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Soshin

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Soshin last won the day on August 2 2023

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About Soshin

  • Birthday 07/16/1976

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    https://www.tsubaotaku.com/

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    Silver Spring, MD USA
  • Interests
    Japanese Martial Arts
    Collecting Tosogu and Nihonto
    Studying Japanese Art, Culture, History, and Buddhism

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    David Stiles

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  1. It looks like a nice iron tsuba with an appealing design. A nice addition to any Japanese sword in your collection thanks for sharing. I would estimate the age ranging from mid to late Edo Period circa the 18th to mid 19th Century. From my own experience and study, it is likely an unsigned work of the prolific Shōami Ryū-ha (正阿弥流派) school after they had branched out from Kyōto (京都) into the different provinces after the Muromachi and Azuchi-Momoyama Periods. I have seen similar signed examples made by artist of Aizu Shōami Ryū-ha (会津正阿弥流派).
  2. Unfortunately, I don't have the tsuba in hand or I would try to provide photos of inside surfaces of the nakago and hitsu-ana. I remember seeing a distinct three-layer construction to the plate. The texture you see was applied to the surface of both thinner outer most plates. All three plates (the two thinner outer and one thicker inner plate) are I think held together by the rim cover. An interesting design to what I think is an older pre–Edo Period soft metal tsuba.
  3. Here is an early one I think, I have submitted for NBTHK shinsa this year. The surface has a nice layer of black lacquer applied to it. The design is a plain textured surface with copper and lead inlays. The plate construction is made up of three layers with rim clover holding everything together very tightly.
  4. I completely agree with Brian @Brian on this. Well, done Tom @Toryu2020 and congratulations to the NBTHK/AB and the Northern California Japanese Sword Club (NCJSC) for joining forces as Japanese sword educational organizations.
  5. I read @Jorgensen Jimi-san post a few times and I still not sure what he is asking about specifically. I only have one tsuba and fuchi-gashira set that I can attribute to the Nishigaki School of Higo Provience in my collection. I am far from an expert. I agree with @Curran observations as he was one of my early teachers of Higo tsuba via this message board.
  6. As a quick follow-up to this topic. I contacted Elliot Long, and he shared the photos of this tsuba with Robert Haynes directly. They have both confirmed that my tsuba is a 'wide-spaced' Nobuie ID# H 07074.0. https://www.shibuisw...com/nobu----iye.html
  7. I found some old photo of the nakago of my Hizento wakizashi that later was professionally polishing in Japan. It is signed on the tachi side not the normal katana side of the nakago: "Omi Daijo Fujiwara Tadahiro (近江大掾藤原忠廣)". It was later papered to Hizen Tadahiro or something similar by the NBTHK. Sorry I don't have any photos of the NBTHK papers or the sword in polish. I remember the workmanship and characteristics of the steel itself of my wakizashi being vastly different than your sword from looking at photos after the polish that was sent to me by the new owner of the sword who paid for the polishing and appraisal at the NBTHK in Japan.
  8. Not an expert. Sorry I missed the second page of replies, so I deleted my comment. I would contact Mr. Roger Robertshaw. I once had a Hizento wakizashi that he liked the signature of, and it later passed NBTHK Hozon after getting polished in Japan.
  9. @Kurikata Nice looking kozuka, love the design, thanks for sharing. It me it has an early Edo Period vibe of (Kyō-Kinkō 京金工) group to me. I not an expert when it comes to this type of Edo Period soft metal Japanese sword fittings so take what I type with a truck load of salt.
  10. @Shugyosha John J. thanks again for your support and additional information. @Geraint Thanks for the helpful weblink. I remember reading it a while back but at the time I didn't have a wide mei Nobuie tsuba examples in my collection. Therefore, my study was not very tangible. Here is a photo of my new tsuba I picked up at 2023 DTI. It was unpapered and affordability priced as the NBTHK consider all wide mei Nobuie tsuba as having a fake signature (gimei 偽銘). (This might have changed so please correct me if I am wrong.) Notice the wide placement of the Kanji at top and bottom ends of the (seppa-dai 切羽台) area.
  11. Thank you so much John @Shugyosha . This is extremely helpful. I am researching the so called wide mei Nobuie in The Index of Japanese Sword Fittings and Associated Artist by Robert E. Haynes entry ID# H 07074.0 on page 1389. I am still working on photos I took on Monday.
  12. I am researching for educational purposes only a new iron tsuba I picked up at the 2023 DTI show in Tokyo last November. Does anyone have any old photos or scans of R. E. Haynes Auction Catalog #7, Sept. 25, 1983, pg. 48-49? It would be a tremendous help to my research. Thank you very much in advance. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
  13. That is a possibility. I have gotten and seen some old boxes with mismatched lids or replacement lids before.
  14. Nice tsuba. Looking at how the sukashi design was done, I think this tsuba is clearly the work of Shoami School. The Owari group never used (nikubori ji-sukashi 肉彫地透かし) technique in their openwork designs. It was a common technique used by the many Shoami schools located all over Japan during the Edo Period. I also agree the Kinai School attribution is not accurate from what I know of the school's work.
  15. Here are my dragon menuki that fit the Chinese New Year theme nicely. They are made of iron and and important part of a koshirae I have. Enjoy.
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