MauroP

Special feature: On the Shakudo plate, a kettle for the tea...

The character on the kozuka looks possibly having leaves in his garments, so it could be some kind of sennin. On the fuchi instead is depicted Taikōbō.

Very interesting their rice straw shoes from Edo period...

Thank you, Tom. I’ve been very busy, so the Satō Kanzan hakogaki project is running late. In the meantime, I’ve found additional hakogaki, and the database has grown. I just need to stop searching for more and focus on organizing and refining what I have so far (with help from the NMB community). Here are the records for the two tsuba by Bamen Tsunemasa. Bamen Tsunemasa.pdf

Here below a link to the complete catalogue (unfortunately I'm unable to remember the original site where I found it). https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wfzaaqgc14q4dxz7k2jh4/Japanese-Sword-Fittings-Naunton-Collection.pdf?rlkey=o3r65azmevpg2prhkmiyd8ny9&st=yez4j0mc&dl=0

BTW, anybody knows the kanji reported on the cover? It should be "tsuba", but I never saw it before. It's a variant of the common ones or just a typo?

I’ve found a link to the downloadable catalogue from Finarte, the auction house that Czerny’s is affiliated with. https://aste.finarte.it/uploads/auctions/502-a158catwebnew1.pdf

Maybe you already know that tsuba with the very same design: from https://tsuba-kanshou.hatenablog.jp/entry/d385ea903371e9967804aebacba147c3

Hi Jake, the armours are definitely non-Japanese, so possibly some story from the "Annals of the Three Kingdoms".

Hi Glen, please post also images of tsuba and the outside side og the hakogaki (sometime the tsuba doesn't match the box with the hakogaki).

Hi Damon, your tsuba looks signed 越前住 記平 - Echizen jū Kihei (?), which is unusual (at least not the common Kinai). Do you have any hints about that tsubako?

Hizen is a good call, in my opinion.

A schematic representation of the Hotei bag?

I'd suggest 葡萄 - budō - grapevine for the second tsuba.

Unusual description, Curran, the paper say 二叉車透鐔 but I don't know how to read it (maybe futatsu mataguruma sukashi tsuba). Anyway it should mean something like "two stacked wheel design".

Hi Tristan, welcome to the forum. Both tsuba have seen better days, so it’s difficult to judge. Sorry, I’m unable to sort out the signatures. The first one shows takabori, suemon-zōgan, and possibly remnants of nunome-zōgan. The coexistence of multiple decorative techniques makes me think of Shōami school (or possibly Nara school). As for the other one, the bird depicted appears to be a pigeon, so the shape is called hato-gata. There are irregular granulations on the rim, which could be either iron bones (a good sign) or casting debris (a bad sign). I’m quite confident the first tsuba is an old piece; I’m less certain about the second one.

Chestnuts?

Jack, the "guy" you are tolking about is Satō Kanzan, one of the most respected experts on the Japanese sword. The point here is that I don't think the hakogaki was genuinely written by Satō Kanzan. Nonetheless nothing written in the hakogaki is false (but the signature, of course).

Steve, my guess was 老, meaning ‘old,’ but in both instances I’m unable to grasp the meaning.

Storing tsuba in Petri dishes, that'a a great idea!

In my opinion, the tsuba we are discussing is a “legitimate” modern tsuba, produced in the late 1950s to early 1960s. Was it made according to tradition? That depends on how strict one’s criteria for “tradition” are. Ford Hallam certainly produced traditional works of art, but he used fine saw blades for sukashi, whereas in the Edo period only chisels and files were available...

Thank you, Moriyama-san. I was wondering whether 古香存矣 might be a more likely transcription than 右香存矣, taking into consideration another hakogaki which shows:

大和守忠行 - Yamato no Kami Tadayuki

The project to compile a short collection of transcriptions of hakogaki by Satō Kanzan has grown larger than I originally intended. It now comprises 86 hakogaki (although at least three are likely forgeries, but I digress…). There are still missing kanji and transcriptions that need to be confirmed, so I kindly ask for your help. Thank you in advance. HGK04 Only one kanji is missing (but I am unable to identify it). 葵形 鉄地 ＊ aoi-gata tetsu-ji ★鐔 透 ＊ ??? sukashi 馬面序政(花押) ＊ Bamen Tsunemasa (kaō) 珍也 ＊ chin nari 昭和卅六年春 ＊ Shōwa 36-nen haru [1961, spring 寒山 ＊ Kanzan HGK05 There are quite a few gaps here: 軍扇透鐔★ ＊ gunsen sukashi tsuba ??? 木瓜形 鉄地★ ＊ mokkō-gata tetsu-ji ??? ★★ ★地 小透 打 ＊ ??? ko-sukashi uchi 返耳 ★★★★ ＊ kaeshi-mimi ??? 信家 尾張也 ＊ Nobuie Owari nari 昭和卅六年春 ＊ Shōwa 36-nen haru [1961, spring] 寒山 ＊ Kanzan HGK13 One kanji is missing (could be 芝, but what does il mean?). 丸形 山金地 ★覆 ＊ maru-gata yamagane-ji ??? fuku- 輪 小田原之 ＊ rin Odawara no kore 無銘 彦三 ＊ mumei Hikozō 昭和乙巳歳春 ＊ Shōwa kinoto-mi no toshi haru [1965, spring] 寒山 ＊ Kanzan

Here's how I organized my collection records (now I need to improve the photographs)