MauroP

Hi Dale, the signature is consistent with Masanao (正直), Bushū-Itō school. The gingko leaves composition is well carved, and the price is still low... (but I'm out of budget)

From "Signatures of Japanese Sword Fittings Artists" by Markus Sesko, an invaluable source for collectors.

Hi Chris, here below a tsuba from my collection, signed Kōfu jū Masayuki and wth the same shape of fundō (分銅), i.e. the shape of old scales weights. A similar tsuba is also reported in the booklet "The Japanese sword and its fittings, from the collections of the members of the Japanese Sword Society of New York and the Cooper Union Museum", p.26.

A deeply irregular surface (ōtotsu - 凹凸) is quite common in Sanada Tenpō, Myōchin and Shōami (of course..). Your tsuba is not typical of one of the above schools, but does't looks modern to me, maybe late Edo.

Hi, here you have a NBTHK certificate. The relevant informations are as follow: A kanteisho (certificate) B subject (here a katana) C signature (here 備陽長船藤原祐盛); the sword also report the date of forging (文政二年二月日 should be february 1819) D the dimension of the blade

紀府住 正喜 - Kifu jū Masayoshi

Ciao Luca, the seller explicitly stated that Ginza was an error in the appraisal paper: 鑑定書の「広島住 銀座長介」は「廣嶋住 銀屋長介」の誤記。- "Hiroshima jū Ginza Chōsuke" in the appraisal is an error for "Hiroshima jū Gin'ya Chōsuke". Sometime such errors happen, and I've found some in my records of NBTHK kaiteisho.

報國盡忠 something like "loyalty and patriotism"

Hi Sebastien, no clear idea about the school. The theme is called iwashi no atama (鰯の頭 - sardine heads) and refers to a ceremony of driving out evil spirits. During Setsubun (the day before the beginning of spring) some families put up small decorations of sardine heads and holly leaves on their house entrances so that bad spirits will not enter.

Worth reminding a post a couple of years old about the same subject: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/14025-next-best-thing-to-having-nbthk-papers Bye, Mauro

Thank you Dale, the tsuba from Christies is reported as Heianjō, but I don't think brass inlays alone are enough to make such a call...

I should be a wiser man... I know that making up a coherent collection needs making choices. But actually I'm not rational in collecting. In that strange year of lock-down, social distancing and hard work I had to wait months to receive in hands, almost at the same time, all my acquisitions. Definitely I'm not a "serious" collector, but after all I'm quite happy about my new pieces. No masterpiece here but some interesting opportunity for study. 1 signed Echizen jū Kinai (越前住 記内), possibly Yondai Ishikawa (circa 1640). 2 otafuku-mokkō-gata tsuba with an unusual tetsu-fukurin, possibly Edo Higo (thanks to Mark from NMB). 3 maple and deer antler tsuba, possibly Shōami. 4 plum blossoms in moonlight, possibly kodai Higo (thanks to Thomas AKA Leporello). 5 signed Jakushi (若芝), quite typical of the school, and the only tsuba I purposely searched for buying. 6 Musashino theme tsuba; the still good zōgan remakably contrast with the weared iron surface, and make me think it could be an old tōshō tsuba (just 3,5 mm thick) repurposed and decorated in late Edo. 7 mitsudomoe, inlaid dew drops (or toad skin?); signature unreadable. 8 bamboo and snow tsuba, possibly Kyō-Shōami.

The 4th one looks like signed Nobuie (gimei or not...) The 3rd may be Yamashiro no Kuni jū Umetada Shigenari (a very hazardous guess)

Ciao Luca, "gan no nami" sounds like a genitive case. I suppose that simply gan nami or gan ni nami (雁に波) should be the correct form (but let a true expert in Japanese chime in). See: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/雁に波文皿　肥前焼・-柿右衛門様式-plate-with-geese-and-waves/-AH96HQsuwb9nQ Love your Heianjō findings.

I thought it was... ... instead it's

Hizen (肥前)?

Possibly Shōnai (庄内) school.

The signature should read Sano Naoyoshi, but one kanji of family name is different in reported examples, so possibly gimei.

Hi Reid, why you want a kanteisho for it? It will cost you quite a lot, with a comparatively little increase in market value of your tsuba. Of course if you want to enjoy the experience, go for it... Regards, Mauro

Agree with Geraint, it's a sanmai awase tsuba, i.e. a mass-produced one, BUT it's an old one (pre-Edo, possibly) and should deserve a ko-kinko certification. BTW, the core layer should be copper, so non-magnetic (try it).

柳川直政 - Yanagawa Naomasa + kaō First Yanagawa generation (1692-1757)

Another nice example from "Tanoshi Shinchū Zōgan Tsuba: 100 Tsuba":

Mon of Taira clan

Hi Mark, I'd rather suggest a Hizen attribution for your tsuba. Edo Higo could also be a less likely call. The "weared" appearance of nunome-zōgan usually seen in Jakushi tsuba is also present in some Hizen and Edo Higo works. Moreover Jakushi tsuba are usually signed (only one in six Jakushi tsuba is mumei in my database of NBTHK papers). Here below some Hizen examples:

Hi Grev, I'd suggest a descriptive definition like: 四方菱形透鐔 - shi-hō hishigata sukashi tsuba - diamond shapes in four directions openwork tsuba. Sometimes even NBTHK shinsa panel can't do better.