Spartancrest

Found this one in the Princeton University Art Museum https://artmuseum.pr...ctions/objects/19891 It is signed but I can't make it out. y1930-96 94 mm Diam x 5 mm

https://static.artmu...s/19893-canvas-54810 Annoyingly this has only the ura view. y1930-97 Iron inlaid with gold, 7.9 x 7.8 x 0.7 cm.

They are for people who don't like tsuba and don't mind getting their hands cut Same goes for guard-less Katana or koshigatana - they are for people who don't mind not having fingers. It isn't about the style of weapon its about the style of tsuba and its purpose.

I have to agree with Chris - they are perfectly fit for purpose - I think people get confused as to what that purpose was. Tanto guards don't have to be defensively protective, I can't see you lasting very long against a sword attack armed only with a tanto. Tanto size guards stop your hand sliding up the handle and onto the blade that is all they were meant for, so saying they were not fit for purpose suggests people don't really know what the purpose was. We come back to the idea then that Hamidashi or even Kwaiken size guards built in thick iron would defend your hand from an attack - that is just a joke.

Not my field but found this http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/flaws.html

Great shame that the face has taken some damage. I would agree with Jean, I think it is late Edo or even Meiji. The work looks a little 'rushed' the outline of the seppa-dai is a little off but I love Kawari shape guards like this. There are similar pieces [not identical] all using the same design but each hand made, like these Jittoku and scroll. They were popular and many were made for export - you also find poor cast examples. [not yours] I have seen this design before but it may have been this actual piece [I will keep my eye out ]

WELL HERE IS SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE EVERY DAY! It isn't Japanese swordsmanship but sure looks fun! You need to watch the video in the link. https://nimebrand.co...ZyZ0PUFBQUFBR1dra1Nz I guess you could always substitute the needle?

Hey have I seen that book before?

ROM Royal Ontario Museum 927.100.23 Silk spool Medium: Iron with some gilding Date: 1603 to 1867 AD. Edo period [very vague] ura view only Just my thoughts, but I think Jesse has a much better version than the museum!

Royal Ontario Museum has a copy of your 'Bell crickets" A sold one from https://www.Japanese.../f100-akasaka-tsuba/ https://tsubashi.com...asaka-sukashi-tsuba/

I just remembered this from "Kinai Tsuba" page 22 by Malcolm Cox in the Download section. Shitake mushrooms For Malcom - I found this Shiitake https://www.aoijapan...u-shiitake-mushroom/ it is almost identical to Number 61 in the PDF Just some sekigane at the top of the nakaogo-ana also https://www.ebay.com/itm/266434412727 very similar to those of number 64.

Can I ask if it is signed on the back? [ura] If so can you show an image?

To me it reminds me of hand split cedar or pine.

Mushroom with the underside showing "gills" - takes a little to work out I admit - to me they remind me of the "Face-hugger" from Alien or fossil Crinoids. But art is all in the eye of the beholder As for vibes - the tsuba nice - the face-hugger not nice! Snail and Mushroom tsuba from kissakai

Hi Alaen, theme is Bukan and his Tiger, It doesn't look like it was ever mounted and may never have been intended to fit on a sword, I can't be sure of its age but it could be a "presentation" piece given as a present to a superior. It might be worth a gamble but that would depend on how much the dealer was asking. Same theme on this one in the Walters https://art.thewalte...bukan-and-his-tiger/ Image is enhanced [museums can't work out the lighting!]

Well what is the guy with the dragon doing - catching cyclones?

Well you could have bought something very similar from a dealer for just under four and a half times the price - but how much better off would that be - https://japaneseswor...-echizen-tsuba-1800s Not much in my opinion!

"Classic" wall display? https://www.jauce.com/auction/v1094165970 or https://buyee.jp/ite.../auction/v1094165970 Fits only five tsuba Or a six display https://www.jauce.com/auction/k1077502939

Well he probably ate a lot of fish!

Add to the set with this Kashira or is it a Kojiri? - very nice! https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1121007281 or https://buyee.jp/ite.../auction/s1121007281

SAGITTARIA leaves. OMODAKA as already mentioned. The seller has made a mistake, he should have sent the "bell crickets" but both are pretty good - just one without insects which I know you prefer.

From a blog site https://www.wahon.co.jp/news/2025/ 4 Goshuin stamps "I previously wrote on my blog that I received Toshiro Honekui's stamp at Toyokuni Shrine in Kyoto, but I didn't know that there are 3 other stamps, and when you put 4 stamps together you can make the handle of a sword's guard. When you look at it this way, it's pretty spectacular. There are things that appeal to you, such as colors and designs. There is a fox enshrined in Kogitsunemaru's stamp, but it is probably the Fushimi Inari Myojin shrine that gave it its name. If you look at it after knowing the origin of that statement, it feels different. I don't know much about swords, so perhaps the other three figures have some meaning as well. It's also fun to research things like this. It looks like we'll still be in a period where we can't let our guard down due to the state of emergency declaration and the epidemic prevention law, but I hope the day will come when we can visit the goshuin stamps without hesitation." - From 2020?

Well we better include the menuki as well - https://www.aoijapan...-design-is-engraved/ minus the rats!

Would this type of Kozuka fit in with the silk spool tsuba? https://www.jauce.com/auction/j1120830835 or https://buyee.jp/ite.../auction/j1120830835

Salmon and rat themed F/K - https://www.jauce.com/auction/s1120830360 or https://buyee.jp/ite.../auction/s1120830360