kyushukairu

Leon, the signature on the second picture appears to be 'Monokenmori Teizui' [物軒森貞隨]. I checked my books, and whilst there is no record of this artist, they are almost certainly affiliated with the Hamano school.

I'd like to publicly thank @BIG for being an absolute gentleman, searching for and photographing over 40 pages from the NBTHK magazine for me. Thanks again, Peter!

Hello Ken. The honest answer is that I do not know which generation, if any, produced these. These rats and scroll fuchigashira and tsuba are fairly common, as are the 'Yasuchika' elephant tsuba, and I'd previously dismissed them as student work at best. In saying that, if they were to be attributed to one of the six generations, my guess would be 5th gen., Kunichika. Based on quality, we can discount the first two generations. The 3rd gen's work is quite rare and he had a very distinct signature (signing 'Yasuchika' in grasscript). His work is also quite good (I have a papered tsuba by him with enamel inlay). The 4th gen worked predominantly in katakiri-bori, and produced a lot of kozuka. The 6th gen was ordained with the Buddhist rank of 'Hōgen' and signed his work with 'Hōgen Yasuchika' [法眼安親]. Based on the work I've handled, my own kozuka, and an absolutely phenomenal iron tsuba with a frog on a waterfall (also papered), which is owned by a dealer friend (until I can pry it from him), I think Masachika's work is superior to preceding three Yasuchika, so that only leaves the 5th gen. Unfortunately I do not know of any verified (papered) examples of the 5th gen's work to compare with, and there are no examples of his mei in Sesko's Signatures of Japanese Sword Fittings Artists. However, due to that, and the fact that the 5th gen used the gō "Tōu" [東雨], which is signed on the rat and fan menuki in the second link you provided: https://www.ebay.com...=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28, I think Kunichika would be the most likely candidate, if indeed these rat and scroll fuchigashira are by one of the Yasuchika masters.

I don't suppose any members have NBTHK 'Sword Art' magazine numbers 318 (from June 1989) or 580 (from Feb 2006), and would be willing to scan a few pages for me? I'm trying to do a bit more research on Masachika (6th Yasuchika), after picking up a nice kozuka by him with tokubestu hozon. More specifically, I'd like to try to find out more about when he was retained by the Satake clan in Kubota domain (modern day Akita, where I currently live). The respective articles which I'm looking for are 'Research on the 6th gen. Yasuchika (Tsuchiya Masachika)'「六代安親（土屋昌親）の研究」（「刀剣美術」　３１８号）and 'Kinko Kunichika and Yasuchika Research'「金工　國親・昌親研究」（「刀剣美術」５８９号）.

Great tsuba for a great price! The cost of having a plain shakudo fukurin added to a tsuba would cost more than that

Thanks Jean, I saw that one, but from the surface damage, it appears to have been in a fire. Such a shame as there is an identical design by Denbei (the Akita Shoami founder) in the Akita swords and tsuba book. Thanks Curran. I'll take a look. They had a very large and gaudy (派手) shinchu Akita Shoami tsuba at DTI at 750,000円, which seemed like an insane price. Next to it was something which I think you'd quite appreciate (a set of etched sakura, Nishigaki fk)

bump

I’m looking to add an Akita Shoami tsuba to my collection (though also interested in other Akita tosogu). Must be in good condition. Preferably signed and papered. If you have something you’re willing to part with, please let me know

Thank you for the purchase, Peter. I’m glad it arrived safely.

*Hirado tsuba sold*

*Signed Mino tsuba now sold*

That’s a lovely example, Piers. If Giles doesn’t take it, I would be interested. This one is NFS, but I thought I you might like to see it, Giles - solid silver in the shape of a gunto tsuba

The NTHK attribution states ‘scroll in bamboo grass’ [sasa no makimono no zu 笹に卷物の図], and I think that’s all the design is supposed to be. The Gion mamori [祇園守り] (amulet) is a very specific design, of two scrolls in the centre of two gingko leaves. It’s a nice kogai with an interesting addition though.

Thank you for the referral Dale. Unfortunately, I’m now permanently located in Japan, otherwise I would be more than happy to meet and discuss any tosogu (or swords). Vitaly, you should visit our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/tokensocietyireland and speak with Peter McCafftery (located in Belfast) who will reply if you send a message to the page.

Grev, I think the kanji for the word you are looking for is 阿波 and should be read as ‘Awa’, though google translate may incorrectly render it as ‘Awaho’. Listings for these koshirae and fittings seem to include Matsushiro (松代), Awa (阿波), and Sendai (仙台) in the title. For example: https://aucfree.com/items/l470576566 However, Matsushiro (松代), Awa (阿波), and Sendai (仙台) are all distinct domains, and are spatially fairly distant: Awa is in Shikoku, which is a separate island in the west of Japan, Matsushiro is in central Honshu (the main island), and Sendai is in Northern Japan. So there may be some uncertainty or disagreement over where these fittings originated (Matsushiro, Awa, or Sendai).

Here you are, Grev: https://sword-auction.com/en/product/3787/as20163-短刀無銘海部/ If you search for ‘Matsushiro koshirae’ (松代拵) online, you’ll find a lot of matches, but there isn’t a lot of information. A Japanese sword polisher on Facebook claims that many domains developed their own style of koshirae in the Edo period, and that Matsushiro koshirae, which is distinctively made from brass (shinchu 真鍮) originated in Shinano (modern day Nagano Prefecture). https://www.facebook.com/1070362196376441/posts/1098499036896090/?paipv=0&eav=AfaEsg62gEc6LdVFE9_Qt2jqJXZXo5X5SxTZ9YiHLSFuWOt57SCjdIkLwn3WfNBjn_Y&_rdr

I‘m not sure what the design is supposed to represent, but it is Matsushiro (松代) school work. Here’s a Matsushiro aikuchi koshirae from Aoi Art:

Many thanks, Peter. *Kunichika tsuba now sold*

Thank you for the kind words, Chris. I also thought they were very good prices. At sword shows in Japan I’ve never seen a Kanayama tsuba for less that 20万円. If anyone is unsure due to the lack of papers, I’d also be happy to submit them for kanteisho on behalf of the new custodian. I understand, Bruno. I think customs all over Europe have become more stringent after Brexit and have been worsened with the Russian-Ukraine conflict. *Akasaka crab and bamboo and Shoami sail boat tsuba now sold*

I’m shocked none of these have sold. A lot of very good quality tsuba for very good prices

I’m now back in Japan, so postage will be by EMS. If you have any questions or want further photos, don’t hesitate to ask!

Sold tsuba now removed from the listing. What you can see is what is available. I’m now back in Japan, so postage will be by EMS. If you have any questions or want further photos, don’t hesitate to ask!

*Tachi style Cherry blossom and chrysanthemum sold*

Thank you for the well-wishes, gents! Yeah, Brian, it has a very good reputation in Japan, and is one of the most difficult universities to get into, due to the limited number of students and courses being taught entirely in English (the entrance requirements are actually higher than for Tokyo University). Simon, I only checked for UK and USA, but I assume if EMS goes to UK it will also go to Europe.

Thanks for the kind words, gents. I’m glad to hear you are still pleased with the Heianjo, Ken! *Owari Kinko tsuba on hold*