Tim Evans

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.

I have seen retrofit old tsuka where the mekugiana was moved. you can tell if you see a same' patch where the original hole was. If the Cheness tsuka is too tight, then various files could be used to remove material. This is a 3D problem that takes some thought about which way you want the tsuka to move. Do you take wood off the ha side or the mune side? It is also important to make sure that fuchi tenjogane is parallel to the tsuba seppadai, so may need to remove or add wood in stategic spots to "rotate" the tsuka into proper alignment. Also need to check the interior length against the nakago length with the habaki, tsuba and seppa in place. If used for martial arts, then the tsuka needs to seat tightly. If too much wood is removed then this can be replaced with thin shims, basswood sheet from the hobby shop works. I have an old wakizashi koshirae where the tsuka is a period refit. I can tell because the inside was crudely recut. Also, the style of the tsuka does not ideally match the Owari/Yagyu saya. The original mekugiana was used, but this resulted in a big gap where the tsuba goes. Their solution was to make an extra long habaki to fit the tsuba and seppa correctly. Apparently that was preferable to making a new tsuka for it.

Do people have a way to fit these to swords? It would seem like you would need an Xray machine. You could break it down for the metal fittings, (which I imagine happens, but is that all?) If so, why sell it as a tsuka and not pull out the fittings? Yes, the interior of tsuka can be enlarged with basic woodworking tools, and also shimmed using thin strips of wood and glue. I have examples of both being done back in the day on old koshirae I have. Can you break them open and use the wood and same? Is this desirable? High grade same' is very expensive and is salvaged and reused Do people (More then a tiny number I mean) collect Tsukas? Very old/rare and very high grade tsuka are collected and preserved. But yes, there are very few specialist tsuka collectors. I think mostly these are people with an interest in koshirae and will buy parts of the types of koshirae that interest them. Finding a complete tsuka in good condition is way cheaper and more authentic that have a new one made with old parts.

As mentioned there are no hard rules for what size tsuba goes on what size sword. There can be small size tsuba on katana, such as usually found on Satsuma koshirae, or quite large tsuba on some showy Edo period wakizashi. Most wakizashi tsuba have kozuka hitsuana only, however, it was common during the Edo period for tsuba to have both hitsuana and plug the kogai hitsu if no kogai pocket on the saya. Does your saya have a pocket for a kozuka? If so, then need to find a tsuba where the hitsuana lines up with the pocket. If no pocket, then find a tsuba with no hitsu, or have the hitsu plugged. If the tsuba has a defined seppadai, then the seppadai size and shape should be close to the saya and the tsuka/fuchi size and shape where it meets the tsuba. Also the seppa need to follow these sizes and shapes. This is a goldilocks problem, too big, too small, just right. Visually, the shape of the saya flows into the shape of the tsuka in a continuous line, much like the way shirasaya are made, but with a tsuba in between. The tsuba nakagoana will likely need to be shimmed if too big or enlarged if too small. a competent craftsman can do that. If you are having an agent in Japan doing this assembly, then it might be useful to provide some pictures of koshirae that you would like yours to look like. That would help them find the right parts.

I have also seen gamahada described as blobs of silver on a base metal. Jacoby has some examples of imohada in his book which look like textured iron. I agree it is odd that the nunome cross hatching was not removed on your tsuba. for something completely different, there is a modern tsuba smith that is able to create a mottled or textured surface on his tsuba. I don't know the process but suspect heat might be involved. http://tsubaryuken.com/

This surface is associated with Kamiyoshi Rakuju per the Higo Kinko Roku translation by Jacoby. There are various names such as gamahada (toad skin) or Imohada (skin of the imo tuber). The shape and design is theirs. I don't see Kamiyoshi tagane, but that is not necessarily disqualifying.

