Soshin

Hello Dale, The NBTHK main office at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo, Japan (The Japanese Sword Museum (touken.or.jp)) has a registry of the NBTHK certificate numbers. What information is recorded in the registry and how helpful it would be to study I am not sure because I only had limited use of it myself over the years. I have been a member of the NBTHK since 2007.

Just sent in my reservations last week for the NTHK shinsa. Looking forward to the show and the shinsa. Thanks Tom for your efforts to set up the shinsa this year and passed years.

Here is a picture of me setting up my two tables I had at the show on Friday morning. Tony Smith another table exhibitor is in the near background. The photo was taken by my table neighbor at the show with his iPhone. It was a really great show. Thank you again Mark Jones for putting together such a nice show.

Donation made to help Natalya and young David via the Go Fund Me webpage. Very sad.

Hi Everyone, I had a great show. Thank you very much Mark Jones for putting on such a great Chicago show. I cannot wait until next year. I was able to transport this big book I purchased from Grey Doffin without problem. I need it for the study of a new katana in my collection. I will post photos later.

I will be there with a table. Thanks for the notice and travel safe.

I am very much looking for to attending the 2021 Chicago Area Japanese Collectibles and Sword Show and will have a full display table. Mark Jones, thank you very much for your efforts in promoting the show during this difficult pandemic. Mark S. looking forward to meeting you and other members of NMB in person at the show.

Hi Adam, Thank you for highlight on the photo with what you are talking about specifically. I really cannot tell for sure what the caused this without examining the tsuba at all angles under good lighting while in hand. It might be due a major subsurface inclusion in the metal of the tsuba or some type of damage to inside surface of the openwork but that is all just speculation on my part without examining it in hand.

Hello Adam, Thanks for sharing the additional photo. The tsuba has the characteristic squared or rounded-square rim common to Heianjō-zōgan tsuba. The inlays are clearly laid above the surface of the plate and not flushed to the surface. Based upon these characteristics it is a Edo Period Heianjō-zōgan tsuba likely made during the early to mid-part of the historical period. All the work on this tsuba would have been done by hand therefore it does not appear to be as perfect as it would have been done by machining in modern times. The openwork design would have been cut using tempered steel saws and would have then been finished by filing the inside surfaces of the openwork design.

I like Curran haven't heard anything from him lately. I remember purchasing tsuba and other things from him at shows. I have never purchased anything off of the Rice Cracker website but would visit it and I have it bookmarked. I check the website and looks to be running just fine on my computer. I would use it to try and contact him.

I once had a really nice set of small family crest (kamon 家紋) themed menuki that were unsigned but attributed to the Yoshioka School by the NBTHK. This (fuchi-gahsira 縁頭) set is really nice and is typical of the school's work during the Edo Period.

Not much of a Japanese military sword collector, but as a dealer I get a lot offers from people wanting me to purchase remarkably similar modern fakes. They are likely made in mainland China as copies of low-quality World War 2 swords mostly made for noncommissioned officers. The signature on these swords is always poorly written and does not make sense from a Japanese language perspective.

Hello Adam, Your Heianjō-zōgan tsuba looks genuinely nice. Thank you for sharing it. I currently have a couple in my personal collection as well that I think run a wide range of ages. As for determining age of your tsuba I would need to have more photos of your tsuba at different angles showing the rim and allowing for a more detailed examination of the brass inlays and how they are applied to surface of the tsuba.

Hello Robert, Coming back to this late because I have been busy with other more pressing matters. I can confirm as others have said there is no information on the appraisal paper about Masayoshi being part of an any organized School or less organized group of artists for that matter. This may imply that Masayoshi was an independent artist. There were many of these type of artists during the Edo Period. The NBTHK paper just discusses the design, techniques used, the signature, and that the tsuba is authentic and worthy of preservation. Examining examples of the Aizu Shōami School and reading the one book I know of about that school’s work I do not think your tsuba was produced by this School, but the school's work is remarkably diverse, and it might be a possibility.

Hello Mark, I was thinking Uda School based upon the hamon but I had a papered Uda Kunimune tantō that didn't have such course ji-hada like your tantō does and overall it was healthier and looked more refined. This is the extent of my limited knowledge and a mostly a Japanese fittings collector.

