CrimpSoup86

Continued thanks for all the help. Tsuba 1: This tsuba appears to be a conundrum, which is unfortunate because I wanted to include it in our museum's portfolio. While I have almost given up on trying to crack this one, it still bugs me nonetheless. That being said, would anyone be able to provide the kanji for "sai"? I can't figure out the markings below the "aka" radical. (That is, if that is the correct pronunciation. This was translated previously and doesn't match the "sai" in our other listings) Tsuba 3: You might just be bananas, John! :lol: With the ”ha/ba" character in mind, I could not find anything for the "Hashige/Bashige", "Hachou/Bachou", "Hasane/Basane", "Hajuu/Bajuu", "Haomo/Baomo", etc... The collector who owned the tsuba previously thought the character was comprised of the "ka" (katana) radical above the "ha" radical. I can't find a kanji that matches the one they thought it was. Ludolf, why would say that this name is "Kaneshige" from Hoan? Does this tsuba appear to be Hoan school to your eyes? Also, are you referring to H 02544 because the figure signed "Kaneshige", or H 01578/01579? -Kyle

Thanks for the comparison image Ludolf. The mei looks spot on between the two--it's always nice to learn that a piece is most likely legitimate. I take it Fujiwara refers to the clan, and not a specific locale within Yamashiro? Also, I take it the other two examples weren't familiar to you? The kanji in the case of Tsuba 1 are so clearly marked, but the maker wasn't in the Haynes index. Surely this isn't a tsuba by an unknown maker? I wonder if I should toy with alternate pronunciations... -Kyle

Good evening everyone, Once again I would appreciate the assistance of the members of the forum in deciphering three mei from our museum's tsuba collection. Any suggestions on possible craft school would also be appreciated. The three links below will direct you to the images, and I have included information that I have gathered when applicable: Tsuba 1: This Rakan Panthaka motif (Joly pg. 109) tsuba is signed "Monichisai, Masugane-sei" (門市_, 益金製) I have consulted the Haynes index and could not find anything for "Monichisai", which suggests to me this name might be an appellation? I have not been able to find any information on the locale "Masugane". http://www.flickr.com/photos/93588542@N ... hotostream Tsuba 2: Though it is hard to see, this tsuba depicts a sennyo. The signature was designated as "Yamashiro (no) kuni, ___", "Kanesada". Might this be from the Joshu school of Kaneiye? The Kanesada I believe this tsuba was made by is H. 02526.0 in the Haynes index, though I would appreciate any suggestions otherwise as the kanji appears abstract to my eyes. Also, any help in deciphering the last two kanji on the right of the nakago-ana would be a great help. http://www.flickr.com/photos/93588542@N ... hotostream Tsuba 3: This final tsuba we have little information on. The first kanji specifically looks problematic to me. This tsuba was originally designated as Yoshitsune fighting on the Gojo Bridge, but feel free to critique that interpretation. http://www.flickr.com/photos/93588542@N ... hotostream Once again, thanks in advance for any assistance. Everyone's thoughts are a lot of help to this museum worker at a University with zero Asian art/culture specialists to consult for advice! -Kyle

Regarding the Tetsugendo School tsuba (tsuba 2), I am curious about the kao. I take it that "印銘" that Kunitaro wrote above is meant to be a transcription of the kao of the Tetsugendo tsuba into standard kanji? My questions are as follows: 1. What is the pronunciation of this kao? I looked up the characters　(いんめい) in a dictionary and that pronunciation doesn't seem relevant. 2. Does this kao have a specific non-phonetic meaning? (For example, does it mean "tetsugendo"?) 3. Does the kao act as a seal for the specific artist, Seiryuken Eiju? Thanks for putting up with the questioning. As my school lacks any Asian art specialists, I hope the members of the forum don't mind if I return for (semi)constant advice! Kyle

Thanks both Kunitaro and Mike for your help. Jakushi: Since your post I have been in search of mei examples from the different generations of Jakushi smiths, but have not had much luck. While I have seen a handful of signatures, people don't seem to be attributing specific mei styles to specific generations. Is my trying to narrow down the specific smith a futile endeavor? I also haven't found much consistency in the Jakushi signature style; each one appears different from the next. Is there a resource one might know about that compares the signatures of different Jakushi smiths? Or, should I be paying attention to something different (style, inlay, etc.) in determining generation/age? I have yet to look into the second work (Tetsugendo School Tsuba) regarding signature style/age, but any heads up information on a place to start would surely help. -Kyle

Hi, I am currently trying to translate tsuba from my University's museum collection. We have two that have thus far defied translation due to the abstracted nature of the mei. Neither have been attributed to a school/artist. The FlickR Pages are as follows: Dragon Tsuba 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/93588542@N ... hotostream Dragon Tsuba with Kakihan: http://www.flickr.com/photos/93588542@N ... otostream/ While I would appreciate any help in cracking the mystery of who might have made these tsuba, I would also be curious about how to go about translating and determining mei that appear like this. Any point in the right direction to a resource that tackles signatures such as these would be greatly appreciated. (Do the Kinko Meikan/Haynes Name Registry address this style of signature?) Thanks for any help, Kyle

