Iaido dude

There are only 3 images provided and it is not papered. Hard to say. Ryuken makes reproductions that are even more intricate than this one without charging more than for simpler designs. What I gather from the comments on this post is that nearly all designs and construction types can be and will be reproduced/faked.

This current Jauce auction is a bit suspicious. Has the kind of surface of the Ryuken copies including absence of indent in the upper sekigane. https://www.jauce.com/auction/k1187148258

Nobuie is speculated to have included Christian iconography in his works. We also know that stylized renderings are common and may not be intuitive in their intended meaning. Even if Nobuie were not a Christian, he mat have made it as a hidden Christian tsuba on commission for a high-ranking buke who practiced Christianity. That would explain the stylization of the motifs. And I would agree that rosary beads are common to both Christian and Buddhist practice. If that Nobuie we were discussing does have a somewhat hidden Christian symbol on the right side, it is a possibility that the Christian rosary is depicted on the left side. This rendering of the rosary is identical to the one I posted from the Iida-Koendo site, which has quite a few Nobuie and Kanshiro Nishigaki works. I would think this seller is reputable. There are well-known Momoyama works y Nobuie that feature distinctly Buddhist iconography such as the 8-fold path. We can’t very well ask him what his spiritual practices were, but he lived in a time when Christianity was being practiced and often simultaneously along with Buddhism since the eastern orientation is toward a “both/and” sensibility.

That’s in the description on the link.

The motif on the left is stylized rosary beads. https://iidakoendo.com/11883/

Looks like it was crudely added later and hidden beneath seppa.

The tsuka and saya are carved from poplar due to ready availability and low cost. Honoki is traditional, but can only be sourced from Japan at a high cost (~$100+ for a katana saya). Future efforts will use alder. Over the weekend, I planed two pieces of poplar with a traditional Japanese flat plane ($25 Amazon.com, below left) to allow the two halves to be eventually glued together without any gaps. Then I traced the outline of the blade and then 1/4" around the blade that will form the outer dimensions of the 32" saya. An oil collection slot is carved at the tip. Again, I've had to scrap the result of my first attempt at carving with a specialized saya-nomi ($169, square-tipped bent chisel made by Walter Sorrell) because it takes practice to achieve control of the depth and extent of carving of the walls for each half of the saya. The bent configuration is crucial for this undertaking. The challenge is that since the sword blade is "triangular" in configuration and must be seated perfectly between two halves, the depth has to be adjusted along the entire length. This can be readily seen in the pic of the habaki seated at the opening. A piece of wood was inadvertently carved off, which ruined the work. However, the learning curve is extraordinarily steep and rewarding. The whole experience of carving is meditative. I don't feel the pain from chronic neuropathy of my left neck and arm that is otherwise my constant companion during every waking moment. I've saved this failed saya carving attempt so that I can glue the two halves together and practice shaping the outer surfaces of the saya before I tackle a successful carving attempt. A small radius plane ($100 Amazon.com, below right) is used to shape the convex side of the saya. The initial investment for good tools cost about the same as for the bare blade.

The tsuba ($112, 116 gm) is an excellent cast steel replica of an Ono school iron sukashi tsuba with bamboo and bracken shoot motifs. The solid silver fuchi-koshirae ($165) feature a bamboo motif and the solid silver menuki ($60) feature a tiger in the bamboo grove motif. The tsuka is lined with genuine black ray skin same and the tsuka-ito is genuine black leather ($20) and is in the process of being wrapped in the katate maki (battle wrap) style with hishigami folded from traditional mulberry paper (Amazon.com). Since this is my first attempt, I fully expected and am confirming that I am not entirely successful on the first try. The battle wrap is a bit ambitious. I didn't recognize at the start that the two halves of the tsuka-ito need to be separate lengths because the longer strand alone will be used for the "spiral" wrapping for the middle 1/3. The shorter strand is cut after the first 1/3 is wrapped to allow the longer strand to transition to parallel wrapping. It needs to transition again to two strands when the wrap resumes with crossover folding. I ended up with too little of the "longer" strand to complete the wrapping, and an excess of the "short" strand. The details for the wrap are from "The Art of Tsukamaki" by Dr. Thomas Buck (see diagram). So now I'm waiting for another 4 meter length of tsuka-ito to arrive. Items from China appear to come slowly, but so far no tariff has been charged since the de minimus exemption was ended a month ago.

