Help required - Akasaka School?

[Kapin]

Hi to all you tsuba experts

 

Can anyone help me identify and date this unsigned tsuba?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Kapin

[DirkO]

Would it be possible to get a sharp close-up of the inside of the rim ? Akasaka work can be recognized by their obvious layered work.

[Kapin]

Hi Dirk

 

This is the best I can do with the limited equipment at my disposal.

 

2 more pictures.....

[Kapin]

And one more photo.....

[Bungo]

" Akasaka work can be recognized by their obvious layered work. "

 

Have a signed and papered Akasaka tsuba that does not show any layered work.

I think the shape of the seppa dai ( elongated ) and the key hole shaped nakago-ana are better criteria........http://www.esnips.com/web/tsuba?docsPage=8#files

 

for more Akasaka examples, none better than this collection whose owner is so generous to share with the public........

http://www.esnips.com/web/theboywhowouldbeking

 

 

milt

[Rich T]

Would it be possible to get a sharp close-up of the inside of the rim ? Akasaka work can be recognized by their obvious layered work.

 

Zanshin, that generally only applies to quality early work, this does not apply to later works. Personally I think this is a late Higo tsuba, probably Hayashi or Nishigaki.

 

Chers

 

Rich

[Bungo]

where's ----- ?

Rich, I think the example is more like Kyo-Shoami............ always guessing here.

 

milt

[Brian]

I'm with Rich on this one. Doesn't have too many Akasaka traits, but a nice tsuba and does look Higo to my novice eyes.

 

Brian

[Rich T]

Where's Guido ?

Rich, I think the example is more like Kyo-Shoami............ always guessing here.

 

milt

 

Ooopss, sorry about that, especially to Guido, I amended my post, I just sort of looked at the avatar and thought it Guido's, they look pretty similar at first glance. Wakari wa baka gaijin desu.

 

So, Kyo Shoami huh ????????

 

Why ? :-)

 

Cheers mate, and thanks for correcting me

 

Rich

[Bungo]

Where's Guido ?

Rich, I think the example is more like Kyo-Shoami............ always guessing here.

 

milt

 

Ooopss, sorry about that, especially to Guido, I amended my post, I just sort of looked at the avatar and thought it Guido's, they look pretty similar at first glance. Wakari wa baka gaijin desu.

 

So, Kyo Shoami huh ????????

 

Why ? :-)

 

Cheers mate, and thanks for correcting me

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

 

you can get me into trouble...... note I amended my message.

 

I based my opinion on the shape of the seppa dai and the size/shape of the kogai/koz ana hitsu.

But......... the inner side of the rim with tha scalloped shape is not typical of Shoami ........

 

As I said, when in doubt, always Shoami ( Kyo- shoami means it's a better quality work )

 

 

milt

[Ford Hallam]

in line with my official status as heretic I would offer the following observations;

 

The overall feel is quite crisp and tidy but the engraved lines seem somewhat awkward to my eyes. The inner edge of the ryo-hitsu is very uncomfortable, in fact impractical, I refer to the part that would be alongside the kozuka or kogai.

 

The nakago ana is nicely formed, almost too nicely (?), but the kuchi beni ( the punch marks at top and bottom ) seem contrived, as though they don't really serve any function other than decoration.

 

Although the piercing work is quite tidy, as I mentioned, I still get an impression of amateurishness. Some of the lines, while neatly filed up, reveal an initial error in cutting out that upsets the overall integrity of the design.

 

My assessment would be that this is the work of a fairly skilled amateur working sometime in the last 60 years. A tidy copy of an earlier Higo design.

 

Regards,

 

Ford

[Bungo]

" My assessment would be that this is the work of a fairly skilled amateur working sometime in the last 60 years. A tidy copy of an earlier Higo design. "

 

A modan copy ? DO the modan artists/copyists have time to create this ? Seems like the effort is not worth the time spent .

Usually the copies are cast ( if design is complicated ) or the sukashi are relatively simple and straight forward. But none of these are evident in the example.

 

 

milt

[Ford Hallam]

ask yourself this Milt;

 

is it worth it to lovingly restore a classic car, to build a faithful scale model, in wood, of HMS Victory, or to create a working, scale model, in metal, of a steam locomotive?.....the answer, in purely monetary terms, is an unequivocal "NO", but this is not the point for the dedicated amateur. Nor for that matter, for real artists.

 

Reminds me of the definition of an accountant;

" someone who knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing"

 

regards,

 

Ford ( the heretic...not yet burnt at the stake )

[Ford Hallam]

just to add to my previous post;

 

I'm not suggesting this is a deliberate attempt at faking. I don't believe it is. I think it is a perfectly legitimate piece of relatively modern work done by an enthusiastic amateur. Nothing wrong, or bad about that. imo

[Bungo]

just to add to my previous post;

 

I'm not suggesting this is a deliberate attempt at faking. I don't believe it is. I think it is a perfectly legitimate piece of relatively modern work done by an enthusiastic amateur. Nothing wrong, or bad about that. imo

 

Ford,

May be student/school works of Edo days ? I mean not every single tsuba were made by " masters ".

 

Milt

[Ford Hallam]

Hi Milt,

 

it's possible, I suppose but to my eyes and compared to many pieces I'm mentally referencing in terms of overall feel of the workmanship there remains something "un-professional". I don't means it's sub-standard necessarily, just not made by some-one who has experienced workshop training.