Argh!!! -- Translation help please !?

[Curran]

Dear Gents and Dames,

 

I just received a large crop of tsubas back from Japan NTBHK. Ironically they failed the only one I knew to be 99% correct, and passed with flying colors the one I thought most dubious. I cannot complain, though still scratching my head about that and some of the other papers.

 

Three of papers are giving me trouble for various reasons.

Tanslation help please?

 

Paper 1: (Translation) ?

 

Paper 2: (Yoshi oka ???)

 

Paper 3: This one is confusing to me. The papers say "Bushu",

but it is a fine Hirata cloissone tsuba. Maybe I miss

something in the context?

 

Any translation help is most welcome!!

It is my anniversary this weekend, and I do not think the wife will let me stay home to work on these.

 

Curran

[Curran]

Paper 1: (deer tsuba) Ogatsu___? Daigatsu___?

 

Paper 2: (cricket tsuba) (Yoshi Oka?)

 

Paper 3: (cloissone tsuba) Bushu? ? ?

 

 

Thank you for all help.

[John A Stuart]

Hi Curran, I like being thought of as a gent and we sure could use a few more dames to balance the board, eh? Just a note there are no pics attached. John

edit: Oops, I guess you were posting them while I was replying. Congrats on the anniversary. My 28th in March. Aiiiiee!! John

[John A Stuart]

Hi Curran, Well I tried my poor pitiful skills on these and all I can say before I gave up is; All tsuba mumei, you already know #1 Musashi no kuni. Next line starts I think Mokkugata form ? Much too difficult for me. Was fun for awhile and then frustrating. John

[Curran]

John,

 

Yes, I didn't give you any of the easy ones! :D

 

I work fairly hard to ID a tsuba before I send any tsuba to the NBTHK or NTHK. Of the many I sent, I was only uncertain about the deer tsuba and the cricket tsuba. Now that they are back, I still do not know what they are... oh the curiosity is killing me.

 

I've been more and more hesitant about sending to the NBTHK for fittings. Sometimes their calls are very good, but then I've seen some odd things. As Ford noted, he's had some of his moderns pass. I just had a big-name pass that I was more than 1/2 sure would not pass.

But then I have a Hirata tsuba come back with Bushu papers? Maybe the Bushu group worked in fine cloissone, with the sort of iron I usually see with Hirata tsuba? Hell, I don't know! What is up?

I've never run across anything like that in the books, so I must hope Peter K. or Rich T. can explain. Maybe Jim Gilbert will pop out of the woods for a bit and point me at a reference?

 

 

Mr. Nobody, I need your bilingual expertise!

Anybody think they can beat him to the translation? Peter K.? Rich T.?

[Bungo]

first paper..............

from the right

mumei Bushu

moko shape,

then something about wire net (cloissone ) forming some sort of pattern, zogan iro-e ( with various color metals inlaid with undercut to surface).sukinokoshi mimi ( 2 layers ? )

two hole thingies ( kogai hitsu, kozuka hitsu )

 

middle top is the description of the tsuba design, wire (cloissone) butterfly

 

that's basically about it...........

 

would make more sense if you post the actual pic of that tsuba

 

milt the ronin

[Curran]

I've had a little more time to try and figure it out.

 

 

Tsuab #1 (deer tsuba) is: Otsuki ( ?? )

 

I assume it is Otsuki Den or something similar. I could kick myself as I read up on Otsuki a while back and Peter sent me a related article. I knew it should be easy, but was wandering off trying to make sense of 'O-gatsu' or 'Dai-gatsu'.

Nice tsuba, but I'll probably sell it in Tampa.

 

Tsuba #2 is: Yoshioka

 

The name rang a bell in my head, but wasn't in the Koza that I saw. Supposedly there were 12 generations (according to small blurb by Haynes. Catalog #9), but I would greatly appreciate the sharing of knowledge others might have about this school. 'Yoshioka' seems a very general attribution if this family was 12 generations long.