I'm finally getting around to posting this pictorial diary of the creation and assembly (in real-time) of the fittings for a folded-steel damascus onokubi-zakuri style shinken blade that was made in China ($262 on eBay, 27.5", 744 gm including habaki). Alloy fittings made in China tend to be of poor quality and appearance, but the sword-making quality has been impressive. Only a few merchants on eBay sell just bare blades. It is intended for tameshigiri with a lighter blade my other shinken to supplement my iaido practice. A deep bohi runs along ~1/3 of the blade from the tang after which the spine (mune) thins until it reaches the tip (yokote) and widens again. A thinner 2nd bohi runs the entire length. These features lighten the blade, produce a pronounced a high-pitched tachikaze due to increased turbulence when the blade travels through the air in a straight cut, and lend aesthetic appeal.

And I have on used authentic tsuba up to now. However, I never thought I would have the option to put a repro with the design of my tsuba on an iaito or a practice katana (not nihonto) to inspire me to strike like a thunderbolt (not exactly a traditional Yagyu Shikage-Ryu teaching, but probably close).

The surface of the new ones on the site do look too fresh and uniform. The sekigane at the top seems too round on all of them and unlikely to have been actually mounted, but the one at the bottom is a good imitation of the sharp corners you might expect. They are almost all 4 mm thick (some 3.5 mm), which is generally thinner than the originals. Given a decade and/or with intentional distressing and it might still be difficult to tell if it is original. I might consider purchasing a repro of an iconic one-of-a-kind original tsuba design for an iaito or practice katana. For example, I own this Kanayama thunderbolt tsuba with hozon from Sasano's gold book. I wouldn't thick of mounting such a valuable tsuba on a practice katana. However, Ryuken makes the ¥24,000 reproduction if I were so inclined. The only difference in the design is that it has two kozuka hitsu-ana, whereas both the originals in the gold and silver books (two slightly different ones) have one kozuka and one kogai hitsu-ana. Of course, the yakite shitate on the original is not present on the reproduction, while the latter has tagane-ato on each side of the seppa-dai. Original vs. reproduction:

Tim, this is a bit disturbing if the tsuba maker is adding sekigane as well. He states that these are intended to be replicas for collectors and for mounting on iaito, but from images it would be potentially difficult to distinguish them from the originals. This maybe where shinsa plays a role since the tsuba would have been assessed in hand and photographed.

Jean, yes of course the work of apprentices in ateliers must be acknowledged as reflecting the original style and standard designs/composition of and supervised/authorized production by the master. For me as an active modern day collector, the interest is in relation to: 1) what reproductions of any kind and intention tell us about which original and iconic tsuba designs and artistic/material production features are of relatively broad appreciation (can give some indication of the historical value of genuine pieces); and 2) what should we be particularly aware of regarding contemporary fakes posing as genuine antiques. I’m less interested in the plethora of Edo period reproductions and fakes such as of Nobuie and Yamakichibei with poorly executed mei. These should be well-known to collectors, although I am surprised by how often such tsuba are being offered for $300 by seemingly reputable dealers without any other comment except "...with mei of Nobuie," which is technically not fraud, but nonetheless feels dishonest towards those less experienced collectors.

Thanks, Jean. I'm interested in which tsuba are chosen and worthy of going through the trouble for reproduction, although it's very interesting to learn from you which features are difficult to replicate. The market forces that include the tourist trade would be expected to drive the reproduction of cheap copies that are easy to make. Also, I think there is a difference in intention and quality of copies, fakes, and utsushi. The later two are of special importance to collectors because good fakes are intended to command high prices with the intention of being passed off as the real thing. The one I purchased recently was cast to imitate the sekigane (I was fooled by this) and may have been intended to deceive even dealers (can't really tell if the seller was aware) and less likely to be reproductions of famous and iconic tsubas expressly for mounting on iaito or katana. The utsushi are of course acknowledged homage pieces by well-known and skilled tsubako working in a particular popular style.

