Bugyotsuji

Ueda says under 'Osai' that he is the same person as 'Okina-tei'!!! Maybe we're onto something here... excellent! :lol: (A couple of hours later at home.) *According to Ito Ryuichi they were the same person, real name 石岡 Ishioka, who worked in ivory in late Edo. If no-one adds to this, then perhaps I should attract fatphilip's attention to this discussion. May I say thank you all in the meantime for your fantastic narrowing-down powers of detective work! It feels as though something has been unblocked. :D

You have those Guido? They're quite expensive. I am sure they are great, but I have never quite plucked up enough courage to buy them!!! How about 翁亭 ? Okina-tei was a Netsuke carver, in ivory, in the mid-Edo period.

http://forums.netsuke.org/tool/post/net ... id=2347051 This is the original thread. It's a Hannya mask, I think. I too am not too happy with the material itself, as Guido points out. It looks a bit like resin? I don't even feel comfortable with the expression on the face... almost too close to something in a Spiderman comic. Someone on another forum suggested 'Rantei' for the Mei as you will see at the bottom of the thread. When I get home tonight I will hit the books again and see if the Mei of Nobody or the idea of Morita san is/was on any list of known Netsuke carvers. We could very well be on a wild goose chase, though. Thanks again everyone for your suggestions.

Thanks Markus. Much appreciated. I'll go back and check this evening to see if it fits, and tell you what I find out, if anything. There are two Masahiros mentioned in Ueda Reikichi, both starting with 正, and one ending with 弘　and the other with 廣. Could be a later artist, though. PS I like your avatar. I had a particularly fine kabuto-wari with the kikusui mon in gold and silver done beautifully on the 'blade'. (Sold it to a collector friend)

Thank you for answering. I had no right to ask you and I would have understood if you had kept silent.

Hi Piers, "大磨上無銘" reads O-suriage Mumei. For more information, please refer to the last part of the following thread. http://militaria.co.za/nihontomessagebo ... ght=#16597 Oh! Yes, I remember you posted that the other day, and I remember thinking how interesting, I should remember that! Please forgive my ignorance; I expect it will happen again, until I finally learn. How do you feel about this sword, or do you feel that it is safer not to comment?

They say they will only accept a return if the item is substantially different from the way it is described. So their description must contain most of the truth somewhere. Can Nobody clarify what 但し大磨上無名in small letters on the shirasaya means? (Tadashi, Daimigakeage Mumei) Does it mean, "Except, this sword has become Mumei after a large polishing?" (There is a section on the nakago that looks as though something has been polished off, as Paul said above.)

Hi Mike. Yes, yours does look surprisingly similar, apart from the Hitsu ana. Same number of petals in the kiku too! Hmmm..... What are the dimensions of yours? Tachi? When people say Heianjo, they generally think of Kyoto, right?

Hahahaha... that's where I got it from, Jim! Look at the link. :lol: No-one over there can answer the question, so I brought it over here...

Can anyone read this signature on the back of a Hannya mask? Thanks in advance. http://forums.netsuke.org/tool/view/mb/ ... &id=480625

Ok, I bought this a couple of years ago from a dealer from Tokushima in Shikoku, at a small antiques fair in Onomichi. It's a bit battered, but I like the size and feeling. The cloud design? zougan goes right round into the mimi; there is really only one section that looks like the original surface intact. The tsuba is 9.0 cm wide by 9.4 cm vertically. The mimi is about 0.3 cm thick. There are 24 petals in the kiku design. Can anyone tell me any more about it? Mumei. I may have got the ura above the omote?

Oh, and thanks to milt the flying ronin I found the 大五郎 Daigoro Kyo sukashi school and read up on them and now feel a lttle more educated... :D There seems to be something written in there, but I still haven't been able to figure it out...

Ok, that worked. Here is the Ura.

Let's try these. The Tsuba is about 8.7 x 8.8 cm. The mimi is about 0.3 cm thick.

Allow me to say I that I join in whole-heartedly in the above sentiments. From my short time here I have come very quickly to respect Moriyama san for his learning, his tact, his insight, his help and his willing guidance.

Erk, yes... I do take a lot of flak over my photography! The one on the left I paid quite a bit for, but it came from a source that I generally trust. Relatively large in size. It is in such good condition that it cannot possibly be three or four hundred years old. Just for you milt, but more to assuage my own guilt at the krap-P pic, I will post a close-up when I get home tonight. :D

Yes, I can see what you mean. I wish I had a real one now!!! Now my next task, milt, is to read up on Daigoro and find out which one you are talking about, and then hope that it's not another copy!

That's great to know even that. It'll give me a lead and an incentive to study. The second one was looking to me like a copy as the base metal material seemed to be shining through in places, especially the edges. This feeling grew stronger as I was photographing it. You have further confirmed my suspicions. I'm not sure what you mean by in line, but the back although covered in tiny puncture holes, looks as though it could have been forged this way from a mold/mould. You were able to spot the possible copy and even able to read the very unclear Mei of Kanaie... wow!

Mokko tsuchiji next...

Tombo dragonfly first

OK, you're on. That's my next project: to get some close ups of those two! The Tombo is about 7.8 x 8.2 cm The Mokko is about 7.0 x 6.5 cm

John, I do have an image shack account. I'll play around whith that when I get some real time. I usually keep the camera on minimum density as most forums don't like heavy loads. Once I've changed the settings on the camera I wonder if I'll remember how to get back to min rez again, LOL. Which one is the tsuchime tsuba? Is it the one with a surface that looks like it has been hammered? PS The chap who let me have the Tombo tsuba told me that it is actually quite valuable.

I am a resident in Japan but would hope to return to the UK one day as I am approaching retirement. Would I be able to get my bits back to the UK, I wonder? And how? The problem is that I don't think there is anyone in authority who actually knows the answer.

John, thanks for the follow-up on the Jumyo tsuba. What is the tosho style? Which ones should I take closer up, do you think? How high a rez will this site accept, I wonder? My mind plays over these tsuba and idly asks questions. For instance, with the Namban-tsuba, the flaming? fleur-de-lys? ball that the two dragons are playing with has the obvious first suggestion of Chinese influence, but it also seems to contain a possible secondary deniable significance of Kakuri Kirishitan (Hidden Christian). The object looks somehow like a Catholic sacred heart to me. Tray Level One, Row A He gave me 1,2 & 4. I bought No 3, the large Heian-jo. Row B He gave me 1,2 & 4. I was given 3 by a different friend Tray Level Two, Row A He gave me 1,2,3 & 4 Middle one also Row B He gave me 1,2 & 4. I bought 3, very rusted & needing TLC 4 Extras Left & Right I bought from a proper shop. The top Kachimushi dragonfly I bought from a friend. The bottom Heian-jo kuruma wheel I bought from a dealer at an antique fair.

Actually now that I have counted them, there are 21 altogether including the "Jumyo" that I posted somewhere on this site the other day! :lol: