kissakai

Sorry to be pushy but this tsuba will be shipped out of Japan tomorrow so I really need opinions before then to see if I submit it for papers Grev

Hi I've just bought this from an eBay seller in Japan. I'm sure most will be familiar with this seller and generally sells items for what they are worth and a fair dealer While it is in Japan is it worth sending for Shinsa but I don't want to waste my money? The mei (Tetsunin) looks OK along with the design and sizes I'm not convinced about the surface working so I need to ask some one with more knowledge than me The maker was not stated on the sellers listing so another negative It didn't cost a lot and I still like the design so I'd keep it even if it is gimei Grev

Great news (well for me anyway) I had three aims Photograph the museums tsuba - done Publish a book on these tsuba - done Get at least some of these tsuba out for an exhibition - Maybe happening After losing all my museum contacts it has been a pain to get anyone else interested I had an email to say there are changes to the museum so exhibitions are already booked in for 2019 but after the rework they are planning an exhibition called 'Art of the Warrior' As yet I know no more but hope it is solely about the Samurai as they have quite a few other related items. They have purchased my book and will contact me shortly If anything comes of this I'll start a new post

When I see so many orphans on the NMB that didn't sell I'd love to repurpose some and get them back in circulation

Sold T38 and T81 Many thanks

PS I have some in a loose leaf folder (usually the papered or restored tsuba) but it always seems too bulky

They are all on the computer and backed up I was going to adjust the A4 size so it fits my laptop but not just yet I have used a photobook (when on offer) and let then print the pages (PDF) which turned out really well After trying a few Bonusprint was the best quality and the easiest to us. I think new customers get 30% off and this is well recommended They look just like my LuLu tsuba book so have a look/preview on LulLu and search for Greville Cooke

I enjoyed the link - thanks Many many dragons to enjoy and the link below was the restoration (V&A UK) of a full sized Samurai - nice https://www.facebook.com/victoriaandalbertmuseum/videos/10153779124258880/UzpfSTk0NDg3MTM2NTU2MTcxMjo5NDgxODQ4MzUyMzAzNjU/

Hi Chris This is the format I use in A4 When other /extra information is found you just update your records I keep the Hi Res images on my hard drive Fount/back and edge or inide the tang as this shows the structure I don't know how Mauro keeps his records but they are better than mind NMb tmp.pdf Grev PS Anything in red is unconfirmed

I may miss the mark but here goes As an earlier post said 'it is how it feels in your hand or what it invokes Simple but a nice feeling every time I handle it and because it is simple a lot of people will not give it a second look That makes me smile This one that is may be just organic but you wonder what was in the mind of the maker and again always a joy to handle Grev Edit as a wrong image was selected!

WOW - that is a surprise Glad I'm not in Germany

Hi I have 5 tsuba in Japan with Paul Martin that were sent for papers Paul has asked me the value and the value is $2,500 so he can return these items via EMS. So0 Japan to the UK I know if items are lost it can be an absolute nightmare to get the insurance back So what about the value? What they cost me or the shinsa costs? I did think that if an item was sent to Japan but not bought in Japan the was a different excise code Grev

Thanks Steve Just an observation: It seems strange that there is always a push to buy books and although the descriptions will be of merit it seems strange if we can't really use the book images as a guide

Great result and I look forward to seeing the images

Hi I was going through my Bushu (Ito) tsuba and was curious about a mumei tsuba of mine It was bought from Mr Thierry Bernard in 2014 and is a favourite of mine. Good iron and nice to the feel I'm very sure it is Bushu (Ito) and thought circa 1850. Size = 71 x 68 x 3.9mm Looking at a signed example in the Tosogu Classroom V1 (I hope it's not copyrighted otherwise the post will be deleted) Karatsu ju Masayoshi I wonder why some of the later tsuba are unsigned and does anyone think they may be by the same hand?

Hi David My first draft showed around 60 Namban tsuba in the museum but in the final draft I had to remove some to keep the price affordable

Hi Dir It is from my book The Birmingham Museum and Art Galley from LuLu publishing - Always nice to get in a plug! No 1930M587. Shoami,C1600. Axes, Sun Moon and Stars with a thin strip of shakudo at the side of the 'axes' The description is my best guess and could be gourds but the shape is too angular Grev

PS What did it sell for?

Always nice to see any example with papers

I have to agree witj Peter Try to look at more tsuba ideally 'in hand'

The Daisho T103 has been sold I've also removed two Bushu tsuba from the listing as I'm building up a collection of Bushu (Ito) tsuba Also made up a Dragon Daiso and although differing ages still a nice match which I may sell in the future New updated link below: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qj7d66vvq1a7z16/NMB%20listing.pdf?dl=0 Grev

The link is for the the US (region 1) so need to wait for the European region DVD

I'm glad this view point has been expressed. They are experts and the more you see the more you learn It is sad when someone gets an unexpected result and I was crestfallen about a Yamakichibei that failed shinsa but to be fair a few collectors had said it was a 50/50 call so it was worth a try I accepted the results without any doubt of there expertise

Also cofused on a daily basis This post got me thinking about other of my similar tsuba (all kinko) so I’ve created a PDF file which will hopefully show some bigger images. I’ve shown one face and a side view and from these you can see the shape of the hitsuana, any coating and the surface texture. Only two tsuba are papered and the dates are only approximate. Just noticed I misspelt some as kangushi I can imagine the shinsa team going to the default ko kinko call but on the odd occasion it will get a different attribution that someone has seen a difference between kanaguchi and ko kinko. This may be a brave attribution or just an error – who knows! My idea was to buy many tsuba so I could compare the different schools but apart from this exercise I’ve not really had time to do this but at the moment I’m comparing my Bushu tsuba to those from the book, Tosogu Classroom. Any comments on these tsuba would help me and other collectors but it is a bit off post and I didn’t want to start a new one These are all my tsuba and there is no copyright so can be used freely by any other member although a source attribution would be nice Styles.pdf

This tsuba (T193) is similar to a Sadatome tsuba I have and they are both of a similar age. T193 is looks newer and the surface is quite plain and feature less! I'll add some images next just need to dig them out