reinhard

Janusz, the name on the left side is: SHOZUI. This is a very big name usually associated with the founder of the Hamano-school. reinhard

John is correct although he picked the wrong kanji for illustration. There is a horizontal line which is difficult to see. Compare Nelson no.32 for "2" and no.1555 for "3". Then have a close look at the pic again. You will see a faint line making the kanji read "3". reinhard

Thank you for the link and info, Ford. I didn't know that. Now that we can see the entire koshirae, do you agree with me that this koshirae matches most, if not all criteria?. It was hand made in a simple way. No precious materials nor outstanding skills were involved. It was not to be worn by a samurai. Wether it was functional in daily life or what region it was made in I cannot tell though. Remains the question what the mei means here. Can it be attributed to an individual artist or is it just a kind of trademark? I haven't found out yet. I was bringing up the term "mingei" in a more casual and unreflected way to consider the differences between sophistication associated with educated samurai, eventually including star-constellations, and pure, ornamental design with a resemblance to the afore-mentioned. reinhard

Just telling from overall style and craftsmanship. - BTW Who was Yanagi? reinhard

This koshirae is mingei. You are aware of this, aren't you? BTW The proximity to shippo (-design) in all of the afore-mentioned examples was intentional. reinhard

I agree with Clive here. There is one spot in the upper area having a resemblance to shippo, but most of the design has not. Sukashi is probably depicting a particular star constellation. For comparison see the menuki in the attachment (celestial dragon represented by seven stars). reinhard

It's not very often that you are spotting a fake, is it? Have another look. reinhard

Just for completion: There is a kanji "machi" between "izumi" and "dori", meaning "town, street, quarters". reinhard

My guess would be: Hoshu Mie (no) ju Kai hon Fujiwara YUKINAGA Keicho roku nen ...gatsu hi YUKIHISA...saku meaning: Fujiwara YUKINAGA, resident of Mie in Bungo province, originally from Kai province (this is probably the YUK 351 (first generation) in Hawley's compilation) Sixth year of Keicho era (1601)....month, day, YUKIHISA....made this Eventually a joint work (gassaku). reinhard

The "winner" of this auction will have to face an ugly truth like so many. reinhard

A pair of tiny menuki depicting Hotei. They were made for tanto by Yamasaki ICHIGA. Don't strive for more than you can carry on your back. reinhard

reinhard

You've missed the point one more time. This was never about finding quotes confirming your particular theory. Neither Wakayama nor Haynes are capable of attributing later TOU mei to an individual, identifiable artist. They are just confirming the MEI appeared again later. When I said: "Prove me wrong" I wasn't asking for quotes from books (I can read them myself) but for presenting us with example(s) of tosogu with later TOU-mei that can be SAFELY attributed to an individual. You've failed to do so far. reinhard

Francois, as far as this particular tsuba is concerned, you won't need books of reference about names and signatures in the first place. The name TOU on the pile is more likely to be part of the design than some artist's signature. Real mei on kozuka are usually found on the backside and are not part of the design. You better focus on style and workmanship here. reinhard

The nengo is Hoei (not Horeki) roku nen... The waterfall-ascending carp theme is one of Ikkanshi TADATSUNA's original designs for horimono. It is quite rare though. Design and execution of the horimono of the blade in question are not very good. Taking into consideration the mei saying: "hori dosaku", i.e. "the maker of the blade also engraved the horimono" should rise a red flag. The mei is quite close to the original, but it is in all probability gimei. Check Ikkanshi's signatures with a Hoei nengo and look at the kanji for "ei" in "Hoei" (see attachment for comparison). This is not supposed to be the substitute for a real expertise with the blade in hand. All I'm saying is: Be careful with objects like these. BTW, the koshirae is a textbook example of a koshirae made for export. reinhard

This would be an interesting new topic which is overdue. It should not be "either...or"-polemics though, but more of a differentiated analysis. All of them, if you know HOW to use them. reinhard

For those of you who would like to know what this is really all about: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10158 No need to argue about the same topic in two different threads. reinhard

This is getting somewhat off topic, but I'll try to explain my point of view. First of all we must distinguish between mei and real person/artist. There were six generations of Kinko from the Tsuchiya family between Genroku and Kaei era. Each one of them is substantially documented as as real person. Their mei however are not. There are old records telling of mei and their features, but as we know by now, these old records need to be questioned. In the case of shodai YASUCHIKA the situation presents as follows: He was a more than outstanding artist and a genius, taking the name TOU when second generation YASUCHIKA officially took over family-business. Like so many families starting on a fortune built on talent and ingenuity, the Tsuchiya Kinko couldn't keep up with expectations. Lacking talent and ingenuity of the founder, they administered the name YASUCHIKA as best as they could. TOU, the very unique trademark of the shodai, appeared again later. Wether it was the godai (fifth generation) YASUCHIKA initiating this or just a no-name Kinko doesn't really matter. There wasn't another real and identifiable artist signing TOU entering the scene. It was probably just a way to make money out of legendary name. It was done by a otherwise mediocre and unidentifiable artist. He may have been a member of the Tsuchiya-family or not. It doesn't really matter. I'm aware of the fact that there are old records and books attributing later mei of TOU to the godai (fifth generation) YASUCHIKA like Kinko Meikan or Kanzan Token Koza (vol.5). However there are good reasons to doubt this theory. One more thing. Just because some text was printed at some time, it is not necessarily true. Not even when it comes in hard-cover, is full of kanji and looks good on a book-rack with golden letters on its back. reinhard

Francois, that's about all you have to know from this particular corner. In short: There was a great and very famous artist named Tsuchiya YASUCHIKA. Later in life he turned his artist name into TOU. Seeing his work in hand make his outstanding skills visible immediately. Since this man's skills were recognized instantly, creating a thundering echo throughout Japan for generations, many "followers" and fakers tried to take advantage of this brand. No matter what older sources say: There was only one TOU. Kinko Meikan, a nice Japanese book with authoritative title and golden Kanji imprinted on its back, is mentioning a second and a fifth generation YASUCHIKA using TOU mei. - It's all nonsense; not to speak of Wakayama. (Ab-)using famous names was common. Remember all the "SA" and "KAENUJI"-signed blades made during Muromachi-period. They are not worth discussing. reinhard

You still don't get it, do you? reinhard

Well, there was only one TOU. Prove me wrong or shut up. reinhard

Lorenzo, the TOU mei is found in both writing styles. Tensho style is most commonly found on his tsuba, whereas the "regular" style is often found on the backside of kozuka (see attachment). Francois, although this is probably not the work of great YASUCHIKA/TOU, it is a nicely crafted piece of work with a good sense of humour. It is much better and far more interesting in many respects than the poor horse-theme kozuka. I would love to see a sharp image without reflections, if you please. reinhard

Kanji read: TOU This is the alternate artist name of Tsuchiya YASUCHIKA. He is probably not the maker of this kozuka. I like the sense of humour though. reinhard

Welcome Aris (and to all youngsters deterred by high prices), Studying NihonTo does not necessarily include collecting. As with all luxury goods, including arts, there should be fun, enthusiasm and passion in the first place. Looking for instant gratification by owning something is a bad guide. Take your time. Study books and good swords when- and wherever you can. As time goes by, you will find the sword(s) you like and can afford. This is not about collecting stamps or baseball-cards. Good luck and stay tuned reinhard

This is one of the mei used by KIYOMARO. reinhard