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@Brian Thank you for your quick response and feedback. Appreciated. @ROKUJURO Jean - with your experience, what would your opinion on school and age be? Are we talking Edo period (early, mid or late) or maybe even Meiji period? I find the Sukashi intricate on this one and with signs that might indicate both iron bending and welding. I might be wrong on the welding but could that as a technique be a tell on age? All the best Soren

I have a very high regard for Brano @Brano as I have previously bought a sword from him. Very professional and full of integrity in his dealings. So - you could tell your wife that you actually invested in another kind of honest “jewelry”, that actually could be worn as such 🤓 She might understand and accept that. You might however end up in trouble, but no gain without a little risk 😜👍 /Soren

Dear NMB friends, You probably know the feeling when you make a bid on an auction, win the item and then think, hey - did I just miss something. Something that other bidders (more knowledgeable than you) saw and just decided not to continue to bid on. And the inner voice saying “How come I won that item at so low a cost - what did I miss?” And then you receive the item, and the feeling of it is just right. The Tsuba below has that feeling. It came without any real background or solid information. My own guess: School: Echizen Kinai Material: Tetsu-ji (iron surface) Form: Mary-gata Design: Sukashi with Omodaka plant (Sagitta Trifolia) and grasses Size: 8,1x8,1x0,45 cm Mei: Mumei weight: 88 g Price: <100€ (incl. fees and shipment) My question - Am I wrong, and did I miss anything? 🤓 I will appreciate any of your comments. All the best Soren

Good evening Colin, Fully understand your attraction to that tempo school tsuba. Beautifully yakite finish (heat treatment). Very forceful appearance and very nice “stamp” work. No idea what impression the artist wanted to install in our minds as onlookers or the age - but I believe I can see both the head of a dragon and some clouds 😜👍 All the best Soren

Hi Dale, @kissakai made a superb write up on Sado School Tsuba in the attached PDF. A double “lock” design is described and shown. Your Tsuba could might well be considered to be of a triangle “lock” design 🤓 All the best /Soren Brian @Brian just beat me with the same link 😜👍

Good evening and welcome to the board Marco, The honorary title of “Sagami no Kami” is comprised of both a province (Sagami) and the word for a deity (kind of protective guardian), and could therefore probably be seen as “ protector or guardian of Sagami province”. I believe it was also bestowed on provincial governors or samurai in higher office like military commanders. The link shows many of the different honorary titles that where bestowed during the Edo period. http://www.sho-shin.com/titles.htm Some of our more knowledgeable members might be able to either correct or expand on this post. All the best Soren

Good morning Okan, Nice guard. A fellow NNB member once send me the following reference pictures of verified Hamano Mei taking from a book. And - to my untrained eye it looks as if small variations in script size isn’t unusual. The difference in script size on your piece looks more pronounced. Last picture is from one off my own guards with a probably Gemei Hamano signature. All the best. /Soren

Good evening Jeremy, Very nice work and beautiful patina. I would also love to hear how you came to that result. By the way - are you really certain that this is a “Cloud dragon” and not a small “Sea dragon” 😜 All the best Soren

Good evening Jimi-san, FWIW my guess would be Higo-Jingo as first call. Form of Hitsu-Ana, patina of plate material (iron), and the heavy inlay of brass on one side. But - just an uneducated opinion @Spartancrest might have one in his archives and a more real confirmation 👍 All the best Soren

Hi Giuseppe, Wow - that is really an awesome catalogue. Fantastic photos and very cool items. Well done 😎👍 All the best. Soren

Gentlemen, Just to add to the collection. Have just received an identical iron tsuba with a truly beautiful color patina. Shown mounted on a sword made by 1st generation Hirotaka around 1655 and together with an equally nice quality Koshira. Pictures taken by seller. /Soren

Good evening Akaei, You have a very nice, original and quite old Kozuka in your hand. As shown on your photos it’s Mumei (without inscription / name of maker) which often make it difficult to place maker, school or period accurately. Material is apparently on a Shakudo-Nanako plate with a motive of a samurai fighting a storm / strong wind kami “Kamikazi”. Your Kozuka could well be from the Goto-school and made in the late Edo or early Meiji period (just my guess). The design, materials and carving indicate a capable artist. It is in a fine preserved state, and I would therefore not recommend that you make any alterations or repairs on it - unless you truly know what you are dealing with. And very few of us have that knowledge. Congratulations on a super flea-market find - well done👍 All the best Soren

