter Bleed]

Indeed, this is a wonderful tsuba. I am impressed that it probably was made with sekigane. And look, too, at how the wall is thickened ever so slightly below the flange at the margin itself. I wonder how he did that.

Peter

[ROKUJURO]

.....And look, too, at how the wall is thickened ever so slightly below the flange at the margin itself. I wonder how he did that....

Peter, with a small hammer and without heat.

 

By the way, I cannot see TOSHO style elements in this TSUBA.

[Davidarmy]

Tosho style elements?

[Peter Bleed]

Peter, with a small hammer and without heat.

Jean. I think you are right. Certainly there was no heat. The final work must have involved very skillful use of a small hammer. For the deeper thickening, tho, I wonder if a larger hammer may have been used for the first coupe of rounds.  A bigger hammer would make a deeper impact,especially if the iron was very soft. Some experimentation might be useful. Hmmm.

All this to say, thanks for an interesting insight.

Peter

[ROKUJURO]

Tosho style elements?

Yes. You called it a simple TOSHO TSUBA, but please compare. 

[Davidarmy]

Would you like another comparison by this swordsmith?

[ROKUJURO]

David,

your TSUBA is simple and very nice, and it is probably made by a swordsmith, but I would hesitate to call it TOSHO. Compared with other TSUBA which we tend to put into the TOSHO frame, it is a different style.

No criticism from my side intended.

[Brian]

Jean,
David is a HIGH level collector. I think you are going to find this is by THE Suishinshi Masahide. And probably shoshin

[Davidarmy]

Last time I checked tosho is swordsmith tsuba. If the tsuba is signed by a swordsmith style or design has no bearing in determining tosho or not. If you are not aware that Masahide was a swordsmith I got it.

[Peter Bleed]

Masahide must have been a very busy guy.

This is a fabulous piece. I would like to know its history. David, where did you discover it. Has it any papers?

Peter

[Davidarmy]

No papers

[ROKUJURO]

Yes, I am impressed, and yes, I know who SUISHINSHI MASAHIDE was. Maybe I have to correct what I thought TOSHO TSUBA are (which I collect). 

[Davidarmy]

This is from the book for comparison

[John A Stuart]

Both have an odd shaped hitsu; I wonder why. John

[Stephen]

key hole?