Tim Evans

Hi Tom, There are a few mentions. Okamoto in Owari to Mikawa no Tanko calls signed Yagyu tsuba, Yagyu utsushi, I think meaning that that some Owari smiths made Yagyu-like tsuba for themselves and not as commissioned pieces for the Yagyu family. Sakura Yamakichibe is mentioned in the Yagyu Utsushi section on page 51 of the Sesko translation of Owari to Mikawa no Tanko. This Yamakichibe (as well as a group of other Owari smiths) is mentioned as signing Yagyu-like tsuba in the following references: Tsuba, an Aesthetic Study by Dr. Torigoye and Robert Haynes, page 95 -softcover issue Sukashi Tsuba, (gold book) by Sasano, page 18 Japanese Sword Guard Masterpieces (silver book) by Sasano, the Yagyu introduction after #172 Also, Bob Haynes made a copy of a Yagyu design or inventory book while studying with Dr. Torigoye. Entry #153 states "Yamakichibe saku, no signature", implying, I think, commissioned by the Yagyu, so not a Yagyu utsushi. I have not seen the Yamakichibe enso tsuba in person, or know its dimensions or metal, so I am speculating that it may be Yagyu utsushi. It does have a pattern resemblance to a few in the Yagyu design book, and does not look like a typical Yamakichibe. I am not sure how the NBTHK would handle a Yagyu utsushi. Would they say iron tsuba, signed (so-and-so), design of (whatever) and ignore the Yagyu connection?

Here is another signed Yamakichibe, who according to the books made tsuba for the Yagyu. I don't own this one.

One I have that seems to have Yagyuish charictaristics. 64 X 64 X 6mm. Masame to be seen in the mimi, coarse iron, blackish gray. Not in the design books, but has what is defined in the Yagyu section of Owari Mikawa no Tanko as sumiiri-kaku-gata, or, a square shape with notches at the corners. I bought this for a Yagyu wakizashi koshirae I have, but it is a little too thick. Something about 5.5mm would be about right.

Perhaps it is designated as ko so it does not to contradict the hakogaki ?

Here is an image from Nihonto Koza Volume VII showing how the cord was rigged. Western sport fencers were allowed by the rules to use a similar loop, called a martingale, mostly on french grip foil and epee to improve the hold and to maintain control of the weapon in the event of a disarm. The advent of the so called pistol grip made the martingale obsolete. Per traditional knowledge, the two holes to the right side on a Jigen Ryu Satsuma tsuba were used to tie down the tsuba to the kurkata. This has been mentioned before in this thread. That was a completely different purpose for the holes that is unique to Satsuma samurai culture.

I don't think that Miyamoto was attempting to depict a namako. This is probably a fanciful description by some collector at a later time. As is shown in some of the images above, this bilobe design was popular from before Miyamoto or the Higo tsubako. More general discussion of bilobe tsuba here. Also, i seem to recall a discussion about the similarity of the katzbalger european sword guard to the namakogata tsuba somewhere on NMB, implying a European influence. I own that one. There are very similar Hirata tsuba in softmetal. I think the design is matsu, or pine boughs, and the Hirata possibly made these for the Matsui clan.

How a samurai used the sageo was learned in the swordsmanship system he was taught. I would suggest looking into how various legitimate iaido and iajutsu ryu use the sageo. Many of these martial arts schools claim lineage back to the Edo period or before, so their handling of the sageo may have historic basis. Most likely there are youtube videos of iaido and iajutsu demonstrations to look at. Also there are instruction books for these martial arts which provide details. One reference to gert you started. https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Swordsmanship-Technique-Donn-Draeger/dp/0834802368

My error. Yaki-ba or yaki-ire would have been a better choice.

When considering softmetal tsuba, then there is no direct corollary to yakite. It would apply to certain makers of iron tsuba, Yamakichibei for example. I was really thinking more about a disciplined kantei approach by looking at general factors first before judging the mei. Beginning collectors often look at the mei first and then try to rationalize what is seen in the object to fit the famous name, hoping for a horidashi. I know I did that more than once.