Nice little tsuba. It would look very nicely mounted on a tantō along with an appropriate set of other fittings.

Hello Robert, The iron does look grainy in appearance, but overall, it is a nice tsuba. I have always liked the design and symbolism of dragon flies in Japanese art. I have 22 artists in my references that used name Masayoshi with the Kanji "正義". Of the 22 artists seven of the artists used a cipher (kaō 花押) in addition to their signatures. Since you tsuba does not have a cipher on it along with the signature those artists can be eliminated bring the total to 15 different possible artists assuming the artist that made your tsuba is recorded or if we are dealing with a false signature (gimei 偽銘) as sometimes the cipher is left off of the signature intentionally. Sorry about not having any more helpful free information. I would send it for formal written appraisal (shinsa 審査) in Japan to get more information.

Hello everyone, Just wanted to share a preview of a tsuba that I am photographing and writing about for my personal collection website: Tsuba Otaku | Reflections of a Not So Empty Mind. This tsuba is part of personal collection and not for sale therefore the propose of the is new topic is to just promote the education and learning of our shared hobby of collecting Japanese sword fittings. This is a Katchūshi (armorsmiths) tsuba from the collection of my late Japanese sword teacher Kunio Izuka of the New York Tōken Kai. It was purchased via auction from Bonham Auction House New York in Nov. 2020. More information about Kunio-sensei can be found here. I think it dates from the late Muromachi Period comparing it to similar tsuba I have had. I have found this tsuba published in a Japanese book about tsuba that I purchased from Grey Doffin years ago at the Tampa Japanese Sword and antiques show. My wife Tamaki is helping me with the translation of the few pages of this book regarding this tsuba and more information about the book itself. I will share more details on April 1st when I update my personal collection website. I find it interesting that the raised rim of the tsuba a separate piece of iron, feels hollow, and that plate of the tsuba retains much of the original black lacquer applied to the surface. This is more visible in the second photograph. This a small tsuba relatively speaking and likely made for a wakizashi and measures 7.4 cm wide by 7.6 cm high. Feel free to politely discuss and ask questions. Thank you for reading.

Dear Dan, I just was email by Bob Elder this morning. The Orlando Show is officially a go for the July 9-11, 2021. I have updated my website will all the details here: CONTACT | Rain Dragon Fine Art and Antiques, LLC. on this webpage in the Show Schedule 2021 section. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hello Chuck J, I have a copy of the above discussed book by Barrie B. I purchased it from Grey Doffin. Here is this website: Store | Japanese Sword Books & Tsuba (japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com). I did some translations of a few pages from the book with the help of my wife for my most recent article for the JSSUS. A online copy of that article can be found here on my website: GALLERIES (tsubaotaku.com). It is at the bottom of the webpage in a section titled "Published Articles by the Tsuba Otaku".

Dear Dan C., I talked with Bob Elder via Facebook message and he is considering the weekend of July 10 for the 2021 Orlando Show. He still discussing it with the hotel and no contact has been signed yet. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Dan, I am unsure. I know Bob Elder was trying to have a show this year but it was cancelled twice in June and October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I just send him a direct message on Facebook asking what the date is for a Orlando show in 2021 as I want to have a table. I will keep you updated once I have more information.

Hello Dan C., I am going to Orlando Show in 2021 and will have a table. I am looking to meeting you in person.

This has really depressed me and I have considered stop collecting Japanese swords. He passed away just before my birthday and I learned about it on my birthday. My last interaction with Kunio-sensei was in January of this year when I participated in kantei session at the regular club meeting. I scored my first Atari (当) and I was very happy and proud of my work. I knew the answer because I once had a tanto that a previous owner had attributed to Atawaguchi-Yoshimitsu. Here is also a photo of the middle Muromachi Period, Yakuōji Yoshimitsu Tanto (薬王寺吉光短刀) that lead me to do the research necessary to get the atari score at kantei. Little did I know this would be my last interaction with him. I feel very sad. I am sure people here will likely make fun of my post and its typos, but life is a very precious thing and I could careless of the peanut gallery opinion of me.

I talked to Fred Weissberg and decided to roll my table reservation fee over until next year show which is set for August 6-8, 2021. I am very much looking forward to next year's show.