Spartancrest

You might be excused from thinking this is just made up- But you can check it out yourselves - https://www.creema.jp/item/10613613/detail A Tsuba lucky charm for face masks! - Only in Japan! No wonder I caught COVID I didn't have a charm on my mask! [I love some of the descriptions!] This can't be right: Edible silver tsuba? https://www.higotora.com/cp-bin/blogn/index.php?e=187 Google translate has much to answer for!

Glen - I bet the younger members are all looking to Google for an explanation of who is "Fozzie Bear" - So last century!

Seriously Glen - great work on the design origins

Good point Jeremy - they might be covering all bases.

Sorry Jeremy - I beat you to this one, 3rd post on the 12th July. It is taking some time to sell, I wonder why?

Back on topic - what do people think of this site? https://varshavskycollection.com/collection/tsu-0323/ usually very good information but not this theme! No rabbit I know has a long bushy tail like this.

https://www.jauce.com/auction/o1078569561

Well not a tsuba but a Kozuka decorated with them : https://www.jauce.com/auction/l1078554647 Unfortunately I think it has seen better days.

Well the lights do flicker a bit in the room where I keep it! [Do you know anyone that sells lead lined tsuba boxes (Kiribako) ?]

I thought I might include this one I recently "adopted" - it is scary because of the way it looks and the fact it comes from Hiroshima!

This looks like a good find - https://www.jauce.com/auction/d1078209100 "Sword guards and fittings from Japan : the collection of the Museum of Decorative Art, Copenhagen : bequest of Dr. Hugo Halberstadt / editorial supervision by the Museum of Decorative Art, Copenhagen ; critical commentary and plate descriptions by Nobuo Ogasawara ; with a foreword by Erik Lassen and a discussion of the collection by Jørgen Schou-Christensen" Added bonus it is in both Japanese and English with a collection of fittings mixed in with the tsuba. This book is selling for as much as US$ 820.00 elsewhere. [I wish I hadn't already spent my pocket money for the month!] another in English and Japanese also with a few fittings, good glossy images almost full size - hardcover cloth-bound https://www.jauce.com/auction/q1077007609 Tosogu no Kansho by Shoyukai. 82 pages. This book is a limited edition of 1,500 copies from 1982

Toso Soran by Kazutaro Torigoye has a little of both tsuba and smaller fittings written in both Japanese and English. [beautifully bound as well] mentioned in this old thread.-- https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/1833-torigoye-kodogu-and-tsuba/ A little hard to come by but you might track a copy down - https://www.antikvariat.net/en/ansd22175-toso-soran-kodogu-and-tsuba-international-collections-not-published-my-books-torigoye https://www.satcho.com/Tosogu.htm https://www.cmmilitaryantiques.com/products.php?rid=8157 KOZUKA 100 Claud Thuault collection beautiful book with colour images of the kozuka's $140 https://www.cmmilitaryantiques.com/products.php?rid=8309 It is important to do some shopping around, some book sellers are to put it mildly "excessive" with their prices and you are better off searching for yourself once you find a title you might be interested in. For instance I recently bought a copy of Toso Soran for 5,000 yen [about $40 US] but other sellers were around the $160 > $200 range.

I am not familiar with this book but perhaps it holds what it says on the cover? https://www.slmoss.com/only-fittings Though it looks a little 'thin' https://www.ebay.com/itm/284263878567 https://soldiersmuseum.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=607 https://www.ebay.com/itm/165282046776 https://www.amazon.com/Important-Japanese-Woodblock-Midnight-November/dp/B001BHEN2W

https://www.lotusartsdevivre.com/products/tsuba-buckle-belt-with-galuchat At these prices I will stick with string holding my pants up! How much for a pair of braces? GALUCHAT BELT WITH TSUBA BUCKLE Regular price USD $3,590.00

Even more classy - too rich for my blood! https://www.studiobaharra.com/bushido-line-products/tsuba-medallion-buckle $1,900.00 TSUBA: ALL SILVER APPR 2 INCHES DIAMETER https://www.lotusartsdevivre.com/products/tsuba-buckle-belt-with-galucha TSUBA BUCKLE BELT WITH GALUCHAT TSUBA BUCKLE BELT WITH GALUCHAT Regular price USD $4,310.00

Yes they move but you might need a microscope to do any calculations! I am surprised the thin wires are still intact, must have been a fun build!

This one is a tsuba imitating something else - an abacus - perhaps it belonged to a merchant? Count the number of dead after a battle? Liked the sound of rattling metal? and another tsuba inspired inro

A lighter for the Aussie Barbie [BBQ]? https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/shopping/zippo-landing_r02-2018i/category/2406 https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/shopping/revolutjp_cstg2/category/2406 and a nice shirt for the Aussie summer. Coffee cup? https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/shopping/o-trap_99408103/category/2406

Getting back to Bazza - do you need ice with that bottle opener? https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/shopping/o-trap_99411229/category/2406 I swear there is some strange tsuba stuff out there!

You might like to try using these kanji for a search - イタチ 目貫 or イタチ 鍔 - I would not rely on Google translate for the description on these menuki! Very close theme to the Peabody examples. https://tokka.biz/fittings/F068.html This rather fat menuki [more like a tanuki to me ] https://aucview.aucfan.com/yahoo/s1071573559/ described as "Katamenuki for tanto Inlaid copper base metal Large weasel rat design"

A kozuka on "flea spray" https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/275157078433 - the rare camel head weasel!

Now this guy doesn't look very cute! Freddy Krueger meets the Wolverine! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_weasel Kamaitachi (the slashing sickle-weasel that haunts the mountains) from Kyōka Hyaku Monogatari [what is he, an early model leaf-shredder? ]

You might have to strain your eyes a little but there is a weasel on the lower left near the gold goat.

I just found this link to the archive of the "The Peabody Museum collection of Japanese sword guards" - https://archive.org/details/peabodymuseumcol00peab_0/page/n51/mode/2up The full book and images are there, Perhaps this link could find its way to the downloads section ? Nice that a museum has made this available to the general public - Cheers to the "Peabody Museum of Salem". [ I could have saved my time photographing the book pages at home! ]