Chris Colman

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.

Eric, Nihonto.com has an article on early generation Yasatsugu mei. regards chris colman

Not a match, but these two old yumi were made by Shibata, the plain lacquer yumi is, i believe, dated 1937, the last kanji on my yumi makes me wonder if there may be a tie in for yours. the 21st generation Shibata Kanjuro and his son are making yumi in Kyoto. He is well known in Kyudo circles and holds workshops for those interested in making yumi. regards chris colman

Have a look at "Begin Japanpology -Armour" on Youtube. I saw a modern O Yoroi in the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park a few years ago, if it was good enough to display there i imagine it was of suitable quality. i dont remember who made it, there are a few people specialising in traditionally made armour. regards chris colman

Hi Brian, The last two look like Kogyo prints, he specialised in scenes from Noh plays. regards chris

Hi John, they were made to order for me, i practice Kyudo and have been re-fletching arrows for a few years now. I kept an eye out for some during my various trips to Japan without any luck, searching websites earlier this year resulted in a company that makes them. chris

Yahanekiri, shears used for trimming arrows feathers to shape, they arived yesterday and i was surpised to see a hamon, gnome-midare. regards chris colman

Better? photos added regards chris colman

Sometime ago i posted photos of an F/K that was signed Takase Eiju + Kao, the work was not typical of the artist. Looking at the F/K again today i started to look more into the signature and found this link. To my eye the mei on my F/K is well cut and does not appear to be a copy of any of the samples shown above. Comments above indicate that the artist signed different versions of his name using either Kao and Kakihan as well. Could this be a Shoshin mei, why make something atypical of the artist and fake the mei? Musings of an old man with nothing better to do on a wet and chilly Sunday afternoon! regards Chris Colman

Hi Curran, Try Token Bijutsu Kogeisha in the links restoration list, they list them but out of stock for tsuba. The craftsman left Namikawa a few months ago so they no longer produce them. regards chris colman

Some tosogu came up at a recent auction, i was lucky enopugh to pick up these pieces. I am not sure what the finish is on the tsuba, too light for , it looks like shibuichi but i dont remember seeing this on a copper base before. chris colman

Hi Chris, I found Tom to be slow but reliable, he has wrapped a couple of tsuka for me, the last one took some time to get done. regards chris colman

Does anyone know what happened to Nihontoart de? I had a quick look at the site after seeing this post, now i want to purchase one of their book the site is not active. chris colman

Tsuba from a tanto I owned some time ago, photos taken with one of the first digital cameras so apologies for the quality, not that the quality of my photography has improved markedly from those days. chris colman

I am hoping someone will be able to translate the two possibly three kanji, the owner thought Naga ? Looking through my library of kanji it could be yama naga ? I haven't found anything like the last kanji. Apologise for the poor photo quality, taken with my old Nokia. thanks chris colman

Remaining photos of the Yasutsugu koshirae Also a set of iron fuchi-kashira with chider, I particularly liked this set because the chidori are almost a match for the tsuba which I have had for quite a few years. A more experienced collector than I told me the head was missing from the bird on the left other wise what a good tsuba it was. Seeing missing heads on the fuchi-kashira was quite pleasing.

Complete set of iron tosugu from a later generation Echizen Yasutsugu wakizashi, one of my favourite koshirae because of its simplicity. I am not sure if shark skin is used in stead of ray skin, the nodes are uniform any thoughts on this would be appreciated. The menuki I assume are based on the kenuki gata no tachi worn by Yoritomo in the well known portrait.

Hi, Nothing to add to meaning of the tsuba, but I did find in my saved photos a Kaneyama with similar motif. regards chris colman

Hi Piers, Thanks for the help, I have spent some time to arrive at Chohan Hajo Masataka zo, checking over all the kanji references I could find. I can see some resemblance between the tsuba kanji and those you posted, without them I wouldn't have got anywhere. regards chris

I hope someone can help with this mei, Masataka is all I can get from my books, initially I though Choshu, but none of the kanji match anything I have looked at. regards chris colman