Curran

Hi Cole, Good to have another collector here in Georgia.

You made me look. Nice fittings. The same could use a small discrete lacquer repair in a spot or two, and the kurikata needs something (repair or replace). Otherwise, looks like it would be a nice little package could be dressed up with a sageo and basic kozuka-replacement.

It seems Michael and I both commented at the same moment, from the 2 sides of the Atlantic.

It looks like a nice modern made tsuba to me. Not cast, but some of the working makes it look more like a modern utsushi to me. Fine for what it is, depending upon your pricepoint to satisfaction ratio. That is just my opinion. I have been fooled once or twice before and given the item to Goodwill thereafter.

This is a Hayashi Shigemitsu I own. 2nd gen of the school. Ex-Ito-san. I've been told it is a Camellia design, but I have not translated the description of the papers.

I thought the same. Both of these might have been his back in the day. He has specialized more in one school and sold off the other Higo schools. A few of those reside with now. Some got away. That wave form one might have escaped my tractor beam.

It looks like someone also brought a very nice wave form Kanshiro tsuba. Unless my wife rug-pulls the move, life looks like we will be joining you next Fall.

Oh, to hope, to hope! This Tariff schtuff chaos has been a severe butt cramp the last few months. The US Customs site updated in late November 2025 and claims that antiques are tariff free. https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/file?release=currentRelease&filename=Chapter 97 I've been very cautious, as some people are still getting slammed. The one tsuba I had sent to me from Japan was +23.5% or so with Tariff and Taxes.

Wow, that is a pretty butterfly cabinet example of lacquerware. Wife would probably permit that in our house. I'm glad I clicked on the link. As you guys debate this, I have no real knowledge to share. I'm familiar with the Korean furniture versions of this, and have watched videos on how they make it. I've never much delved into the Japanese versions.

Yes, my thoughts exactly. On my katana kake: I too have a Higo koshirae up with a shirasaya'd mumei Shinto Echizen blade that doesn't really go in it. The (very) few blades I own are stored elsewhere. On my Higo koshirae, the parts (f/k) are worth about as much as the entire koshirae would bring. Darcy went through a period where he insisted on telling me that every sword shop in Tokyo was stripping down old koshirae for their parts. I happened to walk into a shop near Aoi Arts where they were doing this. Obviously they didn't expect the foreigner to pop in on some random winter holiday. If the day comes that I want to rip fine artwork apart so that it can fit into little wooden boxes and be sold off, then I might as well climb into my own box and close the lid on the casket.

As per Alex, about 4k not including the price of the parts. I did it for a special blade, but it is a total money sink. Hence why Aoi Arts is always retrofitting koshirae to blades. Much easier to do that.

Here are code references: https://www.unisco.com/hts/97061000 and https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=9706.10.00.40 I thought that antiques were now subject to such tariffs, but the one site claims to be updated as of Nov 25th, 2025. Is that accurate, or stale information. @cluckdaddy76 do let us know if you get a tariff bill after the fact. Otherwise, I guess I am using Harmonized Tariff Codes again.

This is new to me. It dares give me hope.

Higo-lite? It resembles the earlier works of this design, but has a crudeness that makes me think later or much later. A member here has one, but I cannot share the photo without his permission. I believe this design is also documented and published in Ito-san's texts. Probably in Shimizu-Jingo volume, though it might be in Hayashi as well.

It looks that way. Very different from the tsuba signatures.

Eh, magari. You have no idea how much my Italian has declined in the last 35 years. Even then, if my Italian or Japanese were ever as good as your English??? Non ci credo.

We have Goto Kenjo and others going up from Edo over to visit the Maeda. We also have abumi workers form there sort of teaching the reverse technique to fittings makers. Quite the artistic commune back in the day. My thoughts were more... what artists hitched a ride to the art commune back in the day? Colin's tsuba has the feel of someone familiar with Chinese painting style or screenwork, and the placement and zogan from Kaga works starting sometime in the 1600s. My thought is that there is at least a year or two there where he must have been up near Kanazawa and learned a trick, ... or five... Just it feels like a lot of Kaga influence in this. Given the supposed production period of the artist, gotta think something is missing from his bio.

Thanks Steve. I didn't see this post until now. I had my head turned by a Hoan the other day. We'll see if I end up on target in April, or coming back with something else. I have to halt this listing, as the -sho just papered in Japan. Got to get the -sho back, and consider listing as a Dai-sho set. The Dai- came from Ito-san. The Sho- came from a pre WW2 collection in Massachussets. How do we know they were a Dai-sho.... well, not 100% confirmed, but looks like they are recorded back in the 1800s Kamiyoshi Ehon records of Hayashi tsuba. Off to post the Mega-sized Tokugawa Ono next.

Wow! That is earlier than I would have thought for some of the techniques used on the tsuba. Kinda like seeing a Boeing Jet and thinking it is 1969, only to learn the image is from 1869.... I am aware of some Kaga area Abumi artisans transferring some of their style of workmanship to tsuba around the 1650-1700 era, But I have to admit that I would have dated this tsuba closer to 1800.

This was RKG : https://www.rkgphotos.com/about.htm I believe he was in his late 50s. Has there been an obit for him? @Grey Doffin how did you hear this? I'd hoped he would get through his surgeries.

Last sword I bought was a few years ago. Double mukansa blade (from province D) that was made for the head of the LDP (also from province D). Blade, habaki, and shirasaya were made in 2002. I admit part of the appeal was the price included a double gold habaki. In hindsight, it looks like I bought a habaki with a sword attached to it.

The last time we spoke, he was undergoing fairly complex invasive stem cell therapy. This had been the sci-fiction goal back in my university research days, and fast forwarding to Richard's situation- I was surprised by the high mortality rate. A long time ago RKG and I were good friends. We would have a bit of a falling out in 2008. Yet I mourn his passing. His photography became his passion, and he advanced tosogu photography significantly. He shouldered a lot of responsibility for his family. I hope his soul finally gets some rest.

Well- 1500s iron, signed. If that doesn't happen, there is a very short list of other candidates. If any of them pop up, then one of them. They are rarer than 1500s signed iron. Got to hit them whenever those unicorns appear. Anyway you slice it, a tsuba probably in the low to mid 5 figures. I'd probably balk at anything costing more than the car I currently drive. On the flipside, most every tsuba I own was worth more than the car I drove up until April 2025...

Given: [1] the height of the birds, the bridge, the treasure bag design elements on the front, [2] the high sheen polish on all the design highpoints [3] lack of evidence of any carving other that that achieved by the madman using the punch for the nanako [4] the details on the birds, the bridge, the treasure bag, etc... were all finely done into the high sheen polish, probably at the end of production My opinion was: cast into a mold, endured some sort of super polishing, and the finishing details added by hand. Yet... I've never seen another like it. So either it proved too labor intensive to do it this way, OR it is a one off by some ko-kinko worker. I would add that the nanako puncher feels like a different person's work than whomever added the fine details to the birds, bridges, etc. Much gentler work.

Well, I hope to show it in April 2026. Consolidating up to Juyo level iron takes sacrifice.