Jesta

What are your thoughts on this one: https://www.jauce.com/auction/u1227971547 It feels off to me. The sekigane look fake, the sloppy execution of the bamboo(?) and other bits, the too small kogai ana, along with the dusting of rust all make me feel that it is more than a little suss…

I mean… they are absolutely identical, which you would hope would raise a flag for the auction house…

Are there any indications of some of the bells having had rims previously? Seems possible that they might have had the rims removed to make them more unusual.

If you want some reasonable certainty, then the NBTHK certs are a good way to ensure that you are getting a decent piece. Once you have a few pieces in hand you will learn to spot the more obvious issues to avoid when choosing in the future. There are threads on this board that will show examples of modern tsuba. SpartanCrest posts regularly on things he finds on various sites, so you can look there. This was my first mistake:

The apparent quality of the workmanship for the piece is very much at odds with the shoddy workmanship of the nakago-ana - it is not centred, and it has chips off in places. In addition to that, the way that the nakago-ana cuts through the raised items in the centre indicates a later alteration.

Nice pieces… Markus Sesko has an excellent article on this topic: https://markussesko.com/2014/02/02/tsuba-with-the-bird-of-prey-catching-a-monkey-motif/ It’s really interesting to see how the motif has not only been depicted slightly differently, but also can interpreted differently.

I just picked this one up in London. There’s a kitsune under a moon, with a kitsune in openwork. I am not sure what the design on the ura side is. If anyone can help with the mei, and origins that would be great. Thanks.

One of my concerns about pieces like this is that it doesn’t have papers. If it is genuine, then I would be surprised that the owner has not had it papered yet. On the other hand, it is a really beautiful piece, which also caught my eye…

Yeah, I see these around quite a lot. What I also find interesting is how few of them appear to have been mounted at any time. I wonder how many were made for the export market (those that aren’t modern anyway)

I am afraid that I didn’t take any wide angle shots. The tsuba display was a single case, with some other koshirae and a note about how decorative things became as swords were seen more and more as status symbols. I was referring to the cicada… I could have sworn it was a bee on a honeycomb, but you are right, and I can see it now that I look again.

I think that it’s highly likely that Klimt was influenced by Japanese art.

The final two: ...

I went to the Samurai Exhibition at the British Museum yesterday. It was pretty well laid out, with the focus really seeming to be on armour, with some discussion of the weapons used, and the role of the samurai in the Edo period. There was one display with tsuba, so I thought I would share them (two more in the following post). As usual, there was almost no description of the tsuba provided, so if anyone could include comments, origins, etc, then it would be great. The tsuba are really quite nice, with a good variety of themes, some seen before, and others that are less common. I really like the bee tsuba, it reminds me of Klimt.

Inspired by this, I gave it some thought, and decided to try a simple acrylic ring display. I have been really struggling to find a good way to display fuchi kashira, and I don’t have the skills to craft a wooden stand, so I bought these on Amazon. It seems to have worked out quite well, I think. Anyone else have any cunning plans for this sort of thing?

That is excellent. I have been looking for a good way to display fuchi-kashira sets. Thanks for sharing.

This was my first thought too…

Yeah, I was just thinking that. I will look out for them next time…

I love this sentiment. I collect because I love the aesthetics of the tsuba, and I pick pieces that I want to look at every day. I never get tired of them, and I aspire to have so many that I too will be able to rediscover them when I go digging into my cabinets.

Much like Mauro noted, I don’t see any of the typical motifs that link this to the Race across the Uji. It is very nice, but the Chinese armour and sword, combined with the lack of a bow, or bridge, or companion to race make me think that it is more likely to be depicting something else.

I love the playful theme

I have one that is very similar, but there is no tekkotsu on mine.

Hi Will Looks like an iron marugata shaped (round) tsuba. The effect of the folded over edges is similar to one in my collection that is listed as sukashi, so yours may well be of that type too. There are others here who will be able to give you a more definite identification. Dan is right, tsuba are usually seen with the edge up because the Japanese typically wear the swords that way in their obi (belts) so the designs are intended to be seen that way. There is usually a clear front side, but in your case the sides seem to be identical, and the two ana (holes) each side of the central nakago ana (tang hole) are also identical meaning that there is no clear front or back.

I know I’m very late to this thread, but I was looking through “The Beauty of Tsuba” (just bought it) and saw the same design listed as Higo. The one in the book looks very similar to one Dale posted, but there are some differences.

Good points, and well-made. I have these labelled as “flood” in my collection. I chose the possibility that it was Futami Bay partly because the torii seems to be at that angle on the rock in the woodblock, and the bridge has similarities. The water under the bridge is definitely water, whereas whatever is covering the torii and the shrine is… ambiguous. Do you have any thoughts on the sticks (poles?) supported or held by the ropes on the omote side? I don’t know what they could be, but they get repeated too. As for getting tired of them, I haven’t yet been able to bring myself to sell any of my collection. I gave one tsuba away because I thought that it deserved a better home, but I am rather attached to the ones that I have. Hard to do anything, but accumulate

That’s a beautiful piece. Really lovely.