zanilu

Dear All This one came at hand for the weekly rotation of the tsuba on display. Could be considered controversial? Maybe... FT-0097 papered NBTHK Hozon but I am not telling you straight away to which school to foster some discussion. Dimensions 89.4 mm x 89.3 mm, thk 2.3 mm at seppa-dai, 4.5 mm at mimi. Regards Luca

Dear Curran Thank you for your considerations. I started this post to learn something new about Onin and Heianjo, and so it is. I will ponder on your considerations. Regards Luca

FT-0133

FT-0086

FT-0078

Dear All Back home finally. I took some closeup picture of the tsuba in question (FT-0133) and some others in my collection with a cheap usb microscope. The magnification is about 50x. The first, FT-0078, is a Onin tsuba dimensions 84.0 mm x 8seatseatseat5.0 mm, thk 2.2 mm at seppa-dai. The second one, FT-0086, is a Heianjo Zogan tsuba (NBTHK Hozon) dimensions 85.9 mm x 85.3 mm, thk 3.7 mm at seppa dai. The third one is FT-0133, i.e. the tsuba with two papers we discussed so far. I have to admit that I do no see many differences between the inlay of the Onin (FT-0078) and the Heinajo (FT-0086). Maybe the Onin shows a deeper groove on the boundary of the large suemon inlays (see the closeup of the missing inlay seat) compared to the Heianjo. This difference could be also due to the amount of lacquer filling the groove. The presence of the groove is barely discernible on FT-0133 compared to the other two. Also the Onin seems to show a sort of saw-teeth around the sides of the arabesque vines but maybe it was just my imagination. @Curranwhat does your more keen eye can see? Regards Luca

Glen Nice examples! I have similar ones in my database and those were the reason of the doubt I have between Onin and Heianjo. The Onin pieces look to me more busy in the arrangement of the inlay with very small free space while on my tsuba the inlays are more spaced and less crowded. The thickness of the plate have to be considered. Maybe we are really dealing with a transitional piece falling into an overlap zone between Onin and Heianjo... More considerations are needed... Regards Luca

Dear All. Thanks for your comments. Curran I will look into your inlay suggestion as soon as possible, I am about to leave for a business trip and I will be back next week. Roger. My "small" comment was referred to the fact that most Onin with that design are usually larger that this tsuba. That's all. Nothing more implied. Dale, interesting example indeed. Regards Luca

Dear All I have recently acquired this tsuba on Yahoo Japan. Dimensions 76.3 mm x 73.1 mm, thickness at seppa dai 3.9 mm and at mimi 4.4 mm. It was advertised as Onin and an NTB paper, with such an attribution dated back to 1998 if my translation is correct, was shown among the auction pictures. Surprisingly it arrived also with a 1990 NBTHK Hozon paper attribution to Heianjo Zogan. I have to admit that having it in hand with the its small size and "high" thickness I am leaning for the NBTHK attribution to Heianjo Zogan. The design of the inlay even though Onin in appearance it does not look right. The shape of the "flower's like" things, the flowers proper, the spiral and the cross are strange for Onin. Also the ten zogan dots are rather large for Onin, I think and the sen zogan surrounding the seppa dai and enclosing the hira shows, if looked with a magnifier traces of rope inlay (nawame zogan). Also the iron looks like the easily corroded one typically associated with Heianjo Zogan tsuba. I would like to have your opinion about the attribution, which one is the most fitting? And if Heianjo Zogan where would you put it, early or late Edo? Regards Luca

Here is one in my collection papered by NBTHK as Saotome. Dimensions 92.9 mm x 89.5 mm Regards Luca

Yes Jean I went through NMB searching for verdigris and found some Ford post about it. Putting toghether Ford, yours and Dale and Sinclair advices I have decided that the better course was to limit myself to brushing the tsuba with a soft toothbrush and a mild soap. The verdigris seems to be stable I will monitor it in the next month. Thank you all for the advices. Regards Luca

I have just realized that there are some discussion about verdigris in other posts here on NMB. My bad I was to hasty and didn't do my research properly. Sorry for bothering you guys Brian if you want to delete the post is ok to me! Luca

Dear All I have recently acquired from a fellow member this yamagane/copper tsuba: There is some spots of verdigris here and there. If it was rust on iron I would soak it with choji oil and then scrape it gently with ivory, bone and antlers splinters. With copper alloys I am not sure of the best way to proceed. There is some simple procedure that I can follow to improve the appearance without damaging the underlying patina while removing the verdigris or it is better to let it be as it is? It is safe to try removing the verdigris with a piece of soft wood (like a toothpick)? Some choiji oil could help? If the verdigris is not stable applying renaissance wax could be an option to stabilize it? Thank you in advance for all your suggestions. Regards Luca

Jaron Have you tried abebooks.com? https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-home-_-Results&an=Kokan Nagayama Regards Luca

Hi Mark I had the same impressions as yours. Yoshioka is know for his dragon on the edge but the style of the dragon didn't match at all. This is the reason why I was generic in my original post. Regards Luca

Dear All I have recently acquired this little hamidashi tsuba from Yahoo Japan, since I liked the little fella on the mimi, even though not in my line of study right now. Dimensions 53.4 mm x 36.8 mm, thickness at mimi 4.6 mm, at seppa dai 4.1 mm. Any help on attribution is really welcome. Regards Luca

They could be later additions, both the gan-kin and fukurin. It is difficult to say if they were original to the piece. I have seen some cases were the fukurin was added to disguise damages to the mimi. In my collection I have a daisho of Bushu-Ito tsuba with added silver fukurin to disguise corrosion damages. Regards Luca

Dear Ford Please focus on getting well and regain your strength. The book can wait. I was not a backer on kikstarter, I did not seen it in time other wise I would have been. Do not consider the comments of those that do not understand that backing a project on kikstarter is by itself a bet. Sometimes it pays sometimes not... Get well My greatest respects Luca

Thank you Mikolaj. Nice piece indeed! Regards Luca

Dear all About six months ago I set my mind on organizing the information collected so far about Kaga Yoshiro school. It started as adding some pages to my collection catalog and it ended in a longer effort of putting in one place all the referenced pieces I have in my database. I have made it mainly to organize in my mind the material I had found from different sources and looking on online auction sites. Doing so I started noticing things and similarities that sparkled my curiosity for further research. My first impulse was to keep the result for my self since it can be a mound of bull*t and it is always better to keep silent than to speak out and look the fool. But then I though about putting it on a post in the tosogu section of the NMB to sparkle some discussion among members, Maybe some of the more knowledgeable members will proved some interesting information. If my bull*t is proved as such at least I will have learned something new even at the price of looking the fool. Since the file is too large for upload in a regular post I asked Brian for help. The "Appendix A" in the title is due to the fact that this is an excerpt of my collection catalog. Please feel free to comment. Best Regards Luca

Steve you are simply amazing! Well above expectation! Regards Luca

Steve, Peter and Piers Thank you for your interesting insights. The butterfly is on the back The complete picture of the NBTHK certificate is (the stamp of the lower right side is a watermark of mine): I do not see any reason to doubt it, but Piers your point is a legitimate one, unless the Shichi-yō Mon is one of the lucky patterns. Further research is required it seems. Again thank you for your input. Regards Luca

Jussi. Thank you nice find! Luca

Dear All I am in the process of translating the paper for this tsuba: What I have not being able to work out so far, without any knowledge of Japanese only by counting kanj strokes, is : 1. 鑑定書 Kanteisho Certificate 2. 一(つ)蝶 (に)瑞(祥)文様尽図鐔 Itotsu Chō ni zuishō mon'yō 尽zu tsuba One butterfly with a Mizusho pattern tsuba 3. 無銘 仙台 Mumei Sendai Without Signature Sendai 4. 竪丸形 赤銅磨地 金銀素銅象嵌 丸耳 片櫃孔 Tatemarugata Shakudo migaki-Ji Kin Gin Suaka Z\=ogan Maru Mimi Kata hitsuana Vertically elongated Circular Shape Shakudo Smooth Surface Gold Silver Copper Inlay Round Edge Single hitsuana 5. 右は當協會に於て審査の結果保存刀装具と鑑定しこれを証する Migi Wa T\=o-Ky\=okai Ni Oite Shinsa No Kekka, Hozon-T\=os\=ogu To Kantei-Shi Kore O Sh\=o-Suru Upon examination by this organization, the item mentioned herein has been appraised tosogu worthy of presentation, which judgment is hereby certified 6. 平成 二十年 六月 二十七日 Heisei Nij\=unen Rokugatsu Nijūnana-nichi Heisei 20th Year 6th Month 27h Day (27th June Heisei 20th - 27th June 2008) 7. 公益財團法人日本美術刀劍保存協會 K\=oeki-zai Dan H\=ojin Nihon Bijutsu T\=oken Hozon Ky\=okai Public Foundation The Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords What is bugging me at the moment is block number 2 (the description). Can any of you kindly confirm the identification of the kanji and provide me with the transliteration and translation. Any comment or improvement on the translation of the other blocks is of course welcome. Thank you in advance Best Regards Luca

Sad news indeed! Get well Guido, we need you.