Rich T

Hi John, it is Inaka mono 田舎物, "the work of a country artist" so yes, that matches your kanji. I have been working on my Kodogu glossary for my blog, and there is a page there now (were I got this reading/kanji from). It's a work in progress but it's coming together slowly. http://richardturner.wordpress.com/kodogu-glossary/ Cheers Rich

my thoughts are that this is a heavily rusted and poor condition mid to late Edo period tsuba that may be a Tosho guard. It is possible it may also be country work of some kind. I feel it is far too thick to be earlier than Edo, Muromachi/Momoyama period Tosho tsuba should be about 2mm - 3 at the max, Katchu a little thinner as John noted. The surface of the tsuba, and the mimi, is heavily effected with rust so we cannot gleam much from that I think, though the non corroded section where the seppa lived shows a fairly homogenous looking iron with not too much character. This tsuba could be anything I guess but an Edo Tosho guard might be as good a guess as any to me. As to original or not, well there is no sekigane, so if it fit the nakago, and was original, it would fit like a glove. If this is loose and sloppy, then I would suggest it is an add on, and possibly put on for the sword sale. Sorry if I am not able to add much more. Cheers Richard

Thanks John, mmmmm, sounds a little narrow minded to me. Still, no real problem I guess, it's just another page to pay no attention to LOL. onwards and upwards. Best Rich

http://www.seaox.com/nihonto/japanese_swords.html I am wondering why they attack Australians ?? It's a bit arrogant to attack ALL peoples who deal from one country. I even know of two or three legit dealers in Hong Kong. Richard

And this is some of the good Doctor's latest equipment. The most Hi Tech Pedal Power dentist chair Rich

Hi Rich, there are a few out there. Seems like you have about 500 gig at your disposal though LOL. Here's the first one I found http://freebeehosting.com/hosting.php Rich

It is possible (though I cannot really tell from the photo's) that it was something once, but that day has long gone sorry. I have a guard that is a complete fake, total Chinese rubbish. It was my very first (a victim of no study and Ebay). I keep it to remind me of my journey thus far. You may want to do the same. First timers....... buy from a dealer, there is plenty of affordable stuff out there. Cheers and better luck next time Rich

Hi Ted, None at all LOL, I was purely running off the GC description. If I was to guess first off, I would have gone down the Akita 秋田 or Bizen 備前正阿弥 Shôami path. I have also seen plenty of both Hizen and Yoshirô tsuba with this type of design. However this style of nunome would not be the norm for Hizen, though Yoshirô might get a look in. It would have been great to see the kanteisho for this tsuba, to see if it actually says Bungo ????? I might ask Imazu San. The words Pete Klein and dental probe, used in the same sentence, scare me LOL........................ Rich

A Bungo tsuba. I have never seen one before Rich http://world.choshuya.co.jp/sale/tousou ... /index.htm

Thanks John. I have been lurking about, just keeping a low(er) profile. cheers Rich

I got a rush of blood and put my blog back up. http://richardturner.wordpress.com/ I was missing all the images from the mosle Gotô story for a while and rebuilt all that as it is a good read. I have added a few other things recently and given it a fresh look. Hope you find something of interest in there. Cheers Rich

Interesting, I sent a tsuba late last year to the NBTHK that I was sure was Owari, the mimi was just like this, and the weight of the sukashi/feel of the design/look of the iron (minus tsuchime/colour (according to Ken's description) the same or similar. I thought at the time, if this does not go to Owari, I wonder if it will go Kyo something. It went to Akasaka. My point is, that many of these guards have similar traits, and as a result, can be hard for us to pin down. The colour of the iron, the shape and work in the mimi, the balance of the design etc etc got a little mixed I find in the early to mid Edo period, as well as the earlier sukashi styles such as Ko Shoami, Owari and Kyo Sukashi. Having said all that, I too like Shoami for this, if not Ko, then Kyo. Just a lazy Sunday arvo thought. Cheers Rich

This design was also common amongst the later Akasaka Tadatoki's. The carving running up onto the mimi reminds me of another group but I cannot put my finger on it. I would not think this Choshû as they tended to have fine kaku mimi. I know the Ito group did this as well, but they also ventured into broad mimi, both kaku and maru. I do not actually focus much on these groups though so I am happy to be corrected. Cheers Rich

