ZachH

Gentlemen, Thank you for the confirmation, kind words, and encouragement. I thought to myself if they could fake the corrosion/patina around the seppa dai on this tsuba, there was no way I could ever tell a copy from an original. "I think Shingen tsuba fall into a category of "samurai" weaponry. Maybe they should be viewed as "militaria" rather than "art"." Peter, your statement makes perfect sense on how these are perceived. Geraint, thanks for the link. One final question. Are these considered late Edo? Thanks again for all of the assistance. Zach

Hi, I have been thinking about collecting tsuba since I was kid when I first saw the plates in Stone’s "Glossary of Arms and Armor" (1980’s). However, I have other collecting interests and have focused on them instead. Recently I travelled to Japan and found this tsuba in an antique market and decided to make my first purchase. For me when exploring a new hobby reading and studying is a must but I have to have something tangible as a reference to explore as I continue to research. Getting home and re-reading up on tsuba I started to look into this particular piece. My gut told me that the design was probably a stylized centipede and that led me to discover I had a “Mukade-zōgan.” Interesting I thought, then I read that these are: -One of the most heavily “copied” tsuba. -Controversially associated with Takeda Shingen and called such in some circles (At present, to me anyway, that connection seems tenuous as clear attribution seems to be lacking). -Someone stated that the staple work doesn’t take much skill and that tsuba artisans’ wives could have made these. -Several collectors/connoisseurs appear to reject the collecting of this type of tsuba as not having any artistic merit. What I would like to know is what time period would this tsuba be from? Is it genuine? Is it a copy? Anything else that you could share would be much appreciated. (Dimensions are rough estimates) Height: 77.5 mm Thickness: 3.5-4 mm? (seppa-dai and rim seem the same thickness) Weight: 121 grams Design: Iron and Brass staples – Mukade Thanks, Zach