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Thanks Dale, keep them coming 😁

Hi Dale and Moriyama, Thanks for your comments, the box is certainly something I would never have identified Dale and agree the likely candidate. Many thanks

I recently bought this tosho tsuba which I think has been in a fire as I had to remove a bit of rubbish off the surface. It's starting to improve in its looks after a bit of fussing, which I'll continue to do. What I'm not sure of is what the sukashi design is meant to represent, any ideas would be welcome. Dimensions: Height and width 74mm Mimi thickness 2.8mm Seppa dai thickness 3.25mm

Thanks Alex. I wonder if the owner wanted to refresh it's look, influenced by what was in vogue at the time. It doesn't appear to have been damaged, it's in pretty good condition.

Thanks Dale, that makes sense. There do seem to be marks on the sekigane that would indicate filling to fit a blade or the movement of the tsuba over a nakago. Colin, I think you may be on to something. It does seem odd that various mountains have been cut off, example on the rear face below at 9 o'clock: May also explain the the uncertainty around the school, if these were normal hitsu-ana would Jakushi attribution be easier.

Thanks Lewis and Curran, To your point on Jakushi, from Bob Haynes site. The theme is similar, the write up points to the influence of Chinese Nanga Literati paintings as a source of inspiration for Jakushi artists.

Thanks all. There was just that nagging seed of doubt from the auctioneers description. Will look into Takada school. Geraint, I think the 'modern reproduction' may be put people off from the auction, sometimes luck goes your way as well!

A recent auction purchase that I took a chance on as it was described in the catalogue as 'A modern reproduction of a late 19thC Japanese cast metal tsuba'. I had studied the auctioneers pictures and I was pretty sure it wasn't a modern copy as I could see nunome-zogan, the sekigane around the seppa dai and hitsu ana looked like good copper inserts, the figures on the bridge looked typical of ones I have seen on other tsuba and it appeared to come with an old higher spec custom box. I'm no expert here and I may be totally wrong but now I have it in hand it looks authentic? Dimensions: Height 85.5mm Width 83.0mm Seppa dai 5.1mm Mimi with gold fukurin 5.2mm There's a few questions if you don't mind: The hitsu ana seem unusual for Soten compared to others I have looked at, is it Soten or in the style of? It doesn't look to have been mounted, and again the large sekigane for the hitsu ana I've not seen before, is this unusual? Having looked at Japanese paintings on-line to try determine the scene or tale it represents nothing jumps out with three travellers/sages admiring the mountain view with shrine/temple in the distance, any thoughts or is it just a nice scene? Thanks for looking and welcome any feedback.

Just received my latest purchase from Grev, as always a pleasure to deal with and no qualms regarding the quality of the tsuba. Would highly recommend buying from Grev.

Would you class Naomichi as a member of the Ichinomiya school, being the son and student of Ichinomiya Norinao?

Looks to be Naomichi, Tetsugendo school

All, Thank you for your responses, a couple of options to further explore. Dale, I'll take a look at that thread.

Bump - £115 + shipping Shipping - £10 UK £20 international

I've been trying to identify the school for this one, a common theme of tea ceremony utensils. Dimensions below: Shape: Nagamaru-gata Mimi: Maru-mimi Height: 69.5mm Width: 65.5mm Mimi thk: 4.65mm Seppa dai thk: 4.85mm Nakago ana: 23mm x 7mm I thought possibly Choshu or Kinai but not too sure, hence the question. At one point I even thought Akasaka but I don't think it's a theme this school would have used. Any thoughts welcome.

All, Thank you for your responses, these have given me food for thought. On reflection I agree with Dirk and Florian the theme is around rice planting. Florian's picture of the farmers in the paddy field certainly rings with the design on the front, with three farmers on the left and two on the right, with the small gold vertical inlays the actual rice plants (although not the normal uniform planting). This may also account for the horizontal carvings in each quadrant on the front, representing the water in the paddy field. Similar on the back. The pole and flags may well be a simple scare crow! Your thoughts and insights are very much appreciated.