Hi all, yes, as Franco has already noted, menuki can be placed into different groups and even individual makers. Goto, Ko Mino, Ko Kinko, Kyo Kanagushi, Ezo, Higo (the Kanshiro Nishigaki was famous for his menuki and fuchi kashira), and nearly all of the later Edo artisans made menuki. I would probably place these myself in the Kyo Kanagushi pond, and probably the mid to late Edo period. I wondered at first if they were Shakudo with a blown out flash ?, but John's idea of gin is also interesting. When studying menuki, it is just as important to look at the backs as well as the fronts. They can give us a good indication of age, construction techniques and quality and are important in in the kantei process. Lastly, if you can find Thomas Buttweiler's article on "The history of Pre Edo Menuki" it is an interesting read. Cheers Richard

Hi all, , one last pic, I just received this photo from a mate of the display Gordon and I put on (*mostly Gordon) for his talk on Ko Mino, Ko Goto and Ko Kinko, plus some old iron tsuba. The cabinet was not so great, but we made do. (sorry Adrian :-) Rich

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I thought I would pop up a few more images I have on my lap top, thanks to Alan and Sue for some of these. Rich

Hi all, I would like to echo Adrian's congrats to all. It was blast. Some of the highlites, Roger Robertshaw presented an excellent show on Hizen To with something like 20 swords covering the full range of Tadayoshi (this included, and I kid you not, a tits and ass section at the front., nice work Rog LOL). Bob Benson came and gave the tanto lecture he has presented in the US and Dr Gordon Robson and I presented a lecture on comparison of fittings from the Ko Mino, Ko Goto and Ko Kinko schools as well as a display of early iron tsuba. All shows were well attended and were received well. There were a great selection of local and international dealers and I managed to pick up a nice little something :-) I have added a few pics of the Shinsa area where I was the kodogu photorapher. As Adrian noted, we had a great time, learnt a lot and enjoyed some great laughs and made plenty of new friendships. Looking forward to 2011 and planning already. Cheers Rich

Hi Steve, Wakayama's Toso Kinko Jiten is a pure text reference, there are no mei images in it. He also wrote Toso Kodogu Meiji Taikan and that as well as the Kinko Taikan only list one Katsutoshi but the kanji are different, as is the kao. No joy there I'm afraid sorry. Cheers Richard

Later groups like Aizu worked in the styles popular at the time, this applied for many of the tsuba groups of the Edo period, all changing and copying each other depending on what was popular. Even Higo and Akasaka did this. Early Shôami tsuba stand shoulder to shoulder easily amongst anything from the Muromachi and Momoyama periods. The exhibit all the qualities one looks for in early iron tsuba, and their use of nunome in those early days is second to none. May folk shun Shôami work, but like all groups, in their later days they tended to drop off, some groups more and further than others. In their hey day though, I think they have many of the finest sukashi tsuba to be found. Cheers Rich

Hi Marc, the theme is described as Musha no Kuni Kozuka 武者図小柄 I believe (Warrior picture) It looks like 2 generals discussing battle plans while the other troops wait for instructions.... In regards to the next section (you asked about the kanji above Kaga Goutou) it says Mumei 無銘 (unsigned) The rest to the left says Shakudo Nanko Ji, Taka Bori, Iroe. 赤銅 魚子地, 高彫 色絵 Hope that helps (and I am correct :-) Cheers Rich

http://meiboku.info/ Hi all, while searching for something else, I found Alan Quinn's site. I thought it gone forever but here you go. Cheers Rich

Hi Mark, I'd go easy on cleaning them too much, that kin surface looks to be wearing thin already, too much cleaning may reveal more shakudo than you would like. I think these would probably paper as Kyo Kanagushi these days, which seems to be a popular term. Maybe Waki Goto at a stretch. Cheers Rich

Hi all, late in on this, this is not actually correct. Early Akasaka work has typically, miss matched hitsuana and odd and strange shapes, as well as both sides being the typical kozuka ana shape only large and thin in construction. But Ko Akasaka generally have one hitsu a lot smaller than the other. They are also know for very odd shapes and hitsu that are incorporated into the design. This is Akasaka, and I always thought it Owari. I find Shoami an odd call for this guard. I never consider Shoami to be a let down though, just to add to Fords comment, I have some fine Ko Shoami tsuba, (I collect these) and they are as good as anything going around. Just my 2 cents worth. Rich

Hello Chris, I believe this style of work is referred to as Shiiremono. Have a look on the following glossary. Brian is spot on in regards to the mei. The tsuba is not Souten work, it may be on a really good day some form or late low end Aizu Shouami or similar. http://www.jssus.org/nkp/kanji_for_tsuba.html Cheers Richard