Deez77

Not much Mauro. Tsuruoka mentions a Kihei with possible affiliations to the Echizen Umemura family, but info is sparse.

I have a single signed Echizen piece with a similarly constructed seppa-dai: Certainly uncommon for pieces from this area, though, so not suggesting yours could be Echizen. Damon

Happy New Year all. Reviving this topic from mid last year as I wanted to share another piece I acquired and how the information provided in this thread helped me make an informed decision. The Nebikimatsu theme was completely new to me and members of this wonderful forum helped crack it. So when I came across this piece described as "feathers," I immediately recognized what it actually was...and was quite thrilled as it appears to be very rare motif in Echizen tsuba. It's fitting that the theme is associated to the new year, and if you are ever in Japan over the new year period, you will definitely see the pine decorations on display around shop entrances all around...like this massive one I found outside a Seibu in Fukui City on my most recent trip. Wishing everyone a great 2026. All the best. Damon

Happy new year Dale! Thanks for sharing. That 7-artist piece is really amazing. I love the little signed plaques. And the father-son collab makes sense. As for my Myochin Yoshihisa, if you've not seen anything signed in a similar way, that is saying a lot. Not sure if that's good or bad at the moment. But I'll continue to research and do some light cleaning to see if the signature can come through more clearly. Damon

Happy new year!! After getting some help in the translation section, I'm here to ask your opinions on a peculiar piece. I picked up this Echizen Myochin Yoshihisa tsuba which is also signed on the other side: "水戸士 Mito shi (Retainer of the Mito clan)" and "高山千□造 Takayama...zo". Although the characters are not easy to read and not definitive, it seems to allude to a samurai from the Mito clan having/making/reworking it. The question is why the second signature? I'm not sure I've seen a piece signed this way before, so I'm wondering if this indicates: - a collaboration piece - a case of signing to show ownership - gimei signature(s) - something else If both signatures are legitimate, then this seems (to me) like a special piece given the rarity to find similarly double-signed pieces. I'm really curious and interested to hear from those with much more experience than me. Appreciate any input you have. Damon

Thank you both gentlemen. That is very interesting indeed. I wonder if the dual inscriptions (from different regions) might indicate: - a collaboration piece - an Echizen piece later signed by the owner who was from the Mito clan - a gimei piece - something else I need to do some research and appreciate your help. Damon

Hello all, First and foremost...Happy New Year!! I hope you all have a fulfilling year ahead. I picked up this piece because it has an unusual shape/motif. It is signed on both sides, one side being "Echizen ju Myochin Yoshihisa saku" and the other side is a complete mystery to me. I've seen other Yoshihisa pieces signed with his age at time of making, but I don't think that's what this is. I would appreciate any help. I've done my best to get clear images. Many thanks Damon

Hello Zack...and welcome. Yes,tsuba collecting, as opposed to sword collecting, is quite easy to get into IMO. They are small and easy to care for, easy to pack away...not dangerous. As far as Kinai pieces go, I would definitely recommend doing that research you mentioned as you quite often do find cast or even fake signature pieces floating around. There are also pieces made during periods of exctremely high production, and as a result, many of those pieces are of a lower quality. There are also extremely fine pieces and quite a variety of different motifs...though dragons and plants are probably the most common. You will find that in even authenticated Kinai signature pieces (accompanied by authentication papers), there are quite a few different signature styles used over the nearly 300 years the school produced tsuba...so this is an area to do some of that research. Markus Sesko's translation of one of the few Japanese printed books on this school is an invaluable resource. I would suggest reaching out to him to see if any copies exist. One final word (of warning?), there are a number of members who collect Kinai, myself included, so you may likely have competition for any nice pieces that come up. But...that's all part of the fun. Good luck to you. Damon

Thank you for your efforts. This is a great resource. Feel free to include this example from my collection (I noticed one of mine already listed), which members from this forum helped me to understand originally, if you see fit: Let me know if you need better pictures of anything. Regards Damon

For what it's worth, Chat GPT gives the below... maybe something useful out of it 🤷🏼‍♂️. "田家水図 (Denka suizu): “village and water scene” — a pastoral motif. This inscription is written in cursive Japanese kanji (草書体) and seems to describe a tsuba (sword guard). It reads approximately as follows: 尚古堂光暁 竪丸形　赤銅地　金象嵌 田家水図　彩色色絵 Romanization: Shōkodō Kōgyō Tatemaru-gata shakudō-ji kinzōgan Denka suizu saishiki iro-e Translation: “By Shōkodō Kōgyō. Vertical oval shape, shakudō ground with gold inlay. Depicting the scene of fields and water, with colored decoration.”

Thank you Piers. 🙏

Here's a sample from my collection, also signed Kinai. Damon

Thanks a lot Dale. Yes, very similar indeed

Hello all, I wanted to share (what I would guess is) a rare occurrence when it comes to sekigane, one piece that is wrapped around the entire inner part of the nakago-ana. A bit of research makes be believe this is called 全周責金 zenshū sekigane. Does that sound right? Do others have examples of this? I am guessing this is just a more "high-class" way of refitting the tsuba, no? Damon

Thanks a lot everyone. The ideas and input from everyone was amazing. It really took me on a journey through all of the different possibilities. The reverse doesn't provide any additional clues. Dale's example does look quite close, and one really can't discount the "stylized" factor. Thanks again everyone. For what it's worth, there appears to be (what I think is) a small repair using shakudo. I can't say I've seen something like that before, and wonder what might have caused the initial "damage." Damon

Hi all, I'm looking for some help on identifying what plant is depicted on this tsuba. I've tried in vain with chatgpt, but couldn't pinpoint it. Many thanks Damon

Hi Bruno, Thank you for sharing your piece with us. Your new piece seems quite nice. Congratulations. From examples I have seen, and those shared in this thread, the Yoshihisa lineage was quite accomplished and produced very nice pieces. While I collect mainly Echizen Kinai, I do have some pieces from other schools active in the Echizen region, including Myochin and Akao. Here are a few of the Myochin pieces in my collection. Note that sometimes signed Esshu and sometimes Echizen, but my understanding is both originate in Echizen. I hope these help with your research. Damon

Still with a "rim" Damon

Not related to this Kaneie at all, but sharing a piece from my collection with the same story (motif)...by Echizen Daijo Nagatsune Minamoto. Damon

Welcome back, Dale. 👋

I always felt this shibuichi Kinai tsuba I have was related to a gear of some sort. It certainly has an industrial, mechanical look to it. Damon

Very interesting discussion. If only these tosogu could talk, the stories they might tell. 😁 I have this piece which was struck with something very hard. I guess it's plausible that's it's a sword strike. Edited just to specify I'm not referring to the unique rendering of the pine cone, but to the indention on the edge near it. Damon

I'm really pleased with this little tanto-sized tsuba. The workmanship is really quite nice, and the pictures I had access to did not do it justice. As promised, better quality images attached for your viewing pleasure. Thank you again for those who provided help with the motif. Damon