Spartancrest

Well many artists published their works and it would have been relatively easy to spread the designs throughout Japan from woodblock printed books, the movement of smiths away from the big cities where they were taught and by Samurai craving for the latest style in fashion. I think we are locked in on a certain rigid idea that designs from one school can only be from that school whereas a lot of copying went on - you follow the fashion trend or you go out of business.

Or Myochin? This one a papered Myochin https://nihonto.com/12-2-23/ I have a feeling this could be by a number of schools - a bit of copying went on. Hoan? https://www.tsubacollector.com/4.html A Yagyu one. from the same thread as Peter showed https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/49639-ohno-kuruma-tsuba-compared-to-kanayama/ What does that give us? Ohno/ONO , Myochin , Hoan & Yagyu I am sure we can find others.

Forget that "little" Wangata, check out https://www.facebook...100080255928820&_rdr Might I suggest this one could keep the rain out of the saya - - and keep the wearer pretty dry if he used it as an umbrella! It is suggested later in that Facebook link that "It often happens a child's jingasa is mistaken for a tsuba". It does look like someone got "creative"

Don't tell me these eye patches would be comfortable!

So far this is the only mounted images I have of a Wangata tsuba [from an old thread https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/36785-quick-appraisal-needed-on-a-deal-going-down-opinions-please/] there is also another old thread from 2020 where the question "Anyone see a wan-gata mounted? " was asked. I have heard speculation that the Wangata style tsuba acted to keep dust and water out of the saya and hence protected the blade better - but if so it wasn't adopted by very many people as the small numbers that were actually made would suggest. Also some link to cup hilted European swords being seen in Japan, but as we know cup hilted rapiers etc have the guard curving back to the handle and not toward the blade.

One I have never seen another like - not oval, but a Lens shaped Wangata with "Gama-hada" toad skin silver surface [not the best of this technique - the silver has "run" and not formed drops] and a couple of others.

Lost image from June 30, 2023

A few days late for Halloween! Great looking piece. I like the namban influenced seppa-dai - very unusual being only on the omote side.

When you see four guards selling around the same time span - which can you trust? If any? Maybe the last in iron - with some inlay and tagane-ato, a bit difficult to be sure if even it might be a copy. Seeing too many "replicas" puts you off! The "Where's Wally?" difference is

Where were you January 6, 2021?

I think the guard is genuine with a nice stone finish surface. There is evidence of fitting to a blade, the tagane-ato [punch marks] at the top of the nakago-ana [tang hole] with copper sekigane and it looks like there may have been sekigane at the bottom at one time. A similar designed one here but not as nice as the one you are looking at. I think the design may be a cart wheel which has to do with Buddhist belief "wheel of life." https://www.ebay.com/itm/204747571320 A variation where the opposite elements are positive.

Getting back to the last image in your list, it would appear the same company that made that one has a variety of patterns. They tend to have the same nakago-ana shape which is pretty obviously not "right" I wish all fakes were so easy to spot! To be fair I think these things were made as paperweights and somehow got dumped into the "old tsuba" pile by people who don't know any better. They would be impossible to mount on a sword.

A new auction listed https://www.jauce.com/auction/1161001042 it is very similar to the last two images I posted - popular design indeed!

The last three are fakes. The last one is the worst. The others look genuine to me, but only average quality. 3 and 4 same guard front and back? [not too bad] For my taste I like number 5 with the Kawari [irregular] shape, added sekigane and the filled hitsu. Like most things it depends what the asking prices are - but don't waste your money on the last three.

Sabi [サビ] - Shabby ? Hey it comes from Hiroshima!

The "crepe paper" background plate are fairly common, only a small percentage have added decoration - no proof but I think the decoration was added later in many cases. Probably to "dress up" an otherwise plain looking guard. There is a name for the stippled plate but I can't remember it, most are sold as Yasurime-ji or Amida-yasuri but this is not strictly correct. They come in all shapes as well but by far the most common are Maru or Mokko. There is no doubt yours is genuine.

I am afraid it was produced in the "LANDFILL AGE" - Why do we as humans allow people to produce rubbish as a business? There really ought to be a hefty tax on deliberately producing waste as a business model! but look around at all the one-time-use junk we see for sale, knowing full well it won't last and next week will end up in the garbage. [handy having the "getting off my soapbox" emoji ]

https://www.bonhams....0503/lot/1062/tsuba/ Auction held 16 October 2012 Estimate US$1,500 - US$2,000 To be "fair" this was amongst around eighty "real" tsuba in the auction. However when you see other auction sites selling the same rubbish for ¥ 3,500 https://page.auction.../auction/g1101034296 you have to wonder if the big auction houses are/were doing their duty of care!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/226287832244 I like the description: High quality Japanese Sword Guard Phoenix From Japan EDO Unsigned Beautiful collector's item. [Really?] Antique Original, Age 1850-1899 [Really really!] I am always a bit suspicious of the slotted sekigane look and the lack of tagane-ato [not even cast in] and you have to wonder where that dimple at the base of the birds neck came from if it wasn't a casting fault. JMHO

I think this particular museum has something of a random pattern where it puts the sticker numbers

No, I don't think it is a clunker. Wish we could see what the seppa-dai looks like, there could be a good signature under there! The nanako is very fine under the slightly worn patina. Just a glimpse of sekigane there at the top of the first image, suggesting the tsuba is imaged upside down?

Grev, there is a hard copy available on ebay https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/325719708987

compare it to this one from: The Token Society of GB - Scotland Branch.December 3, 2021 Cast one is missing some fine elements and has lots of small bubbles in the metal- pretty poor work. What I find interesting is both these tsuba show the ura view - almost like the owner doesn't know the correct orientation of either?

Grev, there may be some copyright issues - see here https://catalogue.nl...v.au/catalog/1300738 copyrighted 1963. But such a book would be extremely handy.

A tsuba converted into a Netsuke by plugging the nakago-ana. https://www.ebay.com/itm/166471369863 A fuchi similarly converted. https://www.ebay.com/itm/166469540444 Image from a post by GRC November 22, 2021 These examples may not be the same as David's. Nice mystery with the three different metal fillings. Another from the Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas. https://spencerartap...arch/works/1928.2356