bond_fan

Thanks for the explanation!

Hey Grev, Thanks for the color photo! Did it look like the whole Tsuba was covered in Gold or just certain areas? It would be interesting to see if all the Samurai from one army all had the same Tsubas when they went to battle, since many styles were replicated...

Good to know!

Wow!!!

Wow Dale, you're amazing!!! Thanks for looking in all those book for me and finding this image! No, the image you sent me isn't the one I saw in the book, because I remember the Tsuba being complete without any loss on the bird and the Tsuba photo being a black and white picture. In your opinion is the Tsuba in your book appear to be iron with loss of Gold Leaf? Interesting how in your book the Tsuba is listed as being Bizen school, but Robert Haynes and Mauro said they believe this Tsuba to be Shoami... Also, interesting is we have found at least three if not four Tsuba bearing the exact same design!

Hey Dale! Thanks for your swift reply and information! Mauro's Tsuba looks like a copy of my Tsuba, but his looks like it's made of iron, and mine is some type of alloy. I was told what it was before, but I forgot, but maybe Yamagane or Copper Alloy. That would be an incredible coincidence if his Tsuba was the one I saw at the SF Token Kai about five years ago and some how at ended up with Mauro after it was for sale at the show I saw it at! I wish I had taken a photo of the book I saw the Tsuba that looks like Mauro's and mine, to see if either of them was the Tsuba in the book or not! Interesting that this Tsuba design was replicated, and I wonder which came first, mine or his, and if it was from the same maker or if one was a copy of the other from two different Tsuba makers at two different periods?

My Tsuba looks very similar to yours, but mine is an alloy like copper or something like that and yours looks like iron. What book is your Tsuba pictured in? I thought I saw my Tsuba in a book, but maybe it was your Tsuba in a book? I showed my Tsuba to Robert Haynes and he said he thought it was Northern Shoami... It came to me via Goran Glucina, who told me it was once in the collection of his Shotokan Karate instructor, Abe Shien. The first image is the truest representation of the color of the Tsuba, as it was taken in sunlight. Dealers at the San Francisco Token Kai told me to take it in the sunlight and I could see the truest representation of the color, and they weren't wrong.

Last year in Japan I had the opportunity to see this Ko Mino Daisho Akikusa. They are papered NBTHK Hozon. As one can see they are fairly thin with carvings continued from one side to the other on the edges.

Hi All! I got this Tsuba in a trade with Goran Glucina about 10 years ago at the San Francisco Token Kai, and I was thinking about selling it then. I've since decided to keep it. A year or two after getting this Tsuba I was looking through books on Tsuba at another San Francisco Token Kai, and found what I believe was the same Tsuba pictured in a book, but because I was thinking about selling the Tsuba I decided not to buy the book. I think the book was over $100.00 USD. At the same show I saw a copy of my Tsuba, but it wasn't as well carved as mine. I should have taken photos of both the book and copy of my Tsuba! Anyway, I've bought almost a dozen Tsuba books in the hopes of find my Tsuba pictured in one of them to no avail, so it was suggested I post a picture of the Tsuba, and ask members if they could please check their books to see if my Tsuba is pictured in it? As a guide my Tsuba is NOT in the following books, TSUBA-TAIKAN Japanese Sword Guards Sword 1935, Tsuba Kanshoki by Torigoe Ichitaro 1975, Japanese Sword Guard Cultural History of Tsuba Book 1969 Jiichiro Hattori, Early Japanese Sword Guards Sukashi Tsuba by Sasano, Japanese Sword Guards Masterpieces from the Sasano Collection, Tsuba Kanshoki by Torigoye, 1975, Tsubas in Southern California Hardcover, Hawley, 1973, Nihon to Koza Vol. VI Kodogu Part 1 by Harry Afu and Tsuba by Kokubo Kenichi and Monichiro Kamiya 1963. Your help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!! PS. I showed my Tsuba to Robert Haynes, and he told me he thinks it's from the Northern Shoami school.

Dear Nobody, You are amazing to be able to discover the meaning of the blade translation so quickly! I wonder how you were able to do it and do you know what the chant means? Thanks so much Tim

Hi Forum I was wondering if someone could please help me with the translation of the inscriptions on both sides of the blade and the tang? Thanks! Tim

Steve, Thanks for trying! Interesting enough print though.

Hi Nihonto Forum! I found an even better surimono I was thinking about getting. This one has a cool looking katana and raven on it. I was wondering if someone could please tell what what the surimono says, who the the artist is and what the symbols of the raven and katana might mean? Thanks! Tim California, USA PS. I am sorry about the poor quality of one of the images. http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt41 ... /suri1.jpg

Hey guys, Thanks for all the additional information! I don't know how you guys find out this information, but you are all very good! Hey, supposedly they have a similar artwork with a katana being the main focus. I hope to get an image of that soon. Best regards! Tim

Kenkaku & Steve, Thanks for your further insight! Tim