Jake6500

I have been wanting to get me a good tiger Tsuba like this one. Every time I see one online its either not of a sufficient condition/quality or it's the opposite and it's beyond my budget lol

So there is a high quality papered fuchigashira on Jauce right now that reminds me of late Edo (Murakami or Ishiguro?) work. There aren't many Tsuba on Jauce that suit my interests right now so I'm considering making a bid on this instead. Thoughts about attribution? The authenticity cert. dates back to the old system (green paper) which is also interesting. I don't see Tosogu with green papers floating around all that often. https://www.jauce.com/auction/t1139567998

To me this seems like a more plausible one than most. As you wrote in your post it seems more like it belongs on a fencing rapier based on the shape which would lead one to suspect it might have been owned by a Portuguese missionary. I'm not sure about the heart shaped cut, I am not sure about how this would connect to the religious iconography but the phoenix as a symbol of resurrection could clearly be interpreted through a Christian lens. The Portuguese presence in Japan started in 1543, peaked around the 1570s and begins to diminish in the 1590s so it's possible this piece might date to around the end of the Muromachi or start of the Azuchi-Momoyama circa 1573.

And another...

Here's one from my collection... No animal tsuba yet though! Apologies for the amateur mobile phone photography!

Thanks for the responses Dale and Clive, I have to say I was sort of unsure whether this was real or a modern fake myself and was leaning toward fake, so did not bid. Given that the seller ended up pulling the auction as well as Dale's observations this would seem to put points in the "real" column... In fact not just real but higher end. I see what Dale was saying about Jakushi influence, not actually in the oni or kappa but in the lightning, which resembled that on a papered Jakushi dragon tsuba I have seen. In any event, if the seller relists this item I will have the confidence to bid on it next go around!

As the title suggests, there is a tsuba currently listed on Jauce with a kappa and oni design. Wondering what everyone thinks of it and whether forum members think it is authentic... Beautiful cultural design but something about it leaves me wondering. https://www.jauce.com/auction/c1151052418

This does not necessarily mean they are from different artists. Artisans would sometimes use alternate kanji when signing works. Hell, some artists would use entirely different surnames altogether at different points throughout their careers!

There's just about always a connection between the two sides, somewhere! In one of my recent threads I bought a tsuba with Guan Yu on it and on the reverse side was a rabbit, which don't seem to have any connection at face value either. Took some time to work out the connection!

https://www.jauce.com/auction/q1124208481 For sale right now and papered to Yanagawa Naoharu

Thanks for the help! My Japanese sux

I might be slightly off about the motif Steve. The reason I thought it might be Hangaku Gozen is related to the seemingly rounded face of the horseback archer which struck me as a more feminine depiction!

Wow! That's a much brighter image!

Hi forum veterans and translators, I'm trying to decipher a mei from a fuchigashira and was hoping for some help reading the following kanji: The kanji that follows I believe I have recognised as the kanji for water (mizu/sui) but correct me if I'm wrong. No idea about the first kanji, maybe JoSui? Sorry for the dark photo but it's the best I've got! Thanks for any assistance, Jake

There is a beautiful Hangaku Gozen Fuchi-Kashira on Jauce right now going for big bucks! Hoping I win this as Onna-Bugeisha are an area of academic interest to me. https://www.jauce.com/auction/r1150059618 Edit: I wave the white flag! 180,000 yen is just too much!

At the risk of dissenting on the centipede thing, if the sutra on the tsuba is interpreted as having been deliberately curved by the artisan to represent mukade this might explain the connection. Mukade were occasionally used as a symbol for Bishamon as Piers has mentioned. There is a story about the goddess Kishimojin (Hariti) visiting Bishamon (Vaisravana) after losing one of her sons. Hariti is guided by Bishamon to Gautama Buddha who returns her son to her on the condition that she replace her diet of human flesh with that of pomegranate. This story could perhaps be the theme of the tsuba with the pomegranate representing Kishimojin and the centipede-like sutra representing Bishamon's and Gautama's joint guidance. The pomegranate is also a fertility symbol so this tsuba might have been an auspicious fertility charm of sorts. Perhaps it was commissioned for a religious or superstitious person attempting to bear children as a gift, although that might be reading too much into it.

This is interesting, however it raises the question of when the rim was cut away, by who and why. On the one hand the cuts might have been made in the modern era in order to produce a cruciform shape and pass the tsuba off as "Christian". On the other, it might have been cut by an actual Japanese Christian at some point during the Edo or Meiji Periods, especially if the patina is (natural as opposed to artificially) thick.

Just saw this beautiful listing on Jauce and it reminded me of our discussion in this thread! Only 8 hours left on this one and probably out of my price range at this point in time... https://www.jauce.com/auction/c1150054016

Aw hell naw, those things are terrifying!

I noticed this one Dale. It's interesting because it appears to be a mass reproduction of an authentic piece. On some of the reproductions different metals are sometimes used (eg. Bronze or copper for the circle around the head in the top right instead of gold, etc.) Or maybe I am wrong and the whole design is modern, who knows?

Seems like an unusual theme but the first thing that came to my mind was onmyoji paper shikigami... Doubt this is correct though

300,000 yen and PULLED AGAIN!!! BIG jump up from the last auction! I don't think anyone quite predicted that increase! Stay tuned for the inevitable part 3 (series finale?)

You may be right as I overlooked this detail. I just went back and had another look, I had not noticed what looks like a wakizashi on the standing figure!

We have another player! Come on, quickly place your bets while you still can people!

This is possible also. Personally I still think it depicts a teaching moment, possibly between a famous figure in their youth and their teacher who has visited the fort to tutor them. The Kamakura Period also coincides with the rise in accessibility to education for samurai children! The low vs high posture of both figures in the image, plus the hands of our "teacher" lead me to believe the tsuba depicts tutoring of the first born son. Then again maybe my preconceived biases are part of the equation!