Hi John, Enthusiastic amateurs are we all (maybe with a few exceptions). People like yourself who willingly and consistently engage in sharing experience, opinions and knowledge is just the true “backbone” of this community. I’m constantly amazed of how much thought, time, experience and accumulated information this forum contains. If someone, some day and somehow find the opportunity, ability and time to sort and index all the information this forum has accumulated - then I believe it could be worth of the title “ Nihonto World Heritage Site” / NWHS PS. The NMB title is by the way fine as it is 😎 /Soren

Gentlemen, In may search on this magnificent forum for Akimoto Akitomo I found this post (quoted) wich includes both wonderful pictures but also some very competent translations of names. All the best Soren

Hi Aaron, I believe that both first and second generation Shigeyuki used the prefix of Bungo Fujiwara. Both smith’s are rated as above average. Quote: Nihonto Club https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/SHI745 Shigeyuki (1st gen) ID SHI745 Province Bungo Era Kanei (1624-1644) Active Period 1624-1644 Lineage Image / Interactive Source Rating Reference/Page Hawley 30 SHI745 Signatures: 豊後國高田住藤原重行 bungo kuni takata ju fujiwara shigeyuki All the best Soren

Hi Peter, That set has a look and a patina as well as a feel of both age and real use. You may well be looking at a set that is quite old (pre Edo or early Edo period). Personally I could be inclined to “honor” their maker and their original purpose in using them in a re-wrapped quality Tsuka. When ever you handle your Tsuka you will enjoy the connection that is transferred through all that time that has passed. In April 2022 the tread below discussed similar Menuki. All the best. Soren

Good evening Colin, Lovely and rather cool tsuba. I really enjoy your postings, taste and the invitation to flex one’s mind around the art of tsuba. And this one with the design and motive of a Tiger-fish got me to remember a another design with a rather cool Tiger-fish Kabuto (helmet). Could be the beginning of collecting a full set of Tiger-fish armor, armaments and fittings 😜👍 All the best Soren

Good evening Jimi-San, Very cool website as well as superb pictures of the items for sale. Very professional 😎👍🇩🇰 Soren

FWIW - I believe @Spartancrest is spot on 😎👍 /Soren

Received mine today - both Katana and Wakizashi stand. Very nice work, and a nice and esthetic way to present them. Safe and easy shipment (besides Danish customs) - so fully recommended 👍👍 Thank you Lukas, /Soren

Dale, I like and enjoy your work, and I appreciate that every bit of both knowledge and understanding very often comes from the hard work, the capacity of endurance against difficult odds and the willingness to share “knowledge and understanding” by someone - like you. Asking relevant questions like Dan @Dan tsubaand others, and having them answered by the sheer knowledge of the accumulated NMB (and you) - is simply a “Treasure Stove”. First mover’s, scouts or whatever we call them are often taking the risks (“of getting fixed in someone’s cross sight”), but I believe most survive that ordeal with the understanding that they actually made a difference 😎👍 /Soren

Good afternoon Colin, In the hope that I can supplement your own memory - then the statement below is from the tsuba collection in the “Metropolitan Museum of Art”. Design is slightly different, but motive (without insect any 🕷️ 🦟), as well as the story could be related to your recent acquisition. Text: “The entire plate of the tsuba is carved to resemble a dead tree, with a spider web and threads inlaid in gold nunome-zōgan. A spiderweb on a dead tree combined with an openwork design (as here represented by the small ko-sukashi towards the bottom and the two hitsu-ana) alludes to a famous scene from the Genpei War (1180-1185). In 1181, Taira warrior Kajiwara Kagetoki (梶原景時, 1162-1200) was sent to pursue the fleeing Minamoto no Yoritomo (源頼朝, 1147-1199). Kagetoki discovered Yoritomo hiding in the hollow trunk of a fallen tree but as he was switching sides, he did not reveale Yoritomo’s hideout. A spider had spun its web over the opening in the trunk since Yoritomo had crawled inside and so Kagetoki pointed out to his men that no one could be hiding therein as that spider web was intact.” All the best. /Soren

Good evening Dan, Again citing: “Tsuba in the Cleveland Museum of Art” revised and edited by D. Raisbeck (leading scholar into the world of Tsuba 😎👍), and showing my own feeble attempt to take a picture in poor light: I think that the stated conclusion is very close to a possible truth. @Spartancrest All the best Soren

Good evening Colin, Nice tsuba and a fine choice of motive. Another Shoami tsuba with a slightly different design but with a similar motive from : http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/7/10237/10350 And be careful - collections tend to grow fast, and just as swords, Tsuba tends to become an addiction 😜 /Soren