Jake6500

Hey Colin and Ian, thanks for your responses. Don't worry about disappointing me, I certainly didn't pay an exceptional amount for these and originally bought them for the designs without a second though about the lineage of the artists which only piqued my curiosity later. As I am new to Tosogu collection in general would you mind elaborating a little for me? All I know about Shakudo is that it is an alloy metal. Are we talking about the colour of the black nanako base of the fuchigashira? I should add that the last few photos are zoomed in by about x4 on a phone camera with flash photography and then compressed, so the quality of the work might not be fully represented by the photographs. Even if it's not authentic I think it's a pretty nice piece in hand so I am not disappointed! EDIT: Nvm I think I was being stupid and now see what you guys mean! Thanks for the feedback and the new knowledge Ian, as well as the wonderful visual reference!

I am doubtful this one is authentic, however I am hopeful that the first one (signed Goto Senjo) is. The style is a closer match as is the mei and the overall quality. These 2 pieces signed "Goto" were bought in two separate auctions from two separate sellers so the authenticity of one should not affect the other. I've taken a few new photos of the first one with the horses which I'm optimistic about, hopefully I can get some opinions on its authenticity!

Thanks for providing this info, there is a clear match in the signature and a lineage to research!

Hello forum members, I recently acquired a few new fuchi / tsuba and wanted to get some information and maybe a few opinions about them. This may be the first of a couple topics I start here in the Tosogu section in the coming days. I recently acquired this fuchigashira apparently signed "Goto Senjo", along with another fuchi purportedly from another artist of the Goto lineage in separate auctions: When I picked this up, I originally did so simply for the horse motif as well as the style/quality of the piece. Here is an older thread about the same artist and the Goto school: Now I am curious as to the authenticity of the piece and its attribution as I also picked up this piece with a similar style signed Goto Kiyonobu (Having looked into it a bit I think this second one might not be authentic as it is the one on the left that is signed as "Goto" and the right one is signed Kinsha Tomotsune? The left one doesn't seem to match Goto work to me...) The Goto Senjo piece appears to be of a similar style, has a neat, straight signature and features Nanako similar to other documented Goto school works, as does the fuchi on the right in the above picture although I have no information to go on regarding the artist Kinsha Tomotsune. Thoughts?

The style of the Tsuba and theme reminds me of this thread from a while back: I have seen a couple Tsuba of this sort with the sages/immortals as the theme floating about over the past 6 months or so. They all appear to be authentic Edo Period pieces.

With my limited expertise I concur with Dan. No sign of wear around the Nakago Ana, probably never mounted. As Dan has a tsuba with the same design we can assume it is probably cast. As for dating there is some controversy/dispute as to whether cast Tsuba existed in the Edo Period or whether they were only produced later. We can assume it is probably a product of either the late Edo or Meiji Periods. Hard to go wrong with a $25 Tsuba, even if it's cast.

Interesting to learn that Aoi-gata has a more extensive history than I had realised!

Honestly I would guess even a later period than that. The heart shape we see in the top Tsuba is a design choice that originates in the mid to later Edo Period? Here are some Edo Period example of it: The problem is the cross shape in the centre which to me is an indication these are both post-Edo productions emulating the Edo Period design. The insertion of another metal to form the cross in the second one is an indication to me that this second one might be even more recent than the first. If I had to guess, both of these are likely post-Edo works. The Aoi-gata (heart) shape has an association with cavalry. Perhaps these Tsuba date to the pre-war conflicts of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 or even the Second World War as the imperial Japanese army utilised cavalry units in all of these conflicts. EDIT: Some WW2 era items featuring the Aoi-gata (heart) shape design:

She's a keeper Take it to the bank lol

Nice start to a collection. If they all have hozon certification then you can be confident as to their authenticity. Personally I like the 3rd one very much, I think the river design is pretty unique. These all strike me as genuine later Edo Period works in the 1780-1850 range.

Looks awesome! I just bought a Naginata with wooden practice blade as sword laws are strict in my state, hope it looks half as good!

Is this picture from the same dealer with your tsuba at the end? Some of these other tsuba definitely look like Edo Period tsuba. The second from the left is a nice Heianjo style tsuba. Lends some credit back to the dealer again if these were some of the other options.

Certainly this is also true. I don't mean to say that any good craftsmanship = fake. What I meant is more that sometimes "perfect" looking line work or mei can be indicative of post-industrial or modern work. In animated motifs, post-industrial or seemingly "perfect" linework also can make the tsuba look lifeless or unnatural. There are plenty of other things to indicate OP's tsuba is fake such as no Hitsu-Ana, etc.

Obviously it's a matter of opinion but I would say probably about double the value. It would be best to ask a reputable dealer that question, but this is what I'd say. Tbh I am less knowledgeable about the price values of later periods and even for Edo Period pieces am still developing my price sense so I might be wrong.

Can't quite remember which one but the motif is a samurai clan crest. This tsuba however, I think is modern-modern based off this image at least. Edit: It is Ii clan mon.

If 35000 yen is what you paid just for the tsuba itself I feel confident in saying you've overpaid, however I don't think the tsuba is "fake". If anything I think this tsuba might fit a Showa-to well. It is clearly post-Edo and I suspect it is likely from the inter-war period. (I've been referring to the tsuba as possibly "Meiji" but actually I am lumping the Meiji and Taisho periods together for our purposes. An attribution to the period between 1914-1945 seems quite likely to me based on the style, photographs and signs of wear). There are plenty of other more knowledgeable experts on the forum so we'll see if we get some more responses!

Yikes, this makes me lean more toward the possibility of a later piece or fake. Real authentication papers should always look like these for future reference: EDIT: To clarify I still don't think this is a "fake". Likely Showa or Meiji Period cast.

Definitely seems like a late piece to me. I think Colin is mostly correct (and he is more knowledgeable than me) about it being cast. Cast however does not necessarily disqualify it from being authentic, however it does cast doubt on the idea that the piece is from the Edo Period. Where I disagree with Colin is on the period. The style of this tsuba reminds me of some Meiji Period pieces I have seen so I believe it could still date back to pre-war Japan. Regarding what Florian has written, I think the Nakago-Ana is just a bit worn from use or deformed from the casting process. I do not believe this is a Chinese fake. If there is a photo of the appraisal paper, that might give some additional insight.

The kanji repeated 4 times in each corner is Ou - King. The one at the top and bottom, I have no idea!

As a general rule, if it looks too perfect or "clean" it probably is! You can tell by looking at the "signature" among other things that this is a modern post-industrial production.

Thanks for the lead Brian, I will spend some time trying to read about the use of coral to see if I can find out more! Edit: You probably read that these stones were coral from the thread by Ford Hallam I linked above. Originally I just posted it for the image without having a proper read through but Ford states as much in the link above!

It doesn't seem that bad to me. Doesn't match up to some Murakami Jochiku masterpiece but I don't think it's "poor". Also, the design uses embedded stones which was pretty uncommon and should narrow down the origins. Having checked some examples again I'm thinking Hirata is a closer fit. There are examples of Hirata works using the same or similar type of red stone from prior forum threads:

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.