Beautiful tsuba. I assumed it was Goto. Most likely one of the side branches. I'd very much like to better understand the reasoning for a 'Yoshioka' call. I wish I could see the koshirae that went with this one.

 

Tsuba #3: Well... that one still says Bushu.

 

I know that other schools worked in cloissone- but I would have thought the work to be Hirata or Umetada. Anyone else have an example of Bushu Cloissone work?

 

 

Curran

[Curran]

Milt,

 

Okay, here's a photo. The coloration of the butterflies and flowers is translucent like stained glass. Study with a magnifier shows the apperance of what I think are little bubbles trapped like that in amber.

 

The wire used to shape the butterflies is of varying weights. Both gold and silver wire have been used. (silver for the antennae of the butterflies).

 

Inspecting it closer, I now realize two types of gold were used on the vines- a yellow gold and a red gold, so that the vines contrast more as they twist around one another.

 

This tsuba has some minor issue with rust in the basketweave. A jeweler (or dentist) with an attention to detail could clean this up and make it a truely beautiful tsuba.

[Nobody]

These are rough translations. Maybe you can understand the meanings better than me, if the readings are known.

 

鹿図鐔 (shika-zu tsuba): deer tsuba

無銘 (mumei)

大月派 (Otsuki-ha): Otsuki school?

撫角形 (nade-kaku-gata): round square shape

素銅磨地 suaka migakiji: cupper plane finish

高彫 (takabori)

金色絵 (kin-iroe): iroe with gold

角耳小肉 (kaku-mimi koniku)

 

 

上下桐紋透鐔 (jo-ge kiri-mon sukashi tsuba): paulownia crest on top and bottom?

無銘 (mumei)

吉岡 (Yoshioka)

木瓜形 (mokko-gata)

赤銅魚子地 (shakudo nanako ji)

地透 (ji sukashi)

角耳小肉 (kaku-mimi koniku)

魚子仕立 (nanako-jitate)

秋草に虫図 ? (akikusa ni mushi-zu): autumnal grasses and insects

肉彫 (nikubori)

金色絵 (kin-iroe)

両櫃孔 (ryo-hitsuana): double hitsuana

 

 

鉄線に蝶図鐔 (tessen ni cho-zu tsuba): wire(?) and butterfly

無銘 (mumei)

武州 (Bushu)

木瓜形 (mokko-gata)

鉄網代文地 (tetsu ajiro-mon ji): iron ground with ajiro-mon (see the 4th pattern: http://www.sensho.or.jp/kimono_encyclo/ ... monyo.html)

据紋 (suemon) 七宝 (sippou) 象嵌 (zogan) 色絵 (iroe): iroe of inlay with cloisonné

二重鋤残耳 (hutae suki-nokoshi mimi)

両櫃孔 (ryo-hitsuana)

[Bungo]

with the pic it makes more sense.....now I know it's not 2 layer but rather double ( like concentric circle )sukinokoshi mimi .

the pattern means basket weave............etc. etc,

I can see Bushu features overall EXCEPT the cloisonne which I am not aware Bushu tsuba does that kind of thingie...........

 

May be the " other " dentist will be interested in butterflies as I have my eyes set on a Hawk painting that could cost me some big $................

 

now on to the last paper ( I'll leave the middle paper for others to tackle and have fun )...........

basically if you post the actual tsuba pic, it's self explanatory. The only thing they tell you that's worth anything is the school attribution( Otsuki ), the rest is all description of the item itself which you know it's a theme of deer .

shape of the tsuba is nagegaku ( like a oblong square ), material is copper ( suaka ? ), polished ground, takabori ( with gold gild ? ),kaku mimi with little meat ( which means thin ? )

 

milt the ronin

[Nobody]

鉄線に蝶図鐔 (tessen ni cho-zu tsuba): wire(?) and butterfly

I found that tessen (鉄線) is NOT wire in this case.

Tessen means clematis on the tsuba.

Ref. http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~meza/clematis/clematis.htm

[Bungo]

yes, Nobody........... it's a name of the flower, I was wondering why it's not mentioned in the tsuba theme ( my mistake, of course ).

