Chris Colman

A caligraphy given to me by a Kyudo sensei i usd to see every year, translation by him - "clouds and water move with great energy but no power" We had visited Osu Kannon in Nagoya, he bought a Shodo caligraphy there, when we returned to the dojo, he asked me to wait while he went home, a while later his assistant returned and presented a copy to me, it now hangs in my dojo in New Zealand. Sensei was always telling me "no power", when i was shooting.

Funny, i was going to post the staff by Torei Enji yesterday. i really like the Tetsugyu. I can read some kanji, but the shodo i have seen are usually opaque to me, i appreciate them as an artwork..

Better overall shape and look to it. Torei Enji (1721-1792) Enso Nakagawa Soen (1907-1984) Mu Both dynamic flying white examples

That appear to be moving, another wonderful piece.

Wonderful.

I know this technique as "flying white", my example of it:

Hi Curran, how much to ship to Auckland NZ? regards chris colman

Kamakura tsuba, early Muromachi according to the Christies auction tag.

Before and after - Ishiguro Masatsune kozuka, purchased in 2010, kept in a standard kozuka box from Namikawa Heibei, in a gun safe that was opened about a dozen times each year. After photo is from last year, repatiantion could be seen after a couple of years, it took another six or seven to look almost complete.

Hi Piers, How is this one? I had it as Kageyama Tomohide regards chris

My offering, Sandai Jingo, i can't find the tsubashi listed in Haynes or the Seiko books i have. Mumei Kashira. 新年快乐 chris

Hi Malcolm, Nakago of a niji mei Muntesugu katana, the hamon and sugata are very similar to an Ietsugu katana that was for sale on Sanmei Trading some time ago, i had thought he might have been a student of Ietsugu.

Read the article and then look at the inlay through a good magnifying glass you will then see how good the artisans were. regards chris

Hi Roger, it looks like Kaga Yoshiro inlay, not all Yoshiro tsuba have the inset mon. Your tsuba looks like a Momoyama period as you say, it is also better quality than some i have seen. There is a good article on Yoshiro tsuba in NMB downlaod section. regards chris colman

Translated from a Kamakura Bori tsuba for sale: The origin of the name of Kamakura Tsuba is neither the name of the place nor the name of the era. It is said to have originated from a technique that imitated the safflower and green leaves method used by the grandson of Buddhist sculptor Unkei when he made Buddhist altar fittings for Hokke-do in Kamakura. With the addition of Zen Buddhism's era, the two were mixed together and unified into Japanese sensibilities to give birth to what is called 'Kamakura tsuba'. It is said that it flourished from the end of the Muromachi period to the Momoyama period and disappeared in the early Edo period.