Steve Waszak

Wonderful video. Thanks so much for sharing this, Les. I visited Iida Koendo in March of last year. Great experience. Iida-san and I had a very pleasant conversation. As I focus more on tsuba than blades, he was kind enough to show me some beautiful sword guards, and I was able to acquire a superb Nidai Yamakichibei tsuba. I very much look forward to visiting Iida-san again.

I would be curious to know if there is a mei on this guard. Aspects of it remind me of the work of the Nidai Yamakichibei.

Ray is correct. This is a katabami (one of the Oxalis variations, or Wood Sorrel) motif. The katabami has strong associations with good fortune and prosperity, as well as with resilience and endurance. Easy to see why this would be a desirable motif on tsuba.

Sound approach, Curran. Not foolproof, unfortunately(!). This is a very appealing tsuba whose mei appears to have been carefully copied. I am not aware of any Myoju work whose whose aesthetic sense resembles that of this piece. Agreed: more appealing without the mei...

I would emphasize that the book "Uchigatana no Koshirae" -- which is the beautiful hardback and quite large catalogue of the exhibition Jussi mentions above -- is a must-have for anyone with even a passing interest in old (pre-Edo and [mostly[ intact) koshirae. Jussi's point about the social status of the owners of these koshirae is a good one, but seeing so many preserved koshirae at 400+ years of age collected in one publication is special. PM me if you'd be interested in obtaining a copy; I have an extra.

Here is Shodai Hoan tsuba with a yakite-kusarashi (or kusarakashi -- the term is often shortened in usage) finish. The recognizable motif of a kiri-mon may be seen in the lower-left quadrant, and others appear elsewhere on the plate. I believe the effects are achieved via the process I described in my earlier post. Florian, as far as I know, the creation of amida-yasurime was often accomplished by painstakingly careful application of the chisel onto the plate, at least in the tsuba I'm familiar seeing this presentation in (e.g. some of the Owari province artists and groups, such as Yamakichibei, Toda, Fukui). Attached is a Nidai Yamakichibei tsuba where the amida-yasurime was first chiseled into the plate, and then (perhaps?) there was some application of acid afterwards to soften the effect. This is how it appears to me, anyway.

Hi Florian, Interesting topic. My understanding with Hoan tsuba is that he would "paint" on the motif with urushi, and then place the guard in an acid bath so that the surface of the piece around the urushi-covered areas would be affected, leaving the motif raised above the surrounding plate surface. The term often used for his tsuba is "yakite kusarashi," which implies that there is also an application of heat in some manner. However, some argue that attempting to apply heat to the surface of a tsuba to achieve "melty" effects doesn't really work, and that the surfaces that present with melted-looking areas are achieved via the acid treatments, only. I do wonder how much there is in the old ways of metal working in Japan that we do not know about or have access to.

Agree with all: no worries here, John. There will (almost ) always be exceptions to the rule. Nice tsuba.

Matt and I have conversed on this piece, too. Beautiful work. I lean towards Nidai work, but I may very well be wrong, and it could be Shodai Hikozo. That plate is just killer. I'd love to see it in person some day. Congrats again, Matt, on acquiring this tsuba.

Glad it arrived safely, Matt. This tsuba perfectly exhibits the Tea aesthetics of Furuta Oribe, the leading Tea Master in Japan in the second half of the Momoyama Period. For such aesthetics, Yamakichibei sword guards (the genuine ones ) are at the top, IMHO. Remember, Matt: right of first refusal if you decide to part with this piece! Cheers

Incredible work, Hoshi, not just in execution, but in conception. Kudos is not a strong enough word. Thank you.

I had the privilege to speak with him on the phone on several occasions. Just a really good human being. Down to earth, earnest, non-judgmental, and always presented a positive energy and mindset. Gone far too soon. I will miss him. RIP, amigo.

This sword is now SOLD.