Recently I posted what I thought was a genuine Ohno/Yagyu style tsuba, which turned out to be a very good replica and is now being used for a katana that I am putting together (I will soon post my progress on the Nihonto forum). I was surprised that it was chosen for replication because the design is not common (bamboo stalk and bracken shoots). I just happened to see an alloy replica tsuba made for mounting on practice iaito, which is nearly identical to a genuine early Edo Owari sukashi tsuba in my collection that has the motif of four swords pointing in all directions ("yomo ken-ritsu"). The only design difference is that the replica has 2 kozuka hitsu-ana. I would be interested in seeing other examples of genuine tsuba in your collections and their replicas (or outright fakes), as well as your speculation on what features may have been worthy of such flattery. In this case, I believe that the design is thought to be iconic of the martial spirit and quiet strength of the samurai. The original has too numerous to count fine granular tekkotsu over the entire rim that gives the appearance of rust in the sunlight. This quince-shaped (mokko) tsuba harkens back to Tokugawa Ieyasu's famous "lingering snow" tsuba, although the stylized sword tips lend an even stronger martial feeling.

That makes perfect sense now. Thanks, Mauro and Jean.

Very interesting, Glen. This one may prove to be a good reference piece. However, it’s not intuitive to me why a tsubako would opt to forge-weld 4 thin plates together. The total thickness is 4 mm.

Completely agree with you, Glen. I'm not concerned with papers in the least. Using a shakudo insert would give it the same effect as kintsugi used to repair cracks in chawan. Not pretending to be any more than a loving repair that acknowledges the history of the object.

This later style Christian tsuba (still has the rays of light rather than clock gear motif) currently on Jauce surprised me when I looked at the images because the half that includes the kogai hitsu-ana has a definitive split such that the tsuba appears to have been made by fusing two separate plates. This is not evident on the other side. We often speak of the fusion of 3 plates or a "pastry puff" appearance of the sukashi walls in Akasaka tsuba. This tsuba has a square rim and hitsu-ana that suggest more of an Owari style appearance. Has anyone seen anything like this? https://www.jauce.com/auction/c1185482684

The Soryu one pretty clearly never had a kogai hitsu-ana because the walls of the diamond are solid when they attach to the seppa-dai. So, there are some variations.

Thanks for your comments, gentlemen. I remember seeing a tsuba that was being sold as in excellent condition when it was clear that one of the hitsu-ana had been repaired and was still slightly deformed. It would also have been better left alone with its well earned battle scar.

I know there is a tsubako either in the US or Europe who has been winnning competitions in Japan. I'll have to dig around. I recently purchased a saya chisel made by the swordsmith Walter Sorrells on the west coast. He produces swords on commission. I'm pretty sure he makes his own tsuba. Jean, you've got me thinking now about the whole patination issue.

Hi Ray. I don’t have Sasano in front of me, but recalled something similar. The listing shows the identical tsuba composition attributed to Sasano’s Japanese 1st edition, although the walls of the central diamonds are indeed a bit heavier as you noted. I am not so much a purist as to think all antiques should be restored for aesthetic value. Indeed, vintage watches lose value if the dial is redone. There is a beauty to the history of an old object, especially when looking at products that purposefully express wabi and sabi. Important chawan with crack repairs may increase with value, both aesthetically and in terms of monetary value. Rather, I am always interested in how excellent restoration in the right hands may bring objects back to a former glory. The absent hitsu-ana throws off the balance visually, which is a distraction for me. I know there are metal workers out there who create contemporary tsuba in a traditional style. I wonder…

This Owari tsuba is rare and well-known from Sasano’s gold book and other references. Sadly, the Kozuka hitsu-ana is missing (which explains the relatively low price), and which begs the question of whether it can be repaired/restored. Anyone have any experience with this kind of scenario? https://www.jauce.com/auction/c1183203600

It’s 10% for item above $800. No tariff up to $800, I believe.