Spartancrest

Vitaly, a Soten or Hikone style guard - cast in 'soft' metal. Does not appear to have been mounted, the seppa-dai rough and casting seams in some of the openings. No signs of Izarae 'finishing off' or reworking. They didn't bother putting an unbelievable signature on it. Probably made for export or a practice sword. [IMO]

The quote originally from Dan. What if the production procedure involved cutting in the mei first, then applying the faces? The process of cutting or engraving the signatures would add extra stresses to the bad 'inlay' [or glue] so it could have resulted in construction in an out of sequence fashion - on a good quality piece you expect the signing to be done last, why sign something if it ended up being badly made? But intentionally making a fake with little quality control, you get the saleable elements done first [signature] then the pretty bits get added. The manufacturer doesn't care if the pretty bits fall off latter, you have already paid him for the signature. This partly contradicts what I said in the Cleveland book- but all things are open to speculation and we really don't know the manufacturing procedures fully. One as yet unsolved mystery is why if these fakes were made as export ware [what else could they be made for?] - why are they still coming out of Japan a hundred years or more from when they were being made? Did a few hundred thousand not make it to the wharf and were sent back to storage?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/285150180793 Do people still 'dress up' with Cufflinks and Tie pins? International Kendo Federation 1970 [in silver] - notice though the design has the hitsu-ana the wrong way around. [just me being picky ]

Hi Collin, the use of so much 'ten-zogan' [dot inlay] is an unusual feature on your guard, It usually indicates dew or rain drops [and just looks great as well!]. Perhaps the 'rain' or early morning 'dew' also has a special meaning in the story? I notice both your guard and the one from the Metropolitan Art Museum [Accession Number: 91.1.771] supplied by Soren don't show the spider, it is simply inferred, otherwise I would direct you to this thread which has a wasp and spider.

Still 'horsing around'. You can add these to what to avoid as far as cast horse theme 'tsuba' [if you can call them that?] Where are the scrap iron dealers when we need them!

Soren, Soren - yes they are the guys sent out to do the scouting- and often the first to get shot! [or am I thinking of the Vietnam war?] Your picture is better than my feeble attempt to make sense of a collection the museum itself couldn't be bothered to organise or research. [The book even printed on feeble paper - not my fault I chose a feeble company to get the cheapest print so people could get a cheap book - which the retailers then simply hiked up the prices, to make sure they don't! ] I would cry if I could afford a handkerchief.

Thanks Florian, there always seems to be exceptions, it is very hard to set firm boundaries between one school type or another. Ko Shoami - Akasaka - Owari I have no idea how to narrow down the attribution on Dan's guard. I guess that is what makes collecting so much fun, it would be pretty boring if we knew it all. The rusty one seems to be expensive for the condition it is in - I bet Dan didn't pay near that much for his 'clean' one.

Also close elements to your example. https://jp.mercari.com/item/m10648878624

Might be an Owari pattern? I see similarities with this one [but I do struggle between Akasaka/Owari they seem to have copied each other at times] http://www.ksky.ne.jp/~sumie99/Owari1.html Note the small birds making up the hitsu outline, the leaf joining them to the rim and the boxes rather than separated lines top and bottom of the seppa-dai [which is narrow, while yours is somewhat thicker]

A few more similar, including another from the Ashmolean museum not part of the A. H. Church collection. http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/4/867/873/12746 https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/Japanese-samurai-antique-tsuba-crab-1750619193 https://collections.mfa.org/objects/13350/tsuba-with-design-of-crab-and-grasses?ctx=ac649585-690e-46f3-a1d1-693c279367e3&idx=1 Tsuba with design of crab and grasses Akasaka Tadashige Akasaka School: Signed Tadashige 忠重 I fear Soren is correct, tsuba collecting is a hard thing to try and go 'cold turkey'- you need a regular 'fix'!

https://aucview.aucfan.com/yahoo/m1070851847/ https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b285404825 This one is a tobacco pouch ornament. This image from a 'Proxy' site very likely bogus so I won't add the link. https://sword-auction.com/ja/product/6384/af17497-揃金具：無銘後藤-伝-栄乗-蜘蛛と蜂/ Goto attribution. Try a search using these kanji - クモとハチの目貫

A few more for good measure. https://www.aoijapan.net/menuki-mumeiunsigned-spider/ https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/312789136594341019/ What stands out to me is very little information on who or when they were made so it is back to square one.

It is all about asking the right questions - and having a computer that seems to know what you are after from years of experience - "ghost in the machine"

Bonhams auctions would disagree. https://www.bonhams.com/auction/21861/lot/121/an-akasaka-tsuba-mid-18th-century/ Not that auction houses always get it right - I can't translate the papers but I can only assume Akasaka appears somewhere on the document? [Not that papers always get it right either!] Other shaped guards are also known to be made by Akasaka masters, so the precedent for non-maru guards is set. https://to-ken.uk/onewebmedia/Akasaka Tsuba.pdf https://www.aoijapan.net/tsubanbthk-hozon-paper-mumei-akasaka-school/ Slightly

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255177425983 and https://soryu.pl/products/shakudo-menuki-with-spider-eating-a-wasp https://www.bonhams.com/auction/22815/lot/171/six-pairs-of-menuki-one-pair-by-yasuchika-19th-century-18/ http://tetsugendo.com/GalleryMenuki.html Excellent shakudo and gold menuki of spider devouring hornet/wasp. Goto school menuki of spider and wasp. Seen on many Juyo sets of Goto kodogu, this is a very classic design. My first thought is this design is pretty popular - second thought is pretty common.

I just found this and thought you might find it relevant. No specific information on it - it was from an archive of old auctions from Germany.

One here with elongated net openings - thicker rim not as fine as Luca's example. https://www.aoijapan.com/tsubamumeijudged-as-akasakanbthk-hozon-paper-3/ Tsuba: (NBTHK Hozon Paper) Mei (signature): Mumei (judged as Akasaka)

I wonder if this is cast? A very very rare example with an actual face! This guy is taking a smoko break. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoko Inlaid [glued on] face intact - super rare! and back to more 'faceless' examples.

I have seen a few inro decorated with tsuba images but this is the first Shibayama tsuba shaped inro I have seen.

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5438265

I can't add anything else to the Cleveland Museum one - that museum is pretty poor on information. Another in the N.S.W. Art Gallery collection with a heavier rim - no real information on that site either. https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/439.1996/ I rather like the free flowing look of Luca's example very similar to the Cleveland. The other examples are rather rigid in their repeated pattern. You might have to add Chôshû to your list of possibilities this rather attractive one from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston https://collections.mfa.org/objects/11367/tsuba-with-design-of-cherryblossom-and-net-pattern

Hey just because I find the image don't think I own it - my tastes are strange but not that strange.

Wow Stephen, I even like the way the blade on that plane was made - supper unusual.

Bruno - Me too! That other one with 'crunched' up face is up for auction https://buyee.jp/mercari/item/m48842083660 not a great piece and they are asking a fortune [IMO]

Sorry Soren, I can't help with the school or maker but I would like to show a guard related to the second image you posted.