Cross-shaped Shoami tsuba

[Yasaka Azuma]

Left and right are clearly two torii. Up and down I am not sure. Arrows? Birds? Leaves? How would they be related to the torii? This tsuba clearly has a story to tell...

 

It is a tree that looks like a spear. Usually, the torii gate stands in  grove.

I imagine that this pattern was based on the tradition of a aristocrat.

 

http://ginza.choshuya.co.jp/sale/gj/r1/010/00_yasuchika.htm

 

Black rust (Hydroxide rust) is a thin film, but it certainly protects iron completely. When I got a red rusty tsuba, I kept touching it occasionally for months, sometimes all year long, and continued rubbing it with a cotton cloth. Then the red rust will disappear little by little, and the black rust will rise from below.

 

Best wishes,

Yas

[Spartancrest]

Pietro

Is this the same guard?,  https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/Iron-sukashi-tsuba-NBTHK-Hozon-Origami-Shoami-School-Japan-1603-1868-Edo-period/26601365-iron_sukashi-01.6.19-catawiki

It shows the opposite side to your picture.

[PietroParis]

Yes, in my first post you can find the link to the Catawiki auction with all of the seller’s pictures.

 

Cheers, Pietro

[Krystian]

You can see more high quality pictures of this tsuba on my website: 

 

https://soryu.pl/collections/tsuba/products/tsuba-w5-81

[Yasaka Azuma]

What a cool website. There is also a nice Tsuba in Poland.

Goto-teijho replica Modern Tsuba was surprised to reach such a place.

 

Yas.A

 

https://soryu.pl/collections/modern-cast-items/products/modern-made-cast-tsuba

[Spartancrest]

Yas. A

You are correct, these are mass produced like minted coinage, there are some punch marks on one where the replica was mounted for a particular blade, sekigane simulation all the same and plugged hitsu were just surface features and never pierced. But it is amazing the variety of iroe used to fool buyers. $80 for a fake - cheaper than some I have seen.