Curran

If in the US, work with US dealers. Unless you are buying at the Juyo or above level, you will do much better for your $ in the USA. Also, no international mail or customs hassles and you can return it or be protected by USA law in a state to state transaction. As far as Nobukuni works go, if it doesn't look like the attached examples= then what is in a name? The first few generations of Nobukuni are great.

Trans: Tsuchiya School, from the line of Yasuchika, starting from the 4th generation Yasuchika the 4th was active also with the name “Nagahide”. His first name (or real name) was “Shinsuke”. He also used “Sei Unsai” and “Ichirin”. It isn’t known if the 4th gen was the natural son of (or adopted by) the 3rd gen. Either way, he also studied with the master Iwamoto Konkon in the province of Mito. There he produced pieces signed “4th gen Yasuchika, resident of Mito”. The 4th gen Yasuchika produced works mostly in katakiribori. [from Markus Sesko’s text on the Japanese Toso-Kinko Schools, p.166] ------------------------------------- I had not read this before, but it frames perfectly a fuchi-kashira set attributed to the 4th gen that I had been resisting buying. The work was in katakiribori. Also, I'd been studying this yondai work. https://www.kusanaginosya.com/SHOP/238.html --There is something about his katakiribori that stands out to me as distinct, but I haven't figured it out yet.

San Fran is a bit far of a drive from Eugene and an awkward flight, unless things have changed in recent years. Still, he is in a fairly good place to start learning. Both San Fran and Portland have some A+ grade collections, which it might take a few years to appreciate some of the pieces you may see.

I hadn't visited that website in a long time. As of this morning, I got various 404 Error messages from the site. There is a long long ago sold tsuba on that site where I wanted to save an image for academic purposes. It has been an extremely long time since I last saw Mr. Kurata. To some degree, He and Mike Yamazaki were once in business together. Mike Y. might be able to reach out to him.

Okay, -usually I ignore threads like this- ... but your are from Eugene OR and I've had a good day. So: short version. Get up to Portland and try to see if RKG can show you some good stuff. Maybe some day Haynes and E. Long will be open to a show n tell picnic once this Covid is more in the rear view mirror. You have some very fine tsuba collections within spitting distance from you. I forget how long it took me from Eugene to Portland, but it was a heck lot easier when the in-laws lived there than when they lived in Coos Bay. You are off to a decent start, but don't buy tsuba that are this badly cracked. A small crack at a thin sukashi point, or an oxidation crack from age => it happens. Sometimes it has its own beauty. This one is more like a broken front tooth on an otherwise decent looking person. Too much front n center. I did like your Honda Civic comment, having once lived on a street where the kids would friday night race their cars with a bunch of high priced after market crap tacked on.

I think there have been enough threads about not using Buyee. Probably your safest thing is to do as Brian said and get Kelly Schmidt involved to ship your item.

nice one.

Moriyama-san, As always- thank you. I am a little embarrassed, as I should have recognized that. I previously owned this tsuba: 18.jpg (1405×1878) (shibuiswords.com) "Geishu ju Yoshihisa" before I sold it to an Australian who then sold it on to Bob Haynes. This matsukawa mon tsuba doesn't feel as old as the other Geishu ju Yoshihisa, so I am going to guess it to be Haynes #11630.0, the son of the first Geishu ju Yoshihisa Haynes #11614.0 So.... not Echizen Myochin Yoshihisa line. Rather, of the father n son Yoshihisa of Aki province near Hiroshima. Both tsuba really feel like tosho tsuba.

Hi Rich, Quick picture in the evening sunlight. Straight forward solid but thin tsuba. No hitsu ana.

Nice little tsuba signed "Yoshi hisa saku". Tosho plate. Edo from some time in the 1700s or 1800s. Most likely it was from one of the Echizen Myochin that were retainers to the Matsudaira Daimyo for at least a dozen generations. BUT.... I could be wrong. I cannot make out the place name on it. To me it looks ______ Moto _____ Ju [then] Yoshihisa saku on the other side, with a large "Yoshi". It anyone can figure out that first Kanji or how to read the right hand side, I am most greatful. Curran

From what I can see in the photos: [ #1] Iron one, with gold clouds (hint: from Kyushu) - YES. Definitely. Much better than the first few tsuba I ever owned. [#2] Iron landscape with two guys near a copper pot - You could do worse. A starter level tsuba from which you can learn some things.

$300+ for the silver cat scratch habaki $250 to $500 for the NBTHK papers, depending where / whom submitted it. * In polish*. ko-mihara. --Good school and at least 520+ years of age. Mark, this is borderline a charity gift to somebody. [Be sure to get a charitable donation slip, as tax deductible for 2021.]

No laddie, no..... put your wallet away. This one is dead. Don't buy it unless in order to apologize to its maker and give it a proper funeral. From the shi-shi + peony + concentric nanako work and a few other things, I'd hazard the guess that this was once Kyo-kinko work.... ie. from the Kyoto area. BUT.... hard to tell. When something has been either chemically or in the ashes of a fire slagged so badly like that, it is time to give it a proper burial. When something is this dead, you usually have to go to the dental records to get further identification.

Thanks John. I had a few spare moments and looked it up in Haynes. I didn't see a clean match with that +kao. Maybe the original poster can share more of an image of the tsuba we are dealing with. I don't need a whole picture, but would request enough detail of any design elements so that I can narrow down which Hidemitsu it might be.

How about just "Hidemitsu" + kao