How to make a "Hidden Christian" tsuba

[Spartancrest]

I do like the odd tsuba shapes that turn up from time to time and have built up over fifty kawari-gata guards. So at first I was highly delighted to see this guard turn up at auction.  https://www.jauce.com/auction/b1150937496

However the pattern sparked a memory of another guard, maru in shape with small sukashi squares cut into the Heianjo plate. I found a maru version [albeit with larger squares] and you can work out where some bright [or not so bright] person has removed portions to end up with the cruciform shape. There are details that show where the cuts have been made even though there is considerable patina covering the cut surfaces. In my own nomenclature I call these "Forced - Kawari" as they never started out in this shape. We have seen a few other "Forced-Kawari" in a few other threads.

 

 

[Jake6500]

8 minutes ago, Spartancrest said:

I do like the odd tsuba shapes that turn up from time to time and have built up over fifty kawari-gata guards. So at first I was highly delighted to see this guard turn up at auction.  https://www.jauce.com/auction/b1150937496

However the pattern sparked a memory of another guard, maru in shape with small sukashi squares cut into the Heianjo plate. I found a maru version [albeit with larger squares] and you can work out where some bright [or not so bright] person has removed portions to end up with the cruciform shape. There are details that show where the cuts have been made even though there is considerable patina covering the cut surfaces. 

 

This is interesting, however it raises the question of when the rim was cut away, by who and why.

 

On the one hand the cuts might have been made in the modern era in order to produce a cruciform shape and pass the tsuba off as "Christian".

 

On the other, it might have been cut by an actual Japanese Christian at some point during the Edo or Meiji Periods, especially if the patina is (natural as opposed to artificially) thick.

 

 

[Spartancrest]

Not an uncommon type of design.    I think you could get a nice "Christian tanto guard" out of this 2,000 yen buy! [I hope not though!]

[Bugyotsuji]

Interesting! I once owned a genuine tsuba, based on a variant ‘Maru ni Nuke Jūji’ Satsuma Shimazu Mon. 丸に抜け十字

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=丸に抜け十字薩摩家紋&client=safari&sca_esv=2f5b823099db8bc2&sca_upv=1&hl=en-gb&udm=2&biw=390&bih=663&ei=_ljUZp39K7yK7NYPkqGF2AY&oq=丸に抜け十字薩摩家紋&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIh7kuLjjgavmipzjgZHljYHlrZfolqnmkanlrrbntItI_lJQ8BJY7ENwA3gAkAECmAFUoAHjBaoBAjEyuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIBoAJLwgIEEB4YCpgDAIgGAZIHATGgB4wH&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#vhid=88ubFn_B_WDrfM&vssid=mosaic

 

 

 

 

[Spartancrest]

26 minutes ago, Bugyotsuji said:

I once owned a genuine tsuba, based on a variant ‘Maru ni Nuke Jūji’ Satsuma Shimazu Mon. 丸に抜け十字

Thanks Piers that search led me to find this. Supper cool guard!  Many crosses there, but not a Christian in sight!

[Bugyotsuji]

Also in the west called a Celtic cross.