A big topic. There is not much in the way of definitive documentation on koshirae. There are a few books in Japanese on regional styles such as Satsuma. In contrast, there are many books about regional sword fittings makers that show metal parts and occasionally koshirae. Part of the problem is that relatively few koshirae were preserved or documented as koshirae fashions changed. Since there are a lot of gaps in the material record, it is difficult to describe trends or specific styles from the remaining intact examples. Over the history of the blade, the saya and tsuka were periodically discarded due to damage and wear, and the blade refitted with a new koshirae according to the taste of the then present owner. There is an article I wrote titled A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF Japanese SWORD MOUNTS OF THE LATE MUROMACHI THROUGH EDO PERIODS in the Downloads section under Member Articles. This gets into questions about koshirae differences by time period, class status, and level of formality. There is a bibliography with references for further reading. In other types of sword collecting, European and American swords for example, preservation of the mounts is considered as important as preservation of the blade, so more historical context is known, and can be correlated to time and place and class of user. A nihonto in new shirasaya on the other hand, tells us nothing about who used it or how it was mounted, unless that was separately documented. Part of the problem is the formation of specialist collectors for nihonto, tsuba and other fittings which has led to koshirae being taken apart to get at the metal bits. The downside is a loss of context and in some cases the destruction of a historic object. As a group dedicated to the preservation of the Japanese sword I think we nihonto collectors should consider choosing the western conservation approach in some cases, by keeping and stabilizing that old koshirae and sword blade together as a complete object.

Alex, here are some more quotes about Mr. Mosle'. Henry Joly is quoted as saying, "Mosle was fortunate beyond all but two or three Europeans in securing the friendly help of Japanese collectors and experts to impart the personal knowledge necessary to weed the master’s own works from the productions of pupils, followers and imitators." “Bashford Dean (Honorary Curator of Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC) writes in 1910 about this collection: “It contains objects which will never again be secured by a Japanese collector, and the actual value of it, of course, cannot be estimated in money. The set of your Goto objects alone, would be a collection which give class to any museum, Japanese or foreign”.” “(100 Selected Tsuba from European Public Collections)” “Mosle’ moves to the United States without any political pressure in 1935. He will die there in 1946 having lived like a prince. His collection will be sold by Parke-Bernet on April 22, 1948. The catalog (5 X 8”) had 53 pages!” “(100 Selected Tsuba from European Public Collections)” In 2004, the New York Times published "...Alexander G. Moslé, a German businessman who worked in Japan from 1884 to 1907. As the representative of the Gruson Company, a subsidiary of Krupp Steel, Moslé was able to persuade the Japanese government to switch from French to German arms just as Japan was asserting itself as a military power. (The first Sino-Japanese War was in 1894-95 and the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05. ) The arms trade made Moslé wealthy; at one point he had 2249 Japanese swords, armor, more than 1600 sword fittings, Japanese paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramics, lacquer and textiles. Moslé retired in 1907 and returned to Germany, working with scholars and dealers to learn more about his collection. In 1909 he exhibited it at the Königliches Kunstgewerbe Museum in Berlin. It was published in two catalogs in 1914, which are still considered important reference works..." Two portfolio cases. Portfolio 1: Title page, Introduction and catalogue, followed by Plates 1-102. Portfolio 2: Plates 103-204. Address of Mr. Mosle: 5 East 66th St., New York City, N.Y. There are some more Mosle' details in this article. https://shibuiswords.com/joshuHaynes.htm

Since we are showing off our early documented tsuba, here is one from the Mosle' collection. This one is described as number 804. TSUBA, thin iron, with two circular perforations, shigure-yasuri-me. Unsigned work of Prince Hosokawa Tadaoki (Sansai-Ko). 32. Higo province. Plates LX-LXIV Background on the Mosle Collection “Alexander Mosle’ (1862-1946) during several stays in Japan from 1884 to 1907 representing Gruson Werke, a subsidiary of Krupp, put together the core of his collection through Amiya with the advice and teachings of Akiyama Kyusaku. Back in Europe, he exhibits his collection in Berlin in 1909 (he will continue to buy until 1920). His collection was made of about 1600 pieces among which a unique group of some 300 Goto works, a number of which had the origami issued by Goto masters in works attributed to their ancestors before they were in the habit of signing. “(from 100 Selected Tsuba from European Public Collections, by Robert Haynes and Robert Burawoy)” Mentors of Mosle’ as listed in his 1914 catalog include: Paul Vautier (put together the Oeder collection) Wada Tsunahiro (put together the Furukawa collection) Akiyama Kyusaku Ogura Soemon (Amiya) “Mosle’ was one of the few devotees who actually lived in Japan (1884 -1907) during this historic period and had through his position as armament representative to Japan from the Gruson/Krupp company and as acting consul of Belgium to Japan access to experts in his fields of interest of the highest order. He counted as personal friends the likes of Tokugawa Iesato and General Nogi and mingled with the aristocracy of Japan. From this he was able to access information rarely accorded anyone, not to mention non-Japanese, and with his scholastic mind was able to document much research in these fields. (historic information has been taken from the catalog, ‘Japanese Sword Fittings from the Alexander G. Mosle’ Collection, Mosle’ and His Collection’, Sebastian Izzard LLC, 2004).

