Okan

Perhaps this is a matter best left for the Japanese people to address, as they are the true custodians of their cultural heritage.

Knotweed...(or maybe Wasabi..who knows.)

Hi Simon, It’s most likely a cast tsuba made for tourists in the 1970s-80s. It’s not genuine, but don’t worry—buying a cast piece will help you learn and differentiate between fake and real ones in the future.

住東叡山忍岡辺長曽祢虎徹入道 Nagasone, priest name ´Kotetsu´, close to Shinobugaoka at the Tōeizan Gimei.

I'm just a fan

How about one with a built in seppa

Shopping can become an addiction, but collecting itself is not. For the true collector, a collection serves as a form of self-expression. Hoarders, on the other hand, often feel a compulsive need to acquire as many items as possible within their budget to boost their self-esteem. For serious collectors, a collection should evolve with personal taste, which requires knowledge to develop. That’s why the first piece of advice you’ll hear is to invest in books. This principle applies to various fields, whether it’s swords, ukiyo-e, ceramics, or others. Some collectors might purchase ten tsuba for $1,000, while others might choose to buy only one for the same amount or even much much more. It all comes down to personal taste, as long as you understand what you’re buying and why. Self-education is very important to distinguish between a $1,000 tsuba and a $100 one. There are also individuals who don’t feel a need to collect items but instead focus on research and knowledge. For example, Markus Sesko(who is a very big deal) owns only one tsuba, which was gifted to him. Hope this helps! I wrote this with "swords" in mind, but the same principles apply to tsuba collecting as well.

Was once in this box..now all around the world..

https://psychcentral...tention-seeking-kids

@Dan tsuba, I think you are overreacting. Paris probably didn't know what he bought, so I agree with @ROKUJURO and @Alex A. He mentions that he is learning, but these are not learning pieces. There’s no need to misguide him. Let him learn, and only then can he decide if he wants to collect rusted shipwreck pieces or Goto.

I did my own research at the time but couldn't find any useful information to trace it back.

I have no idea. I don’t even know how that tsuba ended up in Belgium. See, i found a pile of shipwreck tsuba in an auction. Most of them were rusted very badly, but a few of them were ok..and this was in that pile.. I gave them away to some friends, for free..so i don’t know how it ended up in Belgium. Also, there was no white paint on it..who ever got it must have cleaned it with something very roughly, tried to remove the lacquer on it.

Why do you keep calling me Sebastien?

Find your tsuba

Yup, thats my hand in that picture.

Hmm..ok brightness up..i thought it was shiny metal due to over cleaning..what is it, plaster or something?

It is not fake. Are you sure you obtained it from Japan?

Hello guys, Here is an interesting piece, Momoyama period perhaps? Nunome zogan on 3 petals on both sides, but I can't see any remains of silver or gold...An early experiment piece maybe?

Well deserved. Mabrook!

Derek, @ROKUJURO explained it perfectly. While the Westerns experimented to find new artistic approaches, the Japanese focused on perfecting the techniques of their predecessors. Back in the days, schools were very strict and didn’t allow any “experiments”. Thats why today we can attribute their work to specific schools. Every once in a while, they came up with some new design elements. If you look at todays Kimono designs, you’ll find the same elements that was used 600 years ago. With all being said, there are dragonflies, hidden under ashikanamono.

👍 no worries

Here, have a closer look, and I would love to hear your opinion. Thanks

Why the questioning?

Derek, as Colin mentioned, Tachi swords were worn throughout the Edo period, and a piece with this level of detail would have been very expensive (it still is). It was nearly impossible for a low-level Samurai to own one, as it would be equivalent to 4-5 years of his salary. Therefore, it was probably commissioned by a high-level Samurai for personal use or as a gift to a Lord or someone of high status. To me, although this requires further research, a more interesting fact than the amount of gold on the koshirae is the year it was made, 1853, during the Perry Expedition and the opening of Japan to the West, events which contributed to the eventual collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate. This was a year when the Japanese were uncertain about what to expect and were preparing for all possibilities. The depicted Kachimushi (dragonfly), known as the symbol of victory, and Ame Ryū (Water Dragon), known as the guardian of waterways, might have been depicted in accordance with the situation. As for the materials, gold and mix metal inlays on Shakudo base, polished soild silver(or shibuichi) Habaki with gold inlays and solid gold earlier gen. Goto menuki. And the sword is not gimei. Thanks

Thanks @Alex A good to know. I guess the koshirae was forgotten in a shelf for too long