SteveM

No. 2... The right side is 家, the left side is...? Maybe 安家 (various pronunciations: Anke, Yasuka, Akka), but that is a very rare last name. There are some kamon with letters in them, but nothing like this. So I'd also say it's meant to be a family name and not a kamon.

No, school and maker (and the theme description!) elude me. I think line #3 might be 両家, but this makes as much, or as little sense as 両字. The kanji (or proto-kanji) on the tsuba itself are also doing my head in. I thought they might be a depiction of oracle bone script (甲骨文) and that Torigoye might have mentioned this or something like it in his description, but I'm just getting deeper in the weeds.

If this follows Torigoye's form, I would say the second part of line 4 is 径貮寸八分二厘 Kei: 2-sun, 8-bun, 2-rin I thought the description might reference the geometric pattern in the background. (something like 鱗模様入 (uroko moyō hairu). The only problem is that this pattern isn't "uroko" pattern. More like diamond (菱) pattern, but the kanji on the sayagaki doesn't say 菱.

I'm having a difficult time seeing this as Eiju. I can see the top right one as possibly 寿, but more likely to be 清 or possibly 青. The first one on the left might be 松 (matsu). The second one has the look of 生 (various readings) but I have no great confidence in either of those readings, and the two together do not work very well. This thread may also interest you http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/4844-please-help-with-any-detail-on-this-lovely-tsuba/ Edit: I also attach a link to a signed Takase Eiju tsuba - which is very far removed from the style of what you have. https://collections.mfa.org/objects/11600/tsuba-with-design-of-military-accoutrements?ctx=2d900585-fefe-47af-a0ae-3e89b93622f9&idx=3

The Prince Asaka Yasuhiko one is challenging. For sure it is the kamon (or kashō - 家章) of the Higashikuni-no-miya branch of the Imperial family (something like the brother of the great-grandfather on the mother's side of the current emperor). I can find other references to this kamon on the web, but haven't yet found out what its called or how to describe it - except for the few sites that simply call it the Higashikuni-kiku mon. Given the complexity of the design, I'm inclined to think this may be the official name of the design. See the entry about 31 from the top here https://ippongi.org/2009/01/12/kiku/ I think the leafs are chrysanthemum leaves, and I think the flowers on the top and bottom are side-view chrysanthemums. So that would make it "ha-tsuki" and "yoko-mi" (葉付き、横見) but already the name starts to become confusingly long.

Yes, three fans (三つ扇), or in Japanese: mitsu ōgi. Used by the Matsudaira and Igarashi families. Nice family crest. Somewhat unusual and rare, I think. https://kamon.myoji-yurai.net/kamonDetail.htm?kamonName=%E4%B8%89%E3%81%A4%E6%89%87

Too faint for me to make a guess. 上 looks right, but everything after has me stumped.

Yes, that's right. 藝 is the old form of 芸.

藝州住輝行 Geishū-jū Teruyuki It means Teruyuki of Geishū made this. Geishū is an old name for a province in Japan. It corresponds roughly to Hiroshima.

Its written by Hon'ami Kōson. Its got his signature on it (2nd picture) as well as his seal (third picture, top seal - 本阿弥光遜印). The handwriting is beyond me...興亜 or 與亜 on the far left, but I don't know what it means. The other seal is 囗剣則忠　(？ken Noritada). Normally a name, but together with the Kōson name I'm not sure if it is a corroborating party, or if it is the seal of some other entity. Slim pickings today... hopefully someone can fill in the large gaps. Edit: Late post - Morita-san to the rescue... with a boomerang thread from a few years ago.

秀知 Hidetomo

I confirm the top seal is 乗意 (Jōi) The bottom seal is 永春印　(Nagaharu-in) (But I don't know if they are authentic or not).

Here is another one with the "Akimoto-jin" title. This one is quite different from both of the examples above. All I would say is that the style in the oshigata on Jon's post #18 is a deliberate cursive style, so it is not surprising that signature is drastically different from the authenticated signature below. So there are two very different signatures, both presumably authentic, and that gives me a glimmer of hope for other variations of signatures. But, as we all say, its better to look at the sword itself to see if it looks like a Masahide (in his younger days). I can't tell from the pictures, and I'm not enough of an aficionado to judge these things with any confidence. Anyway, maybe a Suishinshi Masahide owner can chime in. https://www.e-sword.jp/sale/2011/1110_2060syousai.htm

Hello Ben, the only writing in the kantei section is what I have above - Suruga 11th gen., circa Tenmei. Markus would be the best to comment on the various generations. Since the 12th generation Yoshisuke went out of his way to call himself the 12th, and there seems to be no solid record of the 10th or 11th, it feels like this was perhaps an error by the kantei team (or something got lost between the guy looking at the sword and the guy writing the description).

川部儀八郎正秀作 Kawabe Gihachirō Masahide saku Are you selling?

則光 - Norimitsu

The paper for the koshirae certifies the fittings as is Tokubetsu Kichō - 特別貴重 - you can see these kanji on the paper itself.

Very interesting artist, and very nice tsuba. This was a great purchase.

No, sorry. It doesn't mention the number of issues printed.

There is a copy in the Japan National Library. It says the book was published in Shōwa 16 (1941) http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1184148

Kao is a signature. A calligraphic rendering of a kanji, individual to the writer. Kin'in is a gold seal. Normally it refers to a physical chop or block (made of gold). The characters for the word "kin'in" are literally gold (or golden) seal - 金印. The gold chop is pressed into ink or vermilion, and then pressed on to the document requiring the seal. In tosogu, it refers to this gold-inlay made to look like a seal impression. Kokuin (刻印) is a carved seal that is used to make an impression or an embossed mark. We call it a "hot seal" on this board.

Yes, it says 11th generation, c. Tenmei. 駿河十一代、天明頃

Not a kaō, but a kin'in (gold seal). This one says 敏 (toshi). Maybe indicative of an artist called Tetsugendō Masaraku, who used a similar motif?

①大法橋伊賀守入道源菊平 Daihōkyō Iga-no-kami Nyūdō Minamoto Kikuhira ②但し ?? Tadashi, ... ?? ③昭和五拾年夏囗 Shōwa 50, Summer ? ④刃長貮尺貮寸五分有 Hachō 2-shaku, 2-sun, 5-bun ari ⑤寒山誌 Kanzan shirusu （花押） Kaō I think you can figure out most of this. The first line is the title and name of the artist. The second line will be some descriptive comment, often something like mumei or ubu or maybe the era, but I don't think this is either of those, and I can't make it out. The third line is the date, obviously (you can Google for the conversion). Fourth line is the length, again you can Google the conversion to meters/feet. Fifth is Kanzan's signature, and then his personal calligraphic flourish which serves as a kind of signature (kaō).

Does the sword look like this one? This is purported to be Prince Takada's sword (Bizen Sukesada) retrofitted to guntō mounts. https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/mononofu_hayate/61800241.html Family crest of the royal Takeda house. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AB%B9%E7%94%B0%E5%AE%AE