Kanayama? Tsuba #2

[JohnTo]

I feel a bit more confident calling this a Kanayama tsuba, because that what was written on a piece of card in the box lid!  I bought this tsuba at another general art auction and it looked like it came from another ‘deceased estate’ of a Japanese collector, as there were a couple of good netsuke in adjacent lots.  The card in the box lid stated ‘Tokubestu-kicho papers { now between hozon and tokubetsu-hozon ] reading 雪竹雁繋透鍔 Secchikugan-tsunagi sukashi tsuba [ sukashi-tsuba with connected {tsunagi} motif of snow, bamboo and wild geese }; mumei [ Kanayama ] iron, maru-gata, ji-sukashi’.  The kanji are for snow, bamboo, wild geese, connection, sukashi and tsuba (I’ve shown a different kanji for tsuba as I can’t find the version shown on the card).  I think that the statement ‘Tokubetsu–kicho papers [now between hozon and tokubetsu-hozon]’ indicates that the certificate was issued between 1950 and 1982. A similar worded tie-on label was also included.  Unfortunately the NBTHK tokubetsu-kicho paper was not included with the lot, though I did ask the auctioneers to enquire as to its whereabouts from the vendor.  No luck.  As the tsuba was not expensive, the phrasing of the label was ‘NBTHK format’ and because of the way it turned up at a small auction house, I have no reason to doubt that the card and collector’s label were genuine and that the NBTHK papers were unknowingly thrown away during a house clearance.  Does anyone know if a replacement can be obtained from the NBTHK?

The size of the tsuba is Height: 7.95 cm, Width: 7.85 cm, Thickness: 0.45 cm centre, 0.4 cm rim.

The tsuba is exactly as described on the label and I am happy with the Kanayama attribution. Owari might have been my choice.  For comparison, Seiyudo has a similar Kanayama tsuba for sale.  Both tsuba have three design elements consisting of snowflake hitsu ana (but joined differently to the rim) and symmetrical patterns at the top and bottom that are slightly diagonal. ( The snowflakes, karigane and bamboo are placed in symmetrical pairs, north-south and east-west, around the tsuba, typical of Kanayama, Kyo, Owari and other sukashi schools.  I think that the spots on the rim are tekkotsu, but I’m not sure.  These are about 1 mm, not large and certainly not the ‘exploding’ variety of Kanayama fame that I have seen described.  If this was a sword, rather than a tsuba, I would describe them as nie, especially as they are almost flush with the surface.  Once again I am going to shoot from the hip for an explanation, with no corroborating evidence.  I think that the tsuba plate might have been covered in clay before the yakire and quenching, just like a sword, with a thin layer around the edges resulting in martensite deposits around the rim.  A clean up on a flat stone to ensure the surfaces were flat would have resulted in the ‘nie’ type tekkotsu being exposed.  It was difficult to photograph the effect, so it may not be clear.  The tsuba was then patinated.  Hey, maybe I’m completely wrong, but at least I have thought about it.

The nagako ana has two layers of sekigane at each end and also has areas of heavy hammered indentations to reduce the size of the nagako ana, indicating that this tsuba has been mounted on several swords.  However, IMHO, I think this tsuba is no older than about mid-17^th C, the finish is too refined, lacking the rustic finish that I would associate with pre 17thC Kanayama tsuba.  I’m still very much a novice when it comes to tsuba and most of my information comes from books.

There seems to be a level of doubt where Kanayama tsuba originated from. Sasano gives several locations.  One speculation is that they originated as pieces made by the local blacksmiths in the Kanayama district of Nagoya and that they only became important and could be considered as a school after Togugawa Ieyasu moved the capital of Owari to Nagoya in 1610.

As always, comments welcome.

Best regards, John

(just a guy making observations, asking questions, trying to learn)

Photos #26 Side one

#28 side 2

#29 rim

#85 nie type spots on edge of rim

[seattle1]

Hello:

Ask and you shall receive - an unexpected additional nice job. Tokubetsu Kicho is nothing to sneeze at in my opinion in almost all cases. The piece is quite busy for Kanayama and that might reflect something late in their run.

Arnold

[Marius]

Apart from what Sasano has to say on Kanayama (not much, for that matter) - do we know of any documents that specify a "Kanayama school" and its masters? Or do we have another box here, like tosho and katchushi and my beloved Shoami? 

[Henry Wilson]

As Arnold suggests the "busy-ness" of the motifs is a noticeable point.  Because of the lack of surface texture modulation and pronounced tekkotsu commonly associated with Kanayama, I would personally pigeonhole the tsuba to the Ono group.

 

None the less, a nice tsuba that seems to be quite different.

[Pete Klein]

Henry - don't you think it's a bit too thin for Ono?  Early Edo Owari perhaps?

[Henry Wilson]

Yes, good point  Pete.  I did not consider the thickness to be honest.  Early Edo Owari seems like a good call.

[Jean]

After all, wasn’t Ono school originating from Owari...

[Henry Wilson]

So the scriptures say????

[Pete Klein]

Scriptures!! Son -- you betta see the light!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbq0OuJtErs

[ROKUJURO]

John,

no doubt that this is a beautiful TSUBA which I would be happy to own! If it really was a KANAYAMA, it would count among the rare bigger ones - many are just around 70 mm!

Referring to your extensive text, there are some questions remaining. Firstly, what makes you believe that TSUBA are hardened (YAKIIRE, not yakire)  the same way as blades? I don't know any evidence to support that theory. Second: Why do you think TEKKOTSU could be martensite steel like NIE? I know that this is an assumption you can read in many texts about TSUBA, but this is only a belief and is not supported by any reliable tests.

Last remark: it is NAKAGO, not nagako. 

[Pete Klein]

I would imagine yaki ire is being confused with yakita shitate.  Again, not much basis in fact as to the technique as Ford has written on in the past.

[Steve Waszak]

Kanayama?  It sure looks much more like late-Momoyama/early-Edo Owari sukashi to me.  There isn't enough of a yakite effect to suggest Kanayama, I don't think.  The bold symmetry and strong, visually-heavy rim, together with the size and thickness all point to Owari sukashi, and without a more pronounced yakite effect, I can't see this as Kanayama. 

 

There certainly has been some good discussion on what, exactly, yakite (shitate) actually refers to.  Some say it describes actual heat-treating as a finishing process, while others claim this can't be the case due to the way the metal would "behave" in such a process (i.e. the result wouldn't look like what we see in classic Kanayama tsuba).  Instead, some argue, yakite refers to a particular effect (a "melty" finish) that is actually gained via the application of acids/chemicals to the surface of the metal.  Not being a metallurgist, and not having been there at the forges of these smiths those 400+ years ago, I'm not entirely sure what to believe.  Certainly we have seen examples of techniques in forging and/or finishing (in blades, say) that seem to have been lost to time, as later and modern-day smiths appear unable to recreate the effects those techniques would realize in the steel.  So the possibility that tsubako of old may have had some way of manipulating heat (along with acids?) to achieve the yakite effect appears not entirely invalid, at least to me.   

[ROKUJURO]

Pete,

John describes a quenching process with clay, which lead me to believe that YAKIIRE was meant.

Steve, in the past, the so called YAKITE SHITATE process was interpreted by non-metallurgists. Metals indeed 'perform' in a predictable way, and you cannot have a glossy surface looking like molten ice with acid or heat (or both together). I am working on this subject as well as on TEKKOTSU for a while now and will publish the results as soon as I am finished.   

[Steve Waszak]

I'll look forward to seeing your published results, Jean.     I am most curious to know how the yakite shitate effect could be created with neither acids nor heat...