Help with dating tsuba/fuchi/kashira and iaito signature

[mooneyy]

Hi there,

 

I've bought these fittings a couple of years ago for a wakizashi I forged. They are iron with gold and shakudo.

 

At the time I didn't give much thought about what exactly or how old they are, but now I'm curious.

 

Someone on SBG said they look like late edo or showa. Maybe from owari?

 

The signature is from a iaito I purchased recently (second hand). Does anybody know what it says?

 

Any input is appreciated.

 

 

[Toryu2020]

濃州 Noshu as in Noshudo purveyor of iaito.

[ROKUJURO]

TSUBA looks more like AIZU SHOAMI style, not OWARI. Probably very late.

[mooneyy]

2 hours ago, Toryu2020 said:

濃州 Noshu as in Noshudo purveyor of iaito.

Oh wow. I thought the iaito is of very high quality. Now I know for sure. And it's 20 years old.

 

1 hour ago, ROKUJURO said:

TSUBA looks more like AIZU SHOAMI style, not OWARI. Probably very late.

Oh wow again. I've looked at hundreds of pictures to find this particular style - without any luck. Thanks a lot!

What makes you think it's very late? Rim and punch marks?

[ROKUJURO]

Jae-in,

when you cannot see an item in hand, it is only a guess based on individual experience. In the end, we are only looking at photos, not real TSUBA.

Your TSUBA has an unfamiliar feature: The dark blue-black round dots are difficult to evaluate. Are they SHAKUDO TAKABORI inlays? In any way, this is not a typical or traditional feature in my eyes, so I think this TSUBA might not be earlier than ca. 1800. 

Age has not much to do with quality. There are many old TSUBA on the market with very little artistic value and low quality, so do not look at the possible age first.

I could not comment on your FUCHI-GASHIRA set because of the low photo quality.

[mooneyy]

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind it being younger. I'm just trying to learn.

 

Yes, I think the black petals ar shakudo or maybe pure copper. One of them seems to be slightly polished. I took some pictures with a crappy usb microscope:

 

Looks like a soft cleeaning wouldn't be the worst idea.

 

BTW: The blue color in the origional photos is just the reflection of a monitor.