Need Help on Tsuba and Fittings

[Joe Choi]

Hello.... all

Thanks for all your help on my last Tsuba ID request.

I've recently picked up this GI put together sword on Ebay, which looked like a Ko-Katana on the listing. When I've received the sword, I was just amazed at the condition of the blade (mu-mei wakizashi with Katana size Tsuka) and especialy the fittings.

Tsuba with two monkeys holding hands and a Menuki with Buddah (?) resting on the Boar.

I have a couple of questions....

1) Tsuba ID.... it has Kanji of Toshi on it, is it a makers name?

2) Since the Tsuka is pretty damaged, is it better to have the fittings removed or just leave them as it is. ( I'm so tempted to remove the menuki)

 

Thank You.... Joe

[Nobody]

1) Tsuba ID.... it has Kanji of Toshi on it, is it a makers name?

If you refer to the marked part in the attached pic, it does not look like a kanji to me, though it could be a mark or something.

 

.........a Menuki with Buddah (?) resting on the Boar.

The motif of the menuki might be Hotei (布袋).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budai

[Joe Choi]

Any idea of the period ? and Which school?

I have posted the picture of the wakizashi on the Nihonto borad....

[Guest reinhard]

The outline of the Tsuba is asymmetrical.

The outline of the Seppa-dai is asymmetrical.

The carving was poorly executed and does not harmonize with the sukashi-design, which itself looks random.

The mark on the Seppa-dai doesn't make sense.

 

conclusion?

 

reinhard

[Bungo]

The outline of the Tsuba is asymmetrical.

The outline of the Seppa-dai is asymmetrical.

The carving was poorly executed and does not harmonize with the sukashi-design, which itself looks random.

The mark on the Seppa-dai doesn't make sense.

 

conclusion?

 

reinhard

 

symmetry is not a prerequiste for authenticity, superior workanship ( literally fill your favorite blank ) in art forms.

Quoting Tennyson ( spelling ? )...... a man with no fault is all fault ( or something along that line ).

 

Afterall, the iron plates were hand made and not stamped out from a machine. In short, each has it's own character .

While the monkies are not that handsome ( less well endow than another member's monkey tsuba , :D ) but they do have their wabi charm........ just my opinion, of course.

 

milt

[Guest reinhard]

"symmetry is not a prerequiste for authenticity, superior workanship in art forms."

 

Definitely true. Some of the most remarkable Tsuba in the history of Tosogu do not have symmetrical outlines (KANEIYE,f.e.). But they are perfectly balanced and the asymmetrical shape had been carefully chosen. Looking at this particular Tsuba, the asymmetrical features appear to be random and careless; particularly obvious, when looking at the seppa-dai.

 

reinhard

[Joe Choi]

Thanks all for your input....

to my untrained eye, this tsuba looks similar in style, the way it looks.

 

http://www.aoi-art.com/fittings/7750-7799/07774.html

 

Then again, I might be way way off.....