Timur

Hi, need your kind assistance with the signatures again. Menuki are signed Jinpo. Failed with the others.

Flying bunny

Hi Gethin, I have one. More modest though

Thank you, Guido. Alas, still no info about this one.

Meikan-more. Looks like the dead end...

Hi everybody, Does anybody know anything about this artist? Failed to find any info. His name looks like 尾州住 広栄/廣栄 which could be read as Bishu ju Hiroei.

Curran, I think the puzzle is solved. The missing last number in the punched date on the Aoi origami is 2 not. 3. So the shinsa was on February 27th and the date in the papers is March the 04th. I was surprised that they never coincide.

Curran, sharp eye and interesting viewing angle! I looked through all mine. 28th of February - the latest. No March in "punched dates", though there is one kozuka having the papers issued on the 28th of March in 1986.

John, I think we are on the right path. This master somehow is connected to / or is Fuji Toshinaga. I've found the description of a tsuba by Fujitoshi in the collection of Field Museum (image attached) The one they refer to in Naunton collection signed Fuji Toshinaga has the similar subject and design.

John, thank you. Though the last kanji does not look 彫 for my eyes

Hi everybody, Need your help again. The first 2 kanji I believe are: 藤利. Can be: 1. Fujitoshi. The only Fujitoshi I could find in Haynes Index is Fujitoshi Toshinaga which is not the case. 2. Fuji Toshi... I've seen several tsuba by this hand / workmanship but only this one so far signed. Interesting enough there is another daisho on yahoo right now with the signature of Sekibun, which I believe is gimei.

Thank you, Curran, it is Choshu Masaaki - 正明

It's a cool one, Jose! Just to encourage somebody else to show his one I show mine.

Markus Sesko kindly allowed me to post his opinion: "I am not 100% sure but I think that the signature on the left side of the nakago-ana reads "Yukinaga Genji saku" (行長源二作). However, I was not able to find that artist in my records. Well, the claim with being a student of Umetada Myoju might be far fetched but still, Myoju had so many students and it is still possible that this craftsmen was one of them. The workmanship does not totally resemble Umetada workmanshp but has more in common with Kyo-kenjo, so maybe this Yukinaga Genji, if my reading is correct, was a Kyo-kenjo artist who might have had some connection to the Umetada School."

Well, it is 140 mm - 5 1/2 inches - and 383 grams.

Thank you John, but I am afraid it's not. Deshi means student or pupil, so should be his disciple. I add the full photo for more fun.

Hi gents, Could you please help me with this signature? On the right is 埋忠明寿 弟子 - Umetada Myoju deshi. Can't figure out what is on the left?

Steve, you are absolutely right. Such demons - bakemono are quite popular in netsuke - my first love in Japanese art. Famous Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎 駿) used them quite often in his animations.

Благодаря Благой!

And yes, here comes another side.

Bingo! Definitely it is! Thank you, Peter!

Brian, Greg, thank you! Good taste is always a bonus helping to build a good collection.

Greg, I think Jean got me I wanted to show another side when I got the answer. Hope you will like it.

Hi, this mei on my tsuba appeared to be a tough task. Could anybody help me with that? The name seems to be on the right side and I believe that the second kanji is 々 - odoriji, doubling the previous kanji. It did not help me a lot though.

#3 Shoami Masanori, shakudo, 82 mm. Haynes describes him as "the finest of all the Kyoto Shoami masters". And there is a theory that he actually was the Umetada Myoju. One of my top favorites.