SalaMarcos

My main line of study is tsuba so I don't know so much about other parts of koshirae. This seems to me a a jintachi or handachi koshirae. The saya is in ki urushi mijin nuri style with gold makie. But it's the first time I saw this kind of cloth, weave instead the itomaki. Someone has any ideas? Thank you very much.

I also supose that it was not the original menuki, but seems Japanese... I thinked it's maybe a yubinkyoku post from early Meiji... The other fittings has not so much interest..

I found this strange menuki on the omote side of this tantô. It seems a post "yubinkyoku" but the man is doing something like "take out the ashes" so it seems also a boiler or stove...or maybe for cooking.. I don't have a clue. And the most impressive thing is the namban numbers and letters in the upper part. I can read "IO31" Someone has any idea? It is from a museum so they don't let me take out the menuki to see if it's signed or not.

Because museum rules I can't take the yari out the koshirae, so I didn't know if it's signed or not but I also think that because of the bad quality of the koshirae is very dificult that this 2 are good pieces. I did it in some katana and wakizashi and they feared so much watching me doing my job... but for this 2 they say absolutely no to separate from the koshirae. Is it a shame that there is nobody who knows nothing about Japanese weapons in spanish museums, so in the most cases they never searate the edges from the koshirae, even for clean. Also, the 80% of the nihontô are in really bad quality, full of fingerprints and rust. But thank you all for your opinions

Hello everyone, I readed about yari tantô. Some topics said that this was used for samurai for fight like a yoroi doshi. For me it's a little bit strange, I cant find the utility of this weapon. The nakago of the yari must be cutted a lot to fit in a tantô koshirae, and this became the edge so weak. Also the yari edge are not so sharped, so I really don't see the point. If anyone has some new opinions about that I will be greatefull to listen new opinions about this topic. I'm finishing my PhD in tsuba and kodôgu in spanish colections, so I have acess to many private and public colections not in exposition. Recentlly, I founded this 2 pieces. It seems that is bigger than tantô koshirae, for me seems more a wakizashi. So maybe it is a new style? I never saw before a yari wakizashi like this. Studying the poor kodôgu and tsuba, most of it close to shiiremono, I think that this yari tantô/wakizashi koshirae is for keeping safe the edge of the yari rather than using it in combat. What do you think? Thank you veru much. First yari wakizashi. Second Yari wakizashi

It is an honnor speak with such personality as you dr. Lissenden, I really apreciate your work, it open my eyes not only to the namban tsuba but to all the namban art. Marcos Sala.

Hello everyone, this is my first post here, I've being reading you since long time, but before studying tsuba and kodôgu for some years now I feel I can be a little good writer for this forum. I'm sure I'm still younger than most of you (32 years) but since I finished the 5 years of university to get the grade in Art History, I began to study about Japanese art and then about tsuba and kodôgu. 3 years ago I started my PhD doctoral degree about tsuba, being the first in Spain who makes such a research, but I'm still a fool in this field so I hope that most of you let me learn from your wisdom. This year is the 400 aniversary of international relationships between Spain and Japan, as Hasekura Tsunenaga came from Sendai with the Date Masamune "Keichô embassy". This year we have many events about Japan, and in art, we focus on the namban period. As a PhD tsuba student and member of the Asia Research Group of Complutense University of Madrid I'll speak soon about namban tsuba. After studying the work of such specialists as Haynes, Yumoto, Ogawa, Torigoye, Lissenden, Iida, Hiruta, Civita..I have my own opinion about namban tsuba. For me: Namban tsuba are a style or group of tsuba with such foreigner but also oriental designs as karakusa or seigaiha, covering almost all the hira, and with such things like strange seppa dai o strange forms in tsuba more similar to chinese guards than Japanese ones. It is doesn't matter where they make it, in China or in Japan, but all this fashion style could be catalogued as Namban tsuba. Nihon tsuba with namban decoration is any tsuba make it in Japan with western motifs, such as christian crosses, dutch ships, clocks, western characters, arabic numbers, nambanjin... Please, excuse me if my english is not so good, it is a pleasure to read all of you