Hello All, I am relatively new to studying topics related to Nihonto, and was curious if anyone had a good resource for determining the Age/Date/School of tsuba that lack mei. I assume this would involve being able to determine techniques of production, or other stylistic elements commonly used by various schools, but thus far I feel I have been missing the proper resources that go into these matters. As a student, I have limited funds available for book collecting and was hoping there might be a couple great books or free resources that I'm not aware of that the community uses to get general information on tsuba lacking mei. Kyle

I would like to thank you all for your help. Without your guidance, I would have been totally lost as to how to go about researching these tsuba. Possibly the most valuable was the link to Hayne's set; while expensive, I can see how that would be a great asset for the future. I was considering talking to the curator and seeing if any student research positions are open. My goal would be to study the other tsuba in the collection (as well as several other Japanese artifacts), and if possible, create a proper storage space. If anyone has any helpful links in regards to tsuba/nihonto maintenance and storage, I would greatly appreciate it. As for my disappearance, I've been off writing my paper which was due earlier this week. I'm sure the museum will be pleased, as they had no information on the tsuba at all (they were accessioned in as "flat metal discs"). I'm still curious about many unknown aspects of the tsuba. For instance, given the simplistic design of tsuba 2 (Ichiryusai Yoshikata), I theorized the flower motif would have related to the Kamon of the Owari clan. I was not able to find anything; anybody know of any thorough resources on Kamon? Also, there appears to be no wear on the tsuba from the habaki/seppa, which suggests to me the tsuba was surplus and was never fitted to a blade. Under what circumstances would this be the case? Maybe because it was produced for only the Owari clan? Hopefully soon I can post more pictures from our museum, just for fun. Also, my grandfather brought a katana home from the Pacific during WWII. While it seems that these aren't always as fun to research as older swords and fittings, I might post some picture. Thanks again, -Kyle

In regards to Terukazu Omori, I've found sources on him and the Omori family in artist records. As for Ichiryusai Yoshikata, I can't find any mentioning of the name (Kosuido as well). Since he worked for the Owari Tokugawa, did he work privately for Owari or were there other individuals/groups that might have commissioned his engraving? I'm not entirely certain of how tsuba craftsmen would work in context to a head of state. Also, as for R.E. Haynes, I cannot find any information on this man. How would I go about accessing his work/database/etc.? -Kyle

Wow. Thank you all very much. As for the way the museum keeps the tsuba; that is out of my control. While I only chose these two to research, I was told the museum accessioned in a box of 82 recently. I would worry more about those being handled improperly due to the sheer amount. Perhaps I’ll suggest organizing it for them… To think that I received 5 replies before noon is astounding. After about 2 hours of being in the Japanese TA lounge, all of us picking our heads, this is great to see. Tsuba 1: Is there a precedence for the type of gold design (found underneath 英一) in other tsuba, and would anyone know the significance? Tsuba 2 at this point is intriguing me way more that Tsuba 1. Is it safe to say, then, that it reads: “Resident of ‘Biyo’” (尾陽住）”Ichiryusai Yoshikata carved this” (一龍斎　美方 　鐫之) Does anyone know anything about this craftsman? Also to note, on the bottom of the tsuba 2, it appears as if the small circular indentions around the fitting of the blade (don’t know the Japanese term) represent the imperial crest. (chrysanthemum motif). I’m sure it's farfetched to think this tsuba would have been attached to the sword of someone associated with the imperial family, but I noticed it nonetheless. -Kyle

Hello All, First off I’d like to say “hello” as a new member to the board. I’m currently an undergrad researching two particular tsuba for my “museum studies” course. As a newbie to tsuba, I’ve had some trouble finding formal information on the subject in our library, and luckily discovered your community. Nothing I can find in print goes any further than just explaining what tsuba were, their cultural significance, etc. Perhaps you all can help me determine who made these, when they were made, what period they’re from, etc. (and how you can tell!) Here is the link to my imageshack account. The tsuba are labeled tsuba 1 and tsuba 2. http://yfrog.com/14tsuba1fronthighcontrastjx My thoughts on the two: Tsuba 1 – At first I thought this was a bootleg because of the poorly carved characters. In the Nakago-ana, the right reads “大森”(Oomori?) and the left reads “英一” (too many names to count). However, when showing my Japanese-language teacher, I learned that one character (“Ei”, which I thought was simply mis-written) was actually an old spelling. I have no clue on how to go about researching this tsuba; I can’t seem to find anything mentioning either of these kanji groups in regards to tsuba. It is rather plain, aside from the strange gold emblem and the high-relief dog. Tsuba 2 – What a beautiful tsuba! The kanji appear expertly written. While I can’t seem to get anywhere with the three on the right (尾 陽 住) I believe I’ve figured out the first five characters on the left side. They are “一龍斎” (Ichiryuusai?) and “美方”(Mikata, Miho, Yoshikata, Yoshinori？). The last two kanji I feel are old spellings, and I havn’t been able to translate them. The black floral motif is quite interesting; do you think its shakudo, or sumi-zogan? Like I had mentioned, I’ve found it quite difficult to find a guide for dating/matching tsuba to a period or craftsman. The “kanji pages” link at the top has been great for giving me some vocabulary to search by, but I’m still in the dark about what to make of these two tsuba. Does anyone have any good tsuba resources for beginners? Does anyone follow a specific hierarchy when deducing the age/maker/etc. of an unknown tsuba? Hopefully you guys can help me out. If anyone has any tips for me or wants to know more about my project, please ask. Thanks in advance for any help. -Kyle