Toryu2020

All - Just finished updating the site with a new article in the Archive - take note that the subject is a tsuba which I was turned on to by reading the message board - this kind of relates to the Art or Artefact thread we had a while back, would love to know if you all see my little gem as one or the other - there are other articles there as well, please take the time to check em out - there is an RSS feed for these articles and I do plan on adding more so if you like what you are reading feel free to subscribe. If you have any feedback i would love to hear it. http://www.toryu-mon.com -t

Brian- You forgot to add "and thanks for contributing to the topic Kodogu Guy!!" :D -t

All - I have always heard that Namban Tsuba were cast and having seen a few have always believed this. While some are copper there are many that are iron. In "The Namban Group of Japanese Sword Guards" by Dr John Lissenden he talks about his survey of museums and his own collection and concludes that most are in fact cast. If we accept his conclusions, most Namban tsuba were cast, most were produced between the 18th and 19th centuries and were indeed worn by members of all classes of Japanese society. I did not find the smoking gun however, a tsuba which was agreed by all to be cast and which was signed and dated and collected prior to the 19th century. It seems that such a tsuba must be out there, or we are faced with the conclusion that all or nearly all Namban tsuba were cast strictly for the export market and all those castings are in Europe or America. Dr Lissenden, FWIW, does seem to appreciate this class of tsuba on its own merits and provides some fine examples to illustrate. My references for kodogu are limited and I didn't find much else on cast tsuba in English or Japanese. An online search for Imono as suggested by Piers truns up a few examples of tsuba for sale, and some blogs concerned with similar questions we are wrestling with here. Still did not find any good articles on the subject, nor did I find that signed and dated work, that last word... -t

I wonder gentlemen if there isnt anything written about all this in the "mother tongue"? Does anyone know the term in Japanese for "Cast Tsuba"? Piers, what exactly was said to your friend? -tch (c for curious...)

Lee et al - I would ask, of all the examples that we have seen of the nokogiri on katana, tanto and wakizashi how many show wear from repeated use? How many have we seen that show repeated polishing? I think it is the idea that was attractive and not so much the actual application. Otherwise we might see many blades from the Setonaikai area with "rope-cutters" and the like. I doubt that these were were employed much if at all. They were just neat tricks an Edo period samurai could pull out to impress his friends. MHO of course... -t

Piers - Another possibility is gardening/flower arranging, imagine the idle samurai at a moon-viewing wowing all his friends by deftly cutting a sprig and presenting his guests with an impromptu centerpiece for their evenings proceedings... -t Kiyonaga more likely Shinshin-to than Niô imho

A steal at that price, congrats to whomever acquired it... -t

Andy - The signature is one of a very important smith and does not look good on first inspection. You will need to post close ups of the individual characters of the signature, you'll want strong lighting and no flash. The nakago (tang) and the horimono (carving) are also atypical of this artist (in my mind anyway). If you can do close-ups of the temper-line and grain pattern in the side metal that too will help folks answer your questions, -t

For those who are interested, Just finished loading a couple hundred more photos, please have a look if you are so inclided; http://www.toryu-mon.com Keep in mind it's "under construction" as I am still titling many of the photos... -t

Very tantalizing photos of the hamon, Jason I think you have a nice find there and a good research project. Maybe Echizen Seki or Ishido? Does not, from the photos, seem to fit Naminohira or any of the other listed Yoshimune. @Uwe - yes I would expect the mei and yasuri to be cut much more powerfully if it were Mizuta, I think the photos of the hamon rule that school out. My other thought was late Yoshimichi school but again the hamon I can see I think excludes that group as well. Jason - you really could have saved folks a lot of aggravation if you had posted all of this info from the first... -t

Phillip - No expert here but I have to agree this looks like Nagahiro or perhaps Nagafusa. The stipling on the end of the tang may be evidence of artificial aging, hard to say without the blade in hand. Given that the yasuri-mei, the file marks are takanoha or inverted V shape, I would venture that this may be an older blade by a Takada smith. What little we can see of the hamon might also suggest Seki school work (as already noted) and the Yasuri fits that area as well. If you can provide a detail photo of the other side of the tang at the butt end and perhaps one of the hamon above the habaki (ferrule) we might tell more but judgement from photos is always a guessing game... -t

Excellent! So we can see that this is a well cut mei - very likely a Shinto or Shinshinto work - is there any other info on the other side of the nakago? Do you have photos of the blade? Might help us get closer to figuring out who this guy was, that is if he was a real smith. My first guess on seeing this is Mizuta BTW... -t

