Help on mei for high-quality late Edo/Meiji era tsubas?

[terminus]

Hi,

I found some what looks like Meiji/Late Edo era tsubas. They have some slight wear and these are the best photos I could get of them so any help would be greatly appreciated:

Tsuba #1: 
Front: 
Ura: 

Tsuba #2: 
Ura: 

Tsuba #3: 
Ura: 

 

[Gunome]

Hello,

 

n° 2 is signed Iwamoto Ryokan 岩本良寛

 

last one 鈴木容光  Suzuki Katamitsu

[terminus]

Hello,

 

n° 2 is signed Iwamoto Ryokan 岩本良寛

 

last one 鈴木容光  Suzuki Katamitsu

Thank you for the fast reply! 

 

#2 I was wondering if it was from Iwamoto school. The front has a lobster and puffer fish on it. But it seems a little too "Iwamoto" school, and the mei and craft isn't as crisp as some of Iwamoto Ryokan's other works. I have seen his mei signed without the Kao before on tsubas before. May be suspect, not sure at the moment. Too difficult to tell from these photos. 

 

#3 Never heard of Suzuki Katamitsu but thank you!

 

#1 I'm really curios about this one, in my mind it seems to be very well carved. Here's a slightly better photo of the omote side mei:

[k morita]

Hi,

 

#1

search Nakagawa Issho (中川一匠).

[terminus]

Hi,

 

#1

search Nakagawa Issho (中川一匠).

Oh thank you!

 

Both Nakagawa Issho and Iwamoto Ryokan are semi-big names. I'm somewhat skeptical. I've never seen a Nakagawa Issho tsuba signed with a seal inlay before and this mei does look very different from the ones I've seen. Primarily it's missing the "中". I do think he sometimes signs on the omote side though. 

[SteveM]

On the front its signed

應需　一匠　謹識筆

 

On the back... is it possible to get a better picture?

～音無川～

[terminus]

On the front its signed

應需　一匠　謹識筆

 

On the back... is it possible to get a better picture?

～音無川～

Thanks!

 

So I did some further investigation, the front mei is weird. Why?

 

Because it has the Issho(一匠) of Nakagawa Issho, but the Oju(應需) of a different Issho, another student of Ichijo: 

 

Sorry, this is the best photo of the ura side I have. Does 音無川 mean like Otonashi River?

[SteveM]

The Issho of the picture from the book is a different "shō" (and therefore a different person)

 

一匠

一昇

 

應需　= Ōju means "made to order", "special order, etc... Its a phrase that indicates the tsuba was made at the request of someone. 

謹識筆　＝　謹んで、しるす (ひつ） Made and inscribed with care (?). 

 

on the reverse

音無川 = Otonashi river. This is a river close to where Isshō lived. It appears on other tsuba made by him. 

[terminus]

Thanks Steve! Very informative. I’ve seen Oju on a few tsuba and now it makes so much sense it means Made to Order!

 

Oh I never knew Nakagawa Issho lived near Otonashi River. This tsuba is quite interesting. Btw, have you ever seen that gold seal on any Nakagawa Issho Tosogu before?

[SteveM]

No, I don't know what that seal signifies. Usually its the artist's own name, or art name, but I can't tell what the character is in this seal.