Which tsuba designs tend to be replicated/faked?

[Iaido dude]

Recently I posted what I thought was a genuine Ohno/Yagyu style tsuba, which turned out to be a very good replica and is now being used for a katana that I am putting together (I will soon post my progress on the Nihonto forum). I was surprised that it was chosen for replication because the design is not common (bamboo stalk and bracken shoots). I just happened to see an alloy replica tsuba made for mounting on practice iaito, which is nearly identical to a genuine early Edo Owari sukashi tsuba in my collection that has the motif of four swords pointing in all directions ("yomo ken-ritsu"). The only design difference is that the replica has 2 kozuka hitsu-ana.

 

I would be interested in seeing other examples of genuine tsuba in your collections and their replicas (or outright fakes), as well as your speculation on what features may have been worthy of such flattery.

 

In this case, I believe that the design is thought to be iconic of the martial spirit and quiet strength of the samurai. The original has too numerous to count fine granular tekkotsu over the entire rim that gives the appearance of rust in the sunlight. This quince-shaped (mokko) tsuba harkens back to Tokugawa Ieyasu's famous "lingering snow" tsuba, although the stylized sword tips lend an even stronger martial feeling.

 

 

 

 

 

[cluckdaddy76]

Here is one I see cast copies of quite often. First pic is from my collection. Second pic ( sorry for the quality, photo is from a screen) is a cast replica. Many variations on these AOI tsuba and their cast counterparts.

 

Jason

[cluckdaddy76]

Cast

[Toryu2020]

Double Namako by Miyamoto Musashi

 

 

[Spartancrest]

Where do you start? If there is a published image of a tsuba - it has been faked! I know even a guard made by the late Ford Hallam was faked in his own lifetime - nothing is safe when countries don't have copyright rules.

 

 

 

 

  https://jp.mercari.com/item/m44209917420

 

 

 

 

https://www.jauce.com/auction/d1186932990

[ROKUJURO]

Steve,

with modern technology, almost any TSUBA could be reproduced, but of course simple designs are the favourites. TSUBA with inlay are copied rarely.

Older casting technology (lost form) would not work with undercuts, so OMORI TSUBA are too difficult. Also, very fine details as in KYO SUKASHI are not so easy to replicate. 

It is a special market, and cheap copies (not UTSUSHI !) are mostly made for tourists or for those collectors who are not experienced or sensitive enough to see the differences.

[Iaido dude]

Thanks, Jean. I'm interested in which tsuba are chosen and worthy of going through the trouble for reproduction, although it's very interesting to learn from you which features are difficult to replicate. The market forces that include the tourist trade would be expected to drive the reproduