Bungo

LOL, like the critters couldn't decide if they want to be octopus or lobster or shrimp ? Come on, guess age/school !! milt

Here's a new one ............... age? School ? milt

" The seppadai shape, on the ura pic, is very odd, and decentered... also I feel strange seeing that kind of roughness on a alloy piece.. why it is not flat? " and I copied one pic from a tsuba book to show what's " worse "........... milt

arhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I see a face !! Actually the surface shows the flowing grains of the iron. May be better pic of the mei ( could be a tosho )? The mimi could be the same thing, showing the layering and grain. Iron Bones ? Not too sure about that, hard to see in pics, easier to feel/see when tsuba is in hands. ( just my opinion ) Milt

Bugsy, " Is the Mae-date a face, or an insect, or what " It's the frontal view of a dragon milt

late Edo period, so I guess it qualified to be at the edo period corner. A painting by Geppo. milt

henry, actually , according to the seller, the sukashi to the right is a woman in kimono, the " triangle ' shape may be a bird ( a giant one at that ). The left is kiku petals, the kozuka hitsu-ana is just that, not a palm tree, And thanks to Brian das despot for changing the avitar ( spelling ? ) for me. milt

just got this and may be the gang can give me some idea...... large wak size . Hammer work on surface, some bones on mimi, iron " feels/looks " hard like tosho/saotome works. All the sukashi have been plugged with shakudo ( quite high quality, nice black with a purple/silver sheen ). Have a wabi feeling ( but that's subjective.... ) age? school ? I feel this is early work ..... milt

Tony, PM me , give me an idea of " trade value " and I'll select tsuba of similar " trade value " ....... milt

wow........ looks like the same guy !! p.s. want to part with that blade ??? Can trade you a tsuba for that milt

" It also seems too long compared too it's width. Taking all these oddities ( the mei placement also ) together leads me to only one conclusion. ...sorry, just my opinion p.s. which end is open to admit the blade's tang? " ................................................................................ best answer with one pic........ dimension looks " normal " , all open to the left. milt

Ford et al, I suspect the design was taken from some painting and the mei is that of painting artist and not the kozuka maker . We have seen a few koz. with mei on the front as part of the design . Still, what interest me most is the technique done on highly polished iron ( with patina that looks exactly like shibuchi ). milt

The first kanji , I am quite sure is " Hide " ( as in Hideyoshi ). Looks very Japanese to me, Ford, but I was surprise the magnet sticks to it as the patina looks like shibuchi . May be late Edo, meiji period ? The artist is not listed in any kinko/painter index books that I have . Milt

question for Iron Brush Ford....... we don't usually see Katakiribori with fine lines on iron, yes? No ? Is it difficult to do fine tiny circle on iron ? milt

according to the seller..... Edo Shibuichi Migakiji Katakiribori Matsu Taka zu (pine trees & a hawk) Signed Shuzan Kozuka ................ patina looks like shibuichi but on the side at the seam I see some minor pits...... highly polished ground and it sticks to my refrigerator magnet like bee to honey. Can't find the mei " shuzan " in any books I have. milt

ford, mass market that as a mouse milt

Ford, While it's " easy " to appreciate the esthetics of Ming/Yuan Dynasties masters' works translated into tsuba designs and such. I have " doubt " about this particular Japanese artist, namely Sesshu. If one were to see his " typical " paintings translated onto tsuba.........my personal opinion ONLY , I'd venture to see " Aizu ( spelling? ) Shoami " !! Some may even call it low class re-pro ( I desist from suggesting national origin/maker of such repro )......... what's your opinion on that ? p.s. yes, you guess it, I am no fan of Sesshu ( even though he's VERY FAMOUS ) milt

thanks , Ford, for pointing out the painting association........ hard not to with your " iron brush ". Take it further from the thread as Guido did....... to me esp. the Ichijo ( or is it Ichigo ? )school kinko works are mostly styled after painting. Pete, you can have " soup " now from the Soup Nazi........ milt

what ? My kaneiye is chopped liver ? LOL Milt

http://www.esnips.com/web/tsuba?docsPage=2#files more on page 3 milt

gang, bought this from Walberg a while back. Wak size, can't pin point to any specific school but the more I look and handle it, the more I am thinking Akasaka. If we can mentally " remove " the copper thingie " , the nakago- ana has that keyhole look ( that's me without the glasses ). opinion ? milt

a real he-man Bungo sword !! milt

" usual form of the first kanji is 精 As already answered, the mei could read Kiyoyasu (or Seiko?). " thanks, Ford und Nobody, so the mei should be read as " Seiko " then. The artist is listed under " se " in Wakayama's kinko book, page 406, there's a short entry/explanation on the first kanji milt

Can anyone help me with mei translation of this late edo tsuba ? It is signed on the ura side . Yes, for commercial reason, I intend to offer it for sale . milt

quoting " The graduate ". Mr. Robinson said......" plastic ". Little silly me thought he meant plastic, the material .Little did i know he meant " credit card ". Did I get it wrong ? I lost money mostly in sword ( so far ), that's because I was selling swords that I spent $ on polishing and cannot " recover " the restoration expenses. Why did I sell them ? That's because the swords were not exactly the type I like After polish. Sort of like marrying the old fashion way when one did not get to see the bride till after the vow had been exchanged..........sucks if she turned out to be an old cow with a personality to match. So.......the lesson I gained regarding sword is to buy /collect what you like and what you can see from day one ( polished, in good condition ). So if divorce ever comes, it won't be nasty. Fittings are easier, in my opinion, usually no restoration fee. I made some $ ( but not much, Froggie ) and no hassle in shipping or any sort of weapon regulation. p.s. as Brian ,the Despot whose power has been usurped by " diplomacy " , conluded...... this sword selling is not for the faint of heart and making $ is tough. Buying retail and selling wholesale ( sometimes ).......arrhhh milt