MauroP

Hi Denis, The tsuba is an honest Echizen Kinai of the mid to late Edo period. The carving is accurate and the subject is not so common for that school. Of course the rim has been over polished a bit an that could be considered a flaw. If you like it, take it (if the price is not an issue). Bye, Mauro

Probably takanoha-mon (鷹の羽紋) or hawk-feather mon. Bye, Mauro

The description of the Kyō-sukashi tsuba on the NBTHK certificate is: 松葉繋透鐔 - matsuba tsunagi sukashi tsuba - connected pine needles openwork tsuba.

Hi Grev, I think the complete signature should be: 江州 彦根住 宗典製 - Gōshū Hikone jū Soten sei The variant of 彦 kanji is common in Soten tsuba (see a papered example http://www.seiyudo.com/tu-010513.htm). Bye, Mauro

Hi Ron, The inlay style is consistent with Aizu-Shōami (as the tsuba below), but the kind of sukashi of your tsuba is unusual for that school. Anyway a nice piece. Bye, Mauro

Kyō-kanagushi, late Edo, in my opinion. The tsuba is nice, but the workmanship is not as good as one would expect from Mino/Gotō. Bye, Mauro

Hi Axel, here are two links from Boston Museum of Fine Arts that may interest you: http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/tsuba-with-design-of-bridge-waves-and-scroll-14765 http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/tsuba-with-design-of-bridge-waves-and-scroll-14850 Bye, Mauro

Morita-san, thanks for the explanation of the inner meaning. Its understanding is the most interesting part of kodōgu collecting. Bye, Mauro

Hi Axel, that's the transcription/translation of the relevant part of your origami: 浪巻物図鐔 - nami (ni) makimono zu tsuba (waves and scroll subject tsuba) 無銘 (埋忠) - mumei (Umetada) 赤銅地丸形地透平象嵌 - shakudō-ji maru-gata ji-sukashi hira-zōgan Bye, Mauro PS: by the way, wonderful tsuba!

Hi everybody, I have no particular or personal interest in pre-dating or post-dating that kind of tsuba we usually refer as Kanayama. But some reputed members in this forum have clearly stated that dating a Kanayama tsuba to mid-Muromachi "makes little sense in terms of cultural context" and advise "not take Sasano as any form of orthodoxy". Well, I don't indulge in any form of fascination for authoritative ipse dixit, but I'm not able to see new facts here. The Azuchi-Momoyama period is undoubtedly a very important political turning point in Japanese history, but lasted just 30 years, and in such short time is quite unlikely that the cultural context changed so abruptly. What I'm trying to say is that the burden of evidence should be sustained by the supporters of the Momoyama hypothesis. Bye, Mauro

Hi David, great tsuba. I'm happy my performance wasn't so bad. I stated mid Muromachi just following Sasano's, and after all NTHK shinsa in 2002 still stayed on the same orthodoxy... Thank you for this amusing topic. Mauro

I use to bite the tsuba to evaluate hardness and carbon content, so if David send me his tsuba I can surely give an educated opinion.... bye, Mauro

Hi David, I like your challenges (and your tsuba as well). That's my try: - middle Muromachi period - Kanayama (but simply Owari could be the right answer) - Owari province (modern Aichi prefecture) - karigane and...? (that's the most difficult answer since NTHK sensei can take out every kind of rabbit from their hats) - kanteisho (mid level paper) Bye, Mauro

Hi Matt, I have a tsuba with the same sukashi (openwork decoration). I suppose it's a family crest, but I never succeed to find out wich family. My tsuba is 72.6 x 72.1 x 3.1 mm. Quite unusually it has also a small inlay on the ura side (the side facing the blade) representing a triple star, possibly a later added . My guess is early to mid-Edo. Bye, Mauro

My guess is Aizu-Shōami (会津正阿弥), middle to late Edo period. Nara (奈良) is my alternative choice. Bye, Mauro

Hi Grev, nice tsuba and very reasonable prices. My choice is T133 (PM sent). Bye, Mauro

Thanks Robert and Piers for the suggestions, that subject is puzzling me for a while. I post here the original kanteisho origami for future reference. Here below a little tsuba (68 x 65,3 x 4,1 mm, 69 g weight) from my collection with similar subject. Unfortunately the original kamon inlay in missing. Bye, Mauro

The NBTHK paper is remarkably poor of useful informations. It simply reports: ajiro tsuba - tetsu-ji kawari-gata nikubori - mumei No suggestions at all about school or style. Bye, Mauro

Hi David, really an interesting tsuba. I wish just to remind that the punctinated surface is called hari-ishime (針石目). The mon-sukashi could be katabami (片喰), i.e. not a flower but leaves of wood sorrel. Bye, Mauro

西垣勘四郎? :? Bye, Mauro

I think the subject of the openwork could be ashi - 芦 (Phragmites australis L.). Bye, Mauro

Hi David, here my guess (half relaying on my very limited tsuba knowledge, half on psychology): 1. Momoyama jidai 2. Saotome 3. Shimotsuke or Hitachi provinces 4. NTHK kanteisho That's the rationale: ko-sukashi in Saotome tsuba is typical of early production (as kokuin are more typical of Edo jidai), and a well preserved pre-Edo tsuba deserves an high level origami. Of course the tsuba may have been judged a Shōami stuff, and all my theory is just garbage... Bye, Mauro

Hi Mark, I'm with Junichi, it is really an interesting tsuba, unfortunately lacking most of its original hira-zogan. I'm still struggling with old inlay school classifications, but I guess the best tag for this tsuba should be Kaga Yoshiro, and Momoyama period is a good assumption as well. Please see: http://www.giuseppepiva.com/index.php/e ... tsuba.html Bye, Mauro

I do prefer ars aruspicina in judging tsuba, nonetheless I find Guido's approach a perfectly legitimate practice... Bye, Mauro

Hi Mariusz, shuji (種子) is just the Japanese translation of the Sanskrit term bija. bye, Mauro