I ought to know, I have a Ito Bushu tsuba with that flower theme ( Curran, remember the tsuba in Jersey ? )..............

 

but then I can always blame Gordon for taking so long to send the shinsa paper !!

 

milt the ronin

[Curran]

Moriyama-san,

 

Thank you so very much for the in-depth translation. I truly appreciate it.

 

I purchased the cloissone tsuba for my wife a while back, because she liked it. She tells me that clematis grows very well here in Florida, and she thinks it must also grow in southern Japan. We did not realize the flower on the tsuba was clematis, but you (or the NBTHK) are very correct.

 

I have never seen a cloissone Bushu tsuba before, so my mind is still trying to absorb the idea (accept or reject ?).

 

I will post more tsuba and their papers later. Most of the others are signed, and I understand the papers, though there are some kanji I do not understand.

 

Thank you again.

[Bungo]

tessen (鉄線) tsuba

 

milt the ronin

[Curran]

Milt,

 

Yes I remember your tsuba quite well. I thought it was a fair call by the NTHK, though I too think they may have shafted you on the kozuka. That is the drawback with the NTHK these days.... if they paper a signed fitting- then it is darn certain. But on so many bigger names, they hesitate.

 

I owned a nice Umetada tsuba where the vine flowers ( I now know they were clematis) were rendered in gold and silver. They were executed exactly as on your Bushu Ito tsuba. This supports for me... as I've read a bit more, and I understand the Umetada <-> Bushu Ito connections- but it is still hard for me to accept that I was so far off. I've seen a near identical basketweave cloissone tsuba that was NBTHK papered to Hirata.

I am learning. Maybe I have another 50 years to learn a bit more.

 

I've attached scans of two other tsuba I sent. I do not recognize the characters inside parenthesis after the verification of the mei. Yes... I know the one set says "the nidai", but what is that in that other set of parenthesis on both papers?

 

Let me guess... it says "This space for rent".

[Nobody]

I've attached scans of two other tsuba I sent. I do not recognize the characters inside parenthesis after the verification of the mei. Yes... I know the one set says "the nidai", but what is that in that other set of parenthesis on both papers?

That is Kao (花押).

[Bungo]

" I do not recognize the characters inside parenthesis after the verification of the mei "

 

I believe it means Kakihan or kao ( the seal like thingie ).

 

my busho-ito.......... I was hoping Higo as there was one similar at Benson's site a few years back with similar " rope twist mimi + gold inlay " that listed at mutiple thousands............

 

p.s. happy " enslavement " anniversary.......... may the boss treat you well

 

milt the ronin

[Bungo]

to beat Nobody san to the punch.......... after the two holes things, it means they are plugged . :lol:

 

milt the ronin

[Curran]

Milt and Moriyama-san,

 

I should have known that said 'kao'.

Sometimes I miss the easy ones.

 

Yes, my wife has her anniversary, her birthday, and Valentine's Day within a 9 day stretch. We call it Holy Week, perhaps because I must be Angelic :D during this time. So of course there is the Tampa show right in the middle of Holy Week. It should be interesting. She gets a Hermes purse, and maybe I have to sell a tsuba or two to pay for it.

 

Thank you gentleman. Best regards to you.

[Bungo]

all the best people are borned in Feb. ( except Ronnie R. who shared B.D. with me but a fellow Aquarius nevertheless).............my b.d. coming up in 3 days and i hope i'll manage to snipe this little sweet hawk painting .

 

p.s. a pic would be nice, esp. the monkey/horse one

 

milt the ronin

[Curran]

Milt,

 

Sorry but I do not have a photo of the back.

The back has a money with a hat carrying a banner and another baby monkey eatting a peach or such.

 

Look it up in Japanese Myths and Legends. I believe it talks about the theme in there.

 

The deer tsuba image was too large to post. I'll send it to you offline.

[Bungo]

beautiful tsuba...................

 

and i bought myself a nice b.d. present.

 

a vertical Hiroshige print of a hawk now mounted as scroll painting.

 

milt the ronin