Spartancrest

The design is very similar to these thin African figures - if you chop the heads off they look even more closely related - these figures are 35 cm high. [approx 14 inches]

A furniture store in Melbourne https://criteriacollection.com.au/?selected For "Arty" furniture, best only to be looked at and guaranteed to be uncomfortable ! [I suggest this "donut bench" is for people with Piles]! Seating designed by a Druid?

Jason - you bet! Mid to late Edo [as a guess] Very similar to this one

I could not help myself and found these two items up for auction - they are now mine, due to no one else putting in a counter bid! Total cost was 3172 yen - or about $20 USD. Not too expensive for a couple of nice silk "dressing gowns" [Summer anyway!] A couple of others still going! https://www.jauce.com/auction/u1238960477 https://cargain.sylluvea.sbs/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=171244

https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/TSUBA-patinated-metal-Japan/5276567-tsuba_patinated-13.8.26-stockholm ??? Not common but not "Unique".

Hi Jason. From the seam lines halfway through the sukashi I have a strong suspicion your guard is a cast copy of an Owari original design - we would need to see the nakago-ana and seppa-dai of the tsuba to make a better judgement. [that means unmounting the tsuba] https://www.nihontocraft.com/Owari_tsuba_G.htm - I am not convinced this other example is not cast also, it has some rough spots on the inside of the rim [mimi] and there is a crack on the right near the open hitsu. http://www.nihontocraft.com/Owari_014222.jpg

I am not sure where to put this thread - it is not a book I am selling but one that other collectors might not be aware of. https://www.jauce.com/auction/t1241154826 https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t1241154826 Publication Date: January 1, 1968 Authors: Kenichi Kokubo, Kenzo Otsubo Publisher: Token Shunju Shinbunsha Total 406 pages A large format book limited to 1,200 copies images are "life size" text is Japanese. compare to the asking price for another copy on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/315187939233

For anyone interested there is a copy of ZABOTANSEN ... going through auction tonight https://www.jauce.com/auction/g1240424269 a limited edition of 1200 books printed. The auction price so far is leagues away from the same book selling on eBay - you will need a sturdy shelf as the book is weighty and well worth getting!

ST, You have a good start for your tsuba book collection! I have not seen this type of bookend before, I would wager there are not many about. Yours seem higher than my set which are 15 cm high [just under 6 inches] I have more books than my bookends can deal with, so the bulk are housed in a cabinet.

Hi ST welcome to NMB. Can you tell us if the hinge folds all the way flat and does not hinge towards the front as well? I think what you may have is a set of "tsuba bookends". Although I don't have the same style I do have a set of heavy cast iron tsuba bookends - They are ideal for keeping your tsuba books together! If it does turn out that your pieces are bookends, consider how rare they might be and that they have stayed together - a single bookend is not so great! The pieces could be Chinese rather than Japanese - Chinese character 直 (zhí), which means "straight", "direct", or "vertical" The imprint would not be a persons name but more likely a company "logo".

五つ矢 (Itsutsu-ya / 五つ矢紋) — literally “five arrows.” Japanese kamon references describe 五つ矢 as five arrow elements arranged in a five-way radial pattern. Variants involving 矢尻 (yajiri, arrowheads) and 五つ矢, including a form described as 斑入り矢尻付き五つ矢 (“five arrows with arrowheads”). Information gathered from AI - AFTER AN ARGUMENT WHERE AI INSISTED THERE WERE SIX ARROW HEADS! Apparently AI can't yet count!

It may even be the same piece, the faults are too identical - which means only one example so is it cast? There are many tsuba with smaller hitsu on one side - that would not eliminate it.

Most kinko [soft metal] guards are cast - then reworked for finer details. This thread has a cut down version of your iron guard with the "tansu" handles or fern shoots if you prefer. this guard is very modern - they are still being made https://katanzo.us/shop/tsuba-kishi/

Middle left is a Chinese repro - https://www.rubylane.com/item/2203710-BR-1622-061625-01/Sword-Guard-Tsuba-Brass-Guan-Gong As is this one https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/A-Japanese-rectangular-bronze-tsuba-embossed-with-a-figure/291-japanese_rectangular_bronze-18.8.20-walli Bottom second from the right (kinko flowers with signature) could be genuine.