Soshin

I cannot make it this year; I hope next year I can attend. It will be my first DTI. Looking at the catalog the tachi signed Yoshifusa looks genuinely nice.

Just received this "bad boy" back from Japan. It is my favorite modern "Gendai" tsuba so to speak. I think the classic openwork design is a reference the Enbi no Tachi kata set of the Honden of Yagyu Shinkageryu. My second favorite in another modern Yagyu tsuba that I had with a classic openwork design referencing Sangakuen no Tachi.

Found you and started following you on Instagram. The username is "satsuma_yaki1976". Thank you.

Yes, I am on Instagram. I mostly look at aquariums and aquascaping on Instagram. I do follow a few people (ex. Ray Singer) in this hobby on Instagram. Thanks for the replies, everyone. I really enjoyed bringing this old tsuba out of storage and taking another detail look at it. Here is the second photo I taken. Enjoy.

Just wanted to share a new art photo of a tsuba that I am taking a fresh look from my collection and updating my notes about. The size of the tsuba is 7.6 cm by 8.0 cm. It is 5.6 mm thick at rim. Feel free to discuss politely and thank you.

Thanks Tom and Les, Some reason Naruki Issei name is "ringing a bell" in my mind. Does anyone have other examples of Naruki Issei work? Did/does he primarily work in iron?

Really can’t add anything substance to the discussion, other than that I have enjoyed reading this topic. I don't have many examples of Onin or Heianjo groups work in my collection and really haven't conducted a more structured study of these groups work. I did have one tsuba pass NTHK shinsa at the San Francisco show that was attributed Heianjo on the worksheet this year. Here is a photo of tsuba attributed to Heianjo.

Thank Dan K. for posting photos of this year's show and Mark Jones and family for all of their efforts each year. I am planning to attend next year's Chicago show and have it marked on my calendar.

About this issue, I was told the same thing Tom said above that all work on the books was stopped because of his heart attack a few years ago.

The closing price of $280 sounds reasonable to me... I really cannot see any detail in the photos (this is likely a good thing). LOL

Hello Mark S., Normally don't do this but you sent a PM as Mr Kunio Izuka was my Japanese sword teacher as being a member of the New York Token Kai. I looked up examples of the 1st generation Omi no Kami Hojoji Tachibana Masahiro work and found a few examples that match very well with your sword's signature. I am looking at them on page 185 of SHINTO-MEIKAN by Markus Sesko. This sword I think would be worth sending it to shinsa.

I cannot attend this year, but I fully recommend going to this show if you have the chance. Mark and family always do a great job with the setup and running of this show in my opinion. I hope to be able to attend next year.

Dear Marco R., Sorry, I get a Facebook error message when I try and view your link.

I think these menuki likely date from the Momoyama Period. I do agree with John's call of Mino. I don't see the extensive openwork around and among the design that I have seen on examples of Muromachi Period Ko-Mino menuki.

I cannot attend the show this year, but I wanted to take some time to recommend attending this show if you can. I have always really enjoyed attending this show the past few years. Mark Jones and family does a great job of promoting and organizing the show.

Hi Bruno P., Yes, I see and agree with Shonai Shoami influences. I wish the tsuba was signed. I had a ji-sukashi tsuba without the gold zogan sell out from my collection in 2021. It was made of the same base metal also with black lacquer, but it had a really nice silver fukurin.

The sword on the eBay link was not at all interesting to me. I would recommend you keep saving your money and avoid the eBay impulse buys that myself and other have made when we are new the hobby. If you just want to buy something I would invest into some good reference books to expand your knowledge. This is just sharing just my own personal opinion. I hope you find it helpful.

Hi Steve M., In answer to your question not really sure and looking back at all the photos I do have only this one photograph that might show a loop at the end of the tang (nakago 中心). The sword is still with the professional Japanese sword polisher so additional photographs are not possible at this time.

Just wanted to share an update about my Kanemoto Katana that posted about previously here. I wanted to get the sword check out by a professional Japanese sword polisher before sending it to shinsa. Likely now the shinsa for this sword will be sometime next year in 2023. The professional Japanese sword polisher suggested a complete (finish polish) shiage due the amount of rust on the back of the blade (mune 棟). Here are some photos from me and the polisher showing what I am talking about. Feel free to politely to discuss.

BaZZa, I am a big fan of Pawn Stars and even bigger fan of Mike Yamasaki. Thanks for sharing the video. I have watched the episode before and enjoyed watching it again.

The next NBTHK shinsa for tosogu is February. Here is a link from the American Branch of the NBTHK. https://nbthk-ab2.org/nbthk-shinsa-schedule/

With so many high-profile swords involved in the thief in Japan I am still surprised police haven't done much. This might be just my perception as I am not even indirectly involved in the investigation and do not know Kodama-san directly. I only know of him from my friendship with Mr. McElhinney and well as other Japanese sword collectors in the greater New York metro area.

Didn't really get much in 2021 generally speaking it has been a hard year. Here is my only memorable purchase from 2021 per Richard's request. A middle Edo Period Yagyū Tsuba. More information can be found on my website about this tsuba: Tsuba Gallery #4 | Tsuba Otaku. It is the second tsuba from the top on the webpage.

Just noticed this topic. I hope Guido make a full recovery...

Thanks Steve M. This is very helpful and finding the term in a Japanese language diagram is really important. Searching my online Japanese dictionary (https://jisho.org/) I can confirm the meaning. When I search for the term "天井板" I get the meaning "ceiling boards". Therefore, I am going with the term (tenjōgane 天井金) which is not found in the dictionary and is likely the term I heard used by a Japanese collector.