Paul - You are correct, this was at the Clark Center in Hanford California. Something like a 4 hour drive from here with 6 other guys from the NCJSC. The swords were just so-so and did not photograph well. The armour made the trip well worth the effort. A very small museum but very nicely set up. -t

Jason - Good or bad we always will want to see pics, there are things all of us can learn from the image that cannot be presented in words... -t

Piers (Bug) - Why not post this in translation assistance? Perhaps Morita-san can help with this? I get "Nago-Jo something Zu" but since it is trimmed I can't be sure. I too like the idea that the true battle is only hinted at, everyone supposedly knowing Hideyoshi's story by this time so a hint is all most folks need and as suggested also gets you past the censors... -t (sorry had throw Bug in there, that just cracked me up so much)

Thank you Gentlemen - Some folks have pointed out that on some systems the photos take a minute to load - if you visit the site and click on GALLERIES give it a little time and all the albums will come up. It is "Under Construction" as I am still adding some photos and ephemera collected over the years and still in the process of titling some of the photos so do check in for updates. Cheers all, -t

Posted on behalf of a brother collector - Please if you encounter these items contact Wayne at the address below. -t To the Members of the Sacramento Japanese Sword Club - Unfortunately, a Sacramento-area sword collector was the victim of a burglary. The burglar will likely try to sell the stolen items. So, please be on the look-out for any of the following items. - Two Yasunori katana. One was dated Showa 18, is an unusually long 27 inches (the normal length is 26 inches, and is in Type 98 military mounts with family crests (mon). - A Yasutoku katana dated Showa 15, is 26 and 1/4 inches long, and is in Type 98 military mounts with family crests. - An Awataguchi Tadatsuna wakizashi with a 21 inch cutting edge. - A mounted Enju school katana approximately 30 inches long. - A late World War II Type 44 green scabbard. - A military gunto blade that was in the process of polishing. - Three or four Type 98 military mounts with tsunagi (wood filler blades). One of the mounts, unusually, had copper fittings. - A koto Morimitsu tachi approximately 28 inches long, ubu (the tang has not been shortened). - An unsigned koto Kamakura tachi with a hi (groove). - Several gold-inlayed menuki. The burglary occurred on Monday June 13 at approximately 9:30 a.m. The burglar was driving a navy blue pick-up truck. Evidence indicates the burglar was not knowledgeable about swords. Again, please be on the look-out for any of these items. Also, please feel free to forward this E-mail message to others who may see these items for sale. Thank you, Wayne _______________________________ Wayne Shijo KD Anderson & Associates 3853 Taylor Road, Suite G Loomis, CA 95650 Phone: 916/660-1555 Fax: 916/660-1535 Cell: 916/205-7032

All - Just spent the weekend scanning a bunch of old photos into the computer, these may be seen on my website http://www.toryu-mon.com under Galleries. Actually found more old photos while I was at it so in another week will be uploading those. Please take the time to visit the site and send me any feedback you may have on the articles I have posted as well. Thank you, -tch

Look for Kamon that feature fans (sensu)... -t

Piers- Can you post a close up of the small panel at upper left with writing in it? Have you read that or had others read it? Are there other seals or panels on the tryptich? Have you looked online for other examples of this image that have not been trimmed? Thinking out loud... -t

Jason et al - You might Google "Oni-Bôcho" for info on a most famous example that surely inspired many copies. FWIW at least a few folks felt this construction cut very well... -t

OK, So does anybody know which Sadahiro this is? Can we see more pics of the sword and the whole nakago? Keep the thread alive! -t

Can't help with an attribution but I can suggest you look at Edo period screen painting and other decorative arts for examples. These fan shaped panels were often used to create "windows" in larger works of art, and can be seen in Ranma and other architectural features... -t

Chris- In the late Muromachi blade shapes like this, moroha-zukuri, shobu-zukuri, kanmuri-otoshi and others became popular. Short stout tanto made for use as armor-piercers from that era could all generally be called yoroi-doshi which means "armor-piercer". Double thick hira-zukuri blades are most often described as such. They again become popular in the late-Edo period. I would study the shapes of dated examples from both eras and draw your own conclusions... A nice little piece BTW -t

Moroha zukuri, I would say late Muromachi given the color of the nakago, condition of the blade and complete lack of machi... -t