Matsunoki

Ok, in its favour….it’s not a fake, it looks to have a nice silver habaki, the nakago looks ubu (unshortened) and it has a Mei (signature) and it’s a nice long blade. As for what has been done to the blade (ignoring the terrible rusted kissaki (tip)) I’m at a total loss. You have it in hand so you can obviously see it’s either been plated or painted…..not so obvious from the images. There is no good reason an old blade would be plated and it would be a difficult and pointless process. However painting is more likely….but God knows why. As for age….I’m not good at this but I’d say possibly early 19thC . I hope others will help out. Not much else I can add.

Difficult to say really. I would walk away……too many nasty issues. Pay more for a better item and be happier? ….just an opinion. Hope it goes well whatever you decide.

Yes, and include whole of tang in photo

Johnant ……my explanation re photo was very poor! I meant like this-

29”…….is that the full length including tang or just the cutting length? Need just the length from tip to notch in back of blade that separates the tang section. cant tell much from these pics. Need to see square on full blade images taken with tip vertical to get idea of shape preferably without the habaki on it….then someone might have an idea.

Well, the signature says Kanesumi saku and it’s not a repro……ie made by Kanesumi. There were very many smiths using this name in Mino province from around 1500 all the way up to the 20thC. There is no guarantee the signature is genuine but because many of the smiths were not highly rated it stands a good chance of being right. The images are not great but I think the blade has had a very rough time. I cannot see why it looks painted but I can see several nasty chips in the edge and overall (when enlarged) it looks to have been heavily and badly cleaned with fresh rust on top of old pitting. It may be possible to professionally restore it but it would cost a lot and may not be economical. It’s not a sword to spend a lot on in my opinion if you are thinking of buying it. For the experts on here to tell you more we would need far better images together with dimensions

A picture speaks a million words. (I do not own these). Amazing

Possibly an old “family blade”, possibly Kanbun sugata but the kissaki is a real “train crash” and would require extensive re-working assuming the boshi remains. I would also be worried about hagire in the kissaki. It’s a gamble, could be ubu and signed…..or not. I would be sceptical about recovering outlay…..it needs a lot of expensive work which will put people off. But then again the Ito is old and genuine, mon on the tsuka…..obviously not a fake etc I would probably gamble at the level you suggest but I’d be prepared to be disappointed.

Never seen anything like them before. I love stuff like these. Must be pretty rare.

Hello again, another recent purchase (eBay again) that I’m posting for any comments and opinions for which I am always extremely grateful. I’m on a steep learning curve with tsuba. I have always loved how the Japanese depict dragons and this tsuba has one nicely inlaid in thick high relief shakudo, quite good workmanship imo..The iron has an almost black patina with old corrosion. Any help with the signature/school/age would be much appreciated….in fact any comments at all! It’s a big and heavy tsuba….H9.0cm W8.3cm T4.1mm Thanks for looking. All the best.Colin.

Or maybe………????

Re the fish…..it has a handle at one end and it looks as if you held it upright the fish would descent the pole in a juddering fashion….I’ve seen similar with monkeys ie a toy….or it could be an older version of this….a cat teaser…again a toy.

……or is it something to tease a cat with?

I think maybe you hold up the fishing pole and the fish vibrates down the line using gravity???

Child’s toys…..a swivel drum and a fishing toy???.?

Small chunky bird sitting on a branch over a stream……kingfisher gets my vote. Wings spread out….could be drying off? Not sure it’s big enough or elegant enough for an egret/heron if the design is to scale. It’s a tsuba that makes you smile, I like it.

Looks more like a wasp/hornet nest?

@SteveM again my thanks Steve. All the best Colin

I think I see Tomonao?….but the rest of it? Many many thanks. Colin

I’m waiting for some glue to set so I’ll chip in. literacy has nothing to do with being able to sign your name. You can learn how to do that together with carving provinces, dates etc without being able to read anything. If you can forge a sword you can carve a few kanji. The more you do it the more proficient you become. Maybe as you age it changes a bit. If you use a new chisel it changes a bit. If you decide to call yourself something else or are granted a title it changes again. But once re-learned you can do it….still without being able to read a thing. We have always accepted that swords are signed by the smith at the time of making, or by his master, or by a pupil and possibly by a specialist Mei carver. Swords are also signed by fakers at the time of making or by fakers at any time after making. Whether or not the Mei is “genuine” is a matter of opinion but requires extensive knowledge and reference material in order to formulate an opinion worth having. “Papers” give us the highest possible expert opinion available…..but it’s still an opinion…and sometimes even these highest level opinions differ. As collectors and enthusiasts we (well, many of us) have learned to live comfortably with this situation because unless you stand next to the smith when he signs it we don’t have a choice. Literacy is irrelevant. imo

Gobsmacking. Thanks for posting.

Piers, I would agree with this. Not based on my non existent detailed tsuba knowledge but on my wider experience with Japanese craftsmen…..they hardly ever do anything accidentally…..deliberate precision is mostly the norm. The tagane-ato (new word for me- thanks) are struck in a trail towards the nakago ana….perhaps to avoid too much hammering in just one spot….to spread the stress? There are other smaller hits that do not show in the images. Or maybe Dale is right and he had been on the sake🙂 @Spartancrest….don’t think there was once a signature…it’s just the surface texture illusion which is pretty consistent/similar all over the seppadai The more I look at it the more I admire it. My old taste in tsuba was for the “art tsuba” made during the Meiji period …big flashy mixed metal pieces but now the quiet tasteful restraint of iron has really “got me”. Any idea re age? Thanks guys. All the best. Colin

Hello again from the UK. Bought this one recently on eBay. (That was brave of me!) Reminds me of the large crab tsuba I posted a few days ago. I really like it…..the sinuous “smooth dragons” are beautifully depicted. Very vigorous. The rust isn’t as bad as the images suggest….I’ll sort it out. H8.8cm W8.8cm T4mm at raised rim Any views, comments, opinions on age/school etc will be very gratefully received. Thanks for looking. All the best Colin

Hello John Looking at yours, the signature section in the right-hand side of the nakago ana is exactly the same as mine. Possibly also,the left hand side. why not out put yours in the translation section…..I bet someone will confirm the right hand bit and maybe have a stab at the left? Can I also see “YOSHI” on the left?