Here is some interesting background and context information on Alexander Mosle' as written by one of his employees. The Mosle' episode starts about page 5. https://antonymaitland.com/hptext/hp0001.txt Also, you may check here for some commentary about early collectors. https://shibuiswords.com/haynesarticles.htm

There is an English copy of the Mosle catalog in the NMB Downloads > articles area. Brian my need to fix the link. A big pdf, it may take a while to download. https://www.nihontomessageboard.com/articles/Mosle.pdf

There are two types, one is solid metal, the other is 2 thin plates. Usually the 2 plate types are shakudo or some precious metal. I think this is done to reduce material cost. The 2 plate type are generally Edo period installs, the solid type could be either pre-Edo or Edo. Normally the 2 plate type are glued in with a pitch filler in between the plates, which is frequently dried out. The solid type are frequently lead or copper and are held in with a force fit. Removal - As mentioned, a short wood dowel the right diameter is used as a punch. I have a block of wood with a biggish hole in it to support the tsuba, and the plug will drop through the hole. For the 2 plate type, usually these are so thin that denting them cannot be avoided. On technique to mitigate is to place the punch near the edge of the plug rather than the center and work around the circumference or go side to side and go slow. Another method is to use a thin piece of leather between the punch and the plug, until you get it moving. Usually solid lead plugs are so soft they are going to dent, but it is possible to retexture them if you decide to put then back in.

The rejection of the package seems to be with DHL rather than Buyee. From the DHL website under Hazardous Goods and Unacceptable Shipments: For our domestic network, switchblade knives (defined by USPS as knives that open automatically via a button, inertia, or gravity); all knives for international shipment due to import restrictions in many destinations and transit countries. Caught me by surprise since Buyee did not seem to have a problem with buying it.

I am looking for a reference to a reliable agent residing in Japan that can help me with a shipping problem. I bought a kozuka with a kogatana blade attached using Buyee. Buyee only uses DHL for international shipping (Japan to US in this case) however, DHL will not ship a "knife" internationally, so I need to find an alternative. I am thinking have Buyee ship to an agent in Japan, who will then ship the package to me. So, does anyone have a recommendation for someone, preferably a native English speaker or very fluent, that I can contact for this service? Thank you in advance for your input! Tim Evans

If there is a nioi-giri (a gap in the nioi-guchi) then it may be possible for a polisher to make a cosmetic repair so it is not as noticeable.

A question to ask yourself is "why do I like it?". It may be worth owning it to figure out the answer. Here are some common approaches that provide a focus to collecting and help sort out your direction: Category collecting (one example of everything) Collecting certain themes Collecting high quality Collecting certain time periods Collecting certain schools or artists Something that may be helpful is to track tsuba you like on Yahoo Japan to get an idea of price vs. availablility vs. condition. It is also a place to test your eye to see if you can spot the reproductions and modern fakes. Right now there seems to be a good selection of antique tsuba at reasonable prices. Finding out what you like is a journey or process. Discernment and taste will develop over time.

I am guessing the tsuba and fuchi do not belong to this sword, so there are some missing fittings, a tsuba and tsuka. Is there anything written on the other side of the nakago? I think this is possibly nihonto. It looks like the OP is located in Sweden. Is there an experienced collector there they can be referred to?

It might be this ka-mon.