Higo-san

Thank you, Dirk. I am glad to hear that!

Please find below pictures of the remaining four books. I will give a 10% discount on these (valid until the end of the week)! It is really hard to find the 1931 volumes by Hara Shinkichi which contain the high-quality collection of the Hamburg Kunst und Gewerbe Museum. Plus, I have also included the 1902 Hamburg booklet.

Higo volumes are SOLD. Yamanaka volumes are SOLD.

Thank you, Ken and Tom! As there seems to be some confusion about the Yamanaka Newsletters, I have attached a picture of the volumes. Sorry about the quality, but I do not have my camera at hand. Regarding the other books, there is (at least to my knowledge) only one edition. And yes, I am selling the Higo volumes (limited edition of 500 copies) plus translations way below the original retail price. Best, Chris

Hi Tom, the authors are Masayuki Murata and Michiko Hirota! The book is about the collection of the Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum. Best, Chris

Dear fellow board mebers, I have a couple of very good and rare books for sale: - 3 Higo Volumes by Ito Mitsuru (Works of Hirata & Shimizu, Works of Nishigaki Kanshiro and Work of Hayashi & Kamiyoshi) plus English translations of the Kanshiro and Hayashi volumes - all books are in a very good condition: EUR 850.00 plus shipping costs - Hara Shinkichi, Die Meister der japanischen Schwertzieraten (3 volumes!) - good/very good condition: EUR 200.00 plus shipping costs - Late Edo and Meiji Period Sword Guards and Fittings (hard bound) - very good condition: EUR 120.00 plus shipping plus shipping costs - Sasano Masayuki, Masterpieces from the Sasano Collection - like new condition: EUR 120.00 plus shipping costs plus shipping costs SOLD - Sasano Masayuki, Tosogu no Kansho - used/good condition: EUR 100.00 plus shipping costs - Nihonto Newsletters by Yamanaka (bound in 3 volumes): EUR 220.00 plus shipping costs I will accept PayPal! Best, Chris

Hi Luis, I agree with Franco that these menuki were originally cast. However, they are still authentic late Edo-period menuki in my eyes. You can see that additional work steps were done after the casting process (like carving details, gilding and so on). Furthermore, they are bent on the backside which is also a sign of authenticity. Regarding quality, I suggest you to take a look at the fine examples from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (you can view many items online by using the search function on the MFA website) and judge the quality by yourself. Best, Chris

Hi Luis, the mei could be Tadatsugu. Tadatsugu was an Umetada school artist working around 1700. Therefore, I agree with Jean regarding his Edo period attribution - however, I disagree with the term "revival". At least to my non-native speaker ears, the term "revival" has some bad connotation to it. Since we do not call a Masahide sword "a koto revival piece", I would suggest to simply call this tsuba a (not Ko-) tosho tsuba (even though I do not know whether or not Tadatsuga was also a trained swordsmith) or in fact an Umetada mon sukashi tsuba. Best, Chris

Hi Luis, your tsuba can be attributed as an Awa Shoami work made in the mid 18th century. A beauftiful tsuba! In case that you are also wondering about the subject: these are called tachibina or traditional standing paper dolls. Best, Chris

I like Henry's idea. These could be Buddhist prayer beads on a string.

Hi Sergei, this could also be the lacing of an armor. I have seen an old Owari tsuba in Japan showing what looked like the outlines of many rice fields seen from above and was told that this was indeed meant as a reference to the shikoro of a helmet. Kind regards, Chris

The full Mei does most likely read "Yamashiro Kuni Fushimi" (山城国伏見) on the right side and "Kaneie" (金家) on the left. I agree with the Saga Kaneie attribution and with Brian's low C (sorry, Stephen...). Best, Chris

Very tempting.........!

I had the opportunity to visit Tom a couple of times. He is a true collector of iron tsuba and now wants to part with a couple of quality pieces from his collection - this is really nice stuff and I can recommend Tom as a very kind person. I cannot believe that some pieces have not already gone - some of my favorites can also be found here: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/21172-tsuba-christmas-sale-1-kyo-nishigaki-owari/. Good luck Tom - hope to visit you again soon, Chris

Number 7 and 8 are a bargain... Nice stuff, Tom!

Thank you, Stephen!

How much do you want for the Fuchi, Stephen?

Hi Joel, the Mei reads "Bushû jû Masanaga" (武州住正長); there is a similiar piece in the Boston MFA Collection (http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/tsuba-with-design-of-cherry-blossoms-and-waves-11532). Best, Chris

Hi, The menuki represent three Tomoe mon and can be found commonly on (Buddhist) temples all over Japan. There also a couple of families who used the Tomoe mon. Your tsuba reminds me of Choshu, Bushu or Echizen craftsmanship; I would date it to middle until late Edo period. I agree with Rich regarding the plugging. This was a rather common practice which can be seen on many tsuba. Best, Chris

Hi Patrice, I am not 100% sure about the tanto but the koshirae is definitely not an old Japanese piece. And I am almost sure that the tanto is modern made, too. Best, Chris

Can't be as it rests at my home, Henk-Jan ! However, would be interesting if you could provide a link to that auction.

Thank you both - perhaps I have to accept that the Mei has become unreadable over time.

No reason to be sorry, Steve! Your help and second opinion is much appreciated! Thanks, Chris

Thanks, Steve. That is correct. And the Kanji above Fujiwara read 春田 (Haruta). The next Kanji could be Kazu/Masa or Toshi. The last Kanji is definitely Saku.

Christian, I have already made a similar request on the The Samurai Armour Forum by Dave Thatcher. There are many kind and helpful people there (as there are many kind and helpful people on this forum). However, a comprehensive list of katchushi by one specific school is not something that can easily be found. Therefore, I am trying to adress as many collectors as possible including the 1-2% and the exceptions you are referring to in your post, Christian, who read the "katchu" section of this forum. Concerning my request: The first Kanji could also be Kazu or Masa (和). I have tried to make a sketch of the second Kanji based on what is visible under different angles and light. Based on my sketch, Mitsu now seems rather unlikely (however, one can never be sure because it is difficult to differentiate between rust spots and tagane marks). If there was some kind of list, I could try and narrow down the many options. Kind regards, Chris