Curran's approach is the same as what I was taught about sword kantei - look at the sugata, jigane and yakite - What does that tell you about time period, smith tradition and maybe swordsmith?. THEN look at the mei and see if it fits. Many of the Japanese books about swords and kodogu are limited publication or privately published, so very little of that knowledge has been scanned into online digital records. So yes, reference books are still required. For signatures, here are a few standards. Probably the most recent and exhaustive in English, but no images of actual mei. I believe it came with searchable files in .pdf format. https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/fittings-books/b760-the-index-of-Japanese-sword-fittings-and-associated-artists-by-robert-haynes/ Anything by Wakayama is highly regarded. https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/?s=wakayama My go-to books with images of validated mei. https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/fittings-books/b672-toso-kodogu-meiji-taikei-by-wakayama-with-english-index/ Another by different authors. https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/fittings-books/b755-kinko-meikan-by-senichiro-masumoto-kenichi-kokubo-with-translation/

Returning to the subject.... Does anyone have any insights (and please be clear if you have a source or just a really good idea!) on why the horn was required over metal fittings by that law? There is purpose, fashion, taste, regulation, location and time period to consider. Purpose - koshirae were configured for different situations. Broadly speaking, the Japanese categorize these as Formal (court wear), Semi-formal (some appearance requirements based on status and class) and Informal (personal weapon and no status factor) Fashion and taste - This varied quite a bit over time, location (Kyoto vs. some place else), class (samurai - warrior taste vs. chonin - commoner taste, etc.), education and purchasing power. Regulation - Some Daimyo domains (Han) had uniform requirements for their Samurai. Very specific koshirae and sword size requirements were instituted during the Tokugawa regime. The key phrase to look these up is "Tokugawa Jikki". I believe the Yamanaka Newsletters has some information about that. The newsletters are located in the link below if you want to dig. As to the horn kashira being required for Tokugawa period formal wear, it may just be that the Shoguns expected understated decorum from their vassals. Time period - The sword evolved from being primarily a weapon or tool, to being primarily a status and authority symbol.

There are some US based craftsmen that could be approached for a complete, traditional koshirae project. Brian Tschernega comes to mind. Perhaps some of the other members have recommendations?

You might like to invest in a book titled Uchigatana Koshirae which is a Tokyo National Museum exhibition catalog. illustrated are relatively undisturbed, documented koshirae that are preserved in shrines, temples, museums, and private collections, many were the property of famous Buke. Timeframe is Muromachi to early Edo. Here is an ad on Grey Doffin's site, he may be able to find you one. https://japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/book/fittings-books/b734-uchigatana-koshirae-with-translation-by-tokyo-national-museum-2/ Or, maybe post a want ad on NMB. Roundabout to the point. The majority of these uchigata tsuka had horn kashira and a metal fuchi. As you observed, early metal pommels were frequently of the kabuto-gane form that comes from tachi koshirae. The flat, artisticaly carved kashira are more prevelent from the early-mid Edo period onward. There are some exceptions to matchy-matchy fuchi-gashira, deliberately mis-matched sets are sometimes seen in Edo period Higo koshirae and Owari koshirae as a design choice. That said, your suspicion about kashira falling off because the wrap broke, or discarded because of damage is probably correct.

Urushi is best left as it is because it is very hard and inert. It is normally dark brown or black, not clear. Also, on old iron fighting tsuba, urushi may have been the original finish and should not be disturbed. Bob Haynes once told me "they were too busy killng each other to bother with an artistic patina" I suspect many of the the kotosho and kokatchushi tsuba were oil blackened, meaning they were heated up and then brushed with oil and the process repeated until a dark, polymerized oil surface was created, Quick and easy. Sometimes this polymerised layer is mistaken for urushi, but it will come off with solvents. Akiyama goes into the various vegatable oils that were used on iron tsuba as preservative and appearance changers in one of his Token Kai Shi articles, so I think the application of oil was commonly done. What we call patina is a mixture of iron oxides, dirt, oil, and hand grease. Sasano advocated that this top layer be removed by scraping with deer antler and then the remaining fine particle magnetite be polished by rubbing with a cloth, resulting in a glossy surface. After he died, the fashion flipped and high level iron tsuba collectors valued "undisturbed looking" patina rather than cleaned up and polished. One of the downsides of cleaned up and polished is that these tsuba can easily attract rust, so they need to be periodically monitored and maintained, and ideally not handled with bare fingers. Rust never sleeps.

it could have a wax coating. This is very commonly done to iron tsuba as a rust preventative, especially in high humidity environments. Does water bead up on the surface? Wax is easily removed by soaking in a pan of alcohol for 15 minutes or so then wiping off, repeat as neccessary. Also easily reapplied if it looks better with the wax on.