Barrie B

Max, Really nice pieces.. You have done very well. Is that the Shibuchi Fuchi/ Kashira that Ford cleaned recently? Barrie.

Good work Bazza, Kabei Umetada. Haynes lists him on page 494 as H 02332.0 Worked in Edo ca. 1600-1650. Haynes states he is not listed in Wakayama and I have not checked other sources yet; I have to get to work. Hope this helps. Barrie B.

Very nice Justin.. Looks great. Barrie.

Here's my (gimei) Joi Tsuba.. I notice that most of these Joi Tsuba seem to made of Suaka..! Is that just coincidence..? Barrie.

PM sent re book No 2.. Thanks. Barrie.

Hi Stephen, Your Koshirae (Tsuka and Tsuba) looks really nice.. We have all have seen many Koshirae with (both) Hitsu ana open, so it will work… Just to reiterate what I was saying though, here are two of my Wakizashi Tsuba That have only Kozuka fitted (as is the standard for Wakizashi), but I personally would not bother fitting plugs to an antique Tsuba, simply because of the cost; I hate spend money.. LOL. Your koshirae will look great as it is… As Guido - and every one else - has stated, its your Koshirae.. We do this for 'us'.. no one else. Looking forward to seeing the finished product… Barrie.

Stephen, Does your Tsuba have kogai and kozuka ana..? Because that would dictate the Koshirae, to a certain extent… A would not only be cheaper, but traditional for Uchigatana; however, C always looks nice IMO.. But, as I said before, the tsuba would often be 'plugged' with A. An example provided.. http://www.aoijapan.com/uchi-katana-koshirae I haven't seen your Tsuka sorry, but some Fuchi are just not designed to accommodate a kogai because of the position and (raised) height of the design.. Anyway, good luck with it mate. Barrie.

Found this.. - for reference. http://www.seiyudo.com/tu-08071.htm Barrie.

Andi, Looks like reasonably good quality Tsunami maki (style) tsuka.. It is up to you of course, but I would be inclined to leave it as is.. If part of a koshirae, then I would have thought it would be fine. Just my (practical) two cents… Barrie.

Jesse, Do you mean holes in Tsuba - as in the Kogai and Kozuka ana..? because almost any soft metal is used, as previously said above… This tsuba has a gold plug in the kogai ana; however, almost any medium was used… Barrie.

Hi Ian, My Tsuba only has a house, crane and plum trees… Barrie.

I have too.. The meaning (hidden or otherwise) of motifs depicted on fittings is a fascinating subject for tosogu collectors… I recently learnt that the motif on one of my Tsuba's depicts the tale of a hermit (who did not go to town for twenty years) that considered the Plum blossoms his wife and the Cranes his children.. can't remember where I read this.. Barrie.

Well done Stephen.. After restoration it looks great and should look even nicer mounted on your Daito.. Barrie.

Thanks Ford.. Very interesting - and educational. It has certainly changed my perception about (all matching) Koshirae..! Barrie.

I was reading a very good topic in the Tosogu thread (Fun Set of Menuki by Soshu) when I read Fords post and stated to get curious about this. Although I can totally agree with you, Ford, I am also confused. Matched fittings look nice - don't they? I remember a fantastic Tanto Koshirae that was for sale on this board in Jan of 2013. All the fittings were exactly the same material and theme; made of silver by Sakai Kishin (H 03210.0) displaying Sakura blossoms or flowers. A beautiful Koshirae from memory.. I have this set displaying pine needles.. Although the Tsuba, Menuki and Kozuka are missing and might have been different (i.e. displaying pine cones instead of needles or a completely different theme that ties in some way), we see koshirae with the same fittings (ensemble) regularly.. many made all by the same hand and completely matching. I have also previously heard strong debate on this forum about deliberately not matching the fittings as well…. I also agree with this theory - and there are many very fine (historical) examples that proves this... I had never considered that all matching fittings could be considered 'dull'.. Is this a product of our unrefined 'Western taste'..? Again Ford, your contribution is appreciated and certainly food for thought… Thank you. Barrie.

Hi Michael, As Jean correctly stated, the Tsuba is Soten style. The fact that it is Mumei is good… Not because it will be Soten though.. The fuchi kashira look really nice; as do the menuki. Well done.. I like them all... Barrie.

Thank you all.. I know we have been around the subject of 'matching themes' for fittings etc previously; however, I really feel that this ocean theme works.. Or is it depicting Lobster season…? Barrie.

Hi all, I hope everyone is well.. I thought I'd post a recent 'pick up' that I am quite pleased with... I bought the extra large lobster Menuki last year. They are 90 mm long (over 3.5 inches) and I liked them so much, I had them mounted into a fitted box; however, I recently saw these yamagane (or 'Sudo' - please feel free to correct me!) mumei 'Omori style waves' F/K that I thought would pair up nicely.. They are un-papered, so please note I said Omori style.. not Omori..! BTW, any Omori experts here that want to comment? The colour match isn't 'exactly' the same, but its close... Looks like I was a little hasty getting those Ebi menuki mounted in a fitted box..! I should have waited.. LOL. Barrie.

Grev, Looks like an NTK Origami… This link might help. http://www.shibuiswords.com/papers1.htm Barrie.

Hamish, I must admit, that was my first thought as well.. Barrie.

Very nice.. Good luck; we all hope you do well. I love the subtlety of the ao-kin BTW.. Barrie.

Nice Tsuba Stephen.. Theme of Autumn perhaps with the (Maple?) leaf falling to the ground and the Mushrooms out with the early rains? Barrie.

Hi Rob, The Take (Bamboo) Mon on your Fuchi was popular and a version very similar to yours was used by many families. I have uploaded a picture from the book 'MON The Japanese Family Crest' by Hawley and Chappelear as well as another picture I have from another Mon book, but do not know the translation. I am assuming it is simply a description of the Mon.. Finding the family that used that exact Kamon might be a challenge.. Barrie.

Hi Louie, Neat koshirae.. That Handachi saya is really nice.. Fittings look like Shakudo; or are they iron? I've never seen Tsuka maki like that before though.. very interesting. Barrie.

Hi Curtis, Nice Koshirae.. I really enjoy seeing nice koshirae and would be interested to hear the suggestions made for this koshirae. My first thoughts were that it was modelled on a Higo Koshirae.. Barrie.