zanilu

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.

Dealt Bob First of all. I find this thread really interesting and entertaining! Your collection is wonderfull. About your tsuba number 149, I have a very similar one ex Robert Haynes collection classified by him as Katchushi. The folded structure of the plate is clearly visible in the nakago-Ana, thus the attribution to Katchushi in spite of the lack of the raised mimi. Hope this help Regards Luca

Dear Brian You are probably already working on it, but the button "mark this forum as read" have disappeared. We all appreciate your work Best regards Luca

Dear Bazza. Here is a larger picture of the menuki. I do not know if they are solid gold. Luca

Hello Mark In my early days of my collector career I have put toghter this set. It is made purely by my western taste. I put together what are probably Mito fittings coming from different sources. I think of it as my Frankenstein set. Any comment is of course welcome Best regards Luca

I would say Hieanjo for Both. Left one early. Right one late. Luca

From: Mori Yuzan, Hamonshu: A Japanese Book of Wave and Ripple Designs Volume I, page 5: Volume I, page 15 Volume III, page 17 Regards Luca

Grazie Mauro. I will look into it! If they are indeed waves then the decoration can be regarded as an extremely stylized kukusui mon? Or I am letting my imagination running too wild? Regards Luca