Antique Tsuba and Kodogu Book...ID needed

[Ed Hicks]

Antique Tsuba and Kodogu Book...ID needed...I recently saw this intriguing book with what appears to me to be a series of pasted in images or designs for tsuba and fittings...Not having seen one before I hope more advanced collectors here will know what this is. The examples are quite varied and of fine quality. Thanks for looking. Ed

[Ed Hicks]

a few more

[Soshin]

Hi Ed H.,

 

In the image "TsubaBook (3).JPG" it looks like it has some design of tsuba that were intented to be mounted on a bokken which is a wooden practice sword.

[Toryu2020]

David -

I dont think there was a big market for boku-to tsuba combos. I think it more likely the artist leaves what would be the seppa-dai blank and anyone who chose to utilize the design could give it whatever treatment was needed.

 

There is quite the variety here - it is easy to see from a book like this many a design could be copied, right down to the signature!

-t

[Soshin]

Hi Tom H.,

 

You might be right. But in this years KTK catalogue pages 22-23 they showed an example of refitted Muromachi Period tachi-kanagushi tsuba that was later significantly altered and made to fit a bokken. I am thinking this refitting was likely done in the Edo Period so there could have been some what of a market back then for nice custom bokken tsuba. Having more real in hand examples would be helpful.

[Brian]

Ed,

That's not antique. It's just one of Ford's doodle books from when he was a kid

Seriously though...a nice one. I thought at first it was a pattern book. But since I am not sure they would include the mei in their patterns, maybe it is a record of existing tsuba that were copied or used for inspiration? Maybe I'm wrong, and it is one of the school pattern books.

A nice find though.

 

Brian

[Ed Hicks]

There appear to be many styles that don't fit one school and I initially thought it was a pattern book, but I can see how it may be copies of existing tsuba...Lots more pages to this. Ed

[kusunokimasahige]

What I find interesting is that this looks like a sketch/scrapbook in which images of tsuba have been drawn as well as glued.

 

Maybe one of the members could translate some of the text.

 

KM

[Ed Hicks]

A few more pages

[Ed Hicks]

Any help translating and dating this book are appreciated. I'll post more images soon. Thanks for looking. Ed

[Ford Hallam]

This is a classic example of a tosogu-shi's design book. Records of made pieces and drawing for pieces yet to be made.

 

A number of similar such books have been reprinted in  modern times, most notably those of Kano Natsuo as published by Marcus Sesko. and in the Natsuo Taikan.

Funny enough my own sketch/scrap books look a little similar.

 

Plain seppa-dai are fairly common and not necessarily indicative of an intended use on a bokuto, which has a different cross section anyway.

[rkg]

Are all the tsuba/other designs like they appear - on separate pieces of paper that are glued into the book?  It looks like somebody's personal scrapbook of designs - cool!
 

Best,

 

rkg

(Richard George)