kissakai

I've tried with my macro lens but nowhere as good as your I'll have to get it out and try again

Hi Steve Thanks as I had a lead and name to follow The character that I can't see any thing close to was on the first image, it is the circle with three radiating lines It still seems a lot of work to be a fantasy but that is my current conclusion unless anyone knows better From the internet From Wikipedia Reasons for skepticism The Kogo Shūi, written in 808, clearly states that the Japanese had no writing system, and thus no characters, before Kanji were imported, and nobody before Urabe no Kanekata (mentioned above) made any reference to such "ancient characters." The examples of jindai moji that have been put forward over the years have all clearly been based on Modern Japanese, which had five vowels, and not Old Japanese, which until the Heian period had eight vowels. Shinkichi Hashimoto studied documents written in Man'yōgana during the Nara period and found the Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai, proving that there were 88 sounds in the ancient language, but jindai moji have only 50 or fewer, matching the Gojūon and Iroha of the Heian period. If jindai moji had been in use before the Japanese became aware of Kanji, it is impossible to explain why they would have swiftly and totally abandoned such characters in favour of the much more complex new characters derived from China, or why they then went on to develop Man'yōgana, Hiragana and Katakana, all of which are based on Kanji and show no evidence of any connection with jindai moji. Claims in favor of jindai moji Some recent writers have interpreted the following passage in the Shaku Nihongi to support their view that jindai moji were in use in ancient Japan: "There are six or seven documents written in characters of Hi Province(肥人の字、Ahiru characters) in the Ministry of the Treasury." It was reported in the late 19th century that ancient characters had been found in Ryukyu and in Ezo, and these claims received some support from respectable mainstream scholars, at least at the time.

Thanks

Hi My second query - another one from the NMB This tsuba has quite a few characters and the school is unknown I do not think it to be Tensho but maybe seal script but after looking at quite a few pages of seal script I do not see a single character I is a laborious task to cut away the base to leave these character in relief Any ideas? Grev

Thanks Ian/Steve

I wondered about leaves (in a river?) I wondered if maybe carved and etched due to the rounded crests

Hi I recently bought this nice (Sold as Katchushi) tsuba from the NMB I wondered how the design was created and what it may be 64mm dia and mimi is 3.0 to 3.9mm I thought it was a chiselled form but the peaks are rounded so I wonder if it is an etched form I suppose the design could be anything Over to you Since going back through all my tsuba I'll be posted some more queries later Grev

There is an exhibition titled the Last Samurai on May 19 - 20th at the Great Hall , Kings College, London (opposite Somerset House) 40 rare images from 1860 - 1877 so not the 'studio' images we usually see

Hi John I really like your feedback and comments They not only help me but others who have the book You have stated one of my main aims which was to show tsuba that available to the 'normal' collector My principal aim was to show tsuba that were hidden away for a 100 years I did ask about buying some but if they sell one tsuba they lose any Government funds that they may be able to claim I still wonder that if they sold some to pay for the conservation of other tsuba everyone wins! Just would like a review of my 50 tsuba book as this would be the icing on the cake Grev

Found the results so attached the full list - No idea how the PDF will display a98af0d3ca93b2d259665fe091516279.pdf

Is any one able to show all the results Congratulations Kevin

As I've sold a few '50 selected tsuba' could I ask again for anyone to do a review?

For those that may have missed these tsuba for sale https://www.dropbox....isting.pdf?dl=0 Grev

Very nice to see so many examples as it helps to get a feeling about this school Well done

Sounds good to be I would keep in the prices but I can understand your reluctance to save this information I look at Bonhams and Christies for example as a guide to prices so I can make a better choice on items I'm unfamiliar with I bought a 'sode' piece a few months ago but had no understanding of prices

When Ford but an in depth study of fuchi/kashira it made me look at mine with 'new' eyes Before deciding have a very close look at what you have and like Ian you may be pleasantly surprised

I agree with Arnold that we would like everything papered but the cost would be to prohibitive I have 5 tsuba in for shinsa as I'm unsure of the school but with papers as a known standard (hopefully - everyone can make mistakes) it gives me a known reference point that I can compare against my other tsuba So for me shinsa gives me a point of reference

Do you have any Nihonto clubs in your area or someone who can see it in hand The ware looks strange and in hand I'm sure you would be told if the nakago had been messed with

I miss Thierry I was happy to have his image and dedication in my tsuba book Grev

There is an email address in Rogers book so I used this to send him a mei image but never had a reply

Hi Chris Tsuba arrived today and in perfect condition. As usual better in hand than is possible to show on images Some nice background information A very good buy I can understand by you have withdrawn the rabbit tsuba It was similar to me with my Sado tsuba's There are some other nice tsuba here so good luck with your sale Grev

I was wondering if there is any feedback on my 50 tsuba book Only a few copies sold which I assume have been purchased by members of the NMB

I have (assuming I've note messed up) my interpretation of these posts Reference data from: Tsuba An Aesthetic Study, Torigoye and Haynes ko Nara were said by Kuwabara be be before the 3rd generation so around 1650 Fukushi Shigeo from the Tosogu Classroom vol.1 Tsuba book by the Japanese Sword Museum Shigeo books Sasano states ko Tosho and ko Katchushi as 1550 ko Katchushi pre 1550 ko Tosho pre 1550 ko Hagi pre 1600 ko kinko pre 1600 ko Shoami pre 1600 ​ ko Nara pre 1650 ko Akasaka pre 1700 ko Umetada pre 1700 No ko prefix used for: Bushu, Choshu, Echizen, Kanayama, Heianjo sukashi and Myochin Kanayama period 1400 to 1600 Heianjo sukashi 1450 to 1600 I've enjoyed this discussion and it still surprises me the knowledge that is available from the NMB These are some terms like ko Nara that are of only academic interest and I don't think it is a term I'd used What I am glad to define is ko Katchushi and Tosho, Katchushi and Tosho and by deduction revivalist Katchushi and Tosho ​Also glad to add or remove the ko Shoami label ​Many thanks Grev

Is this any better

Well that helps a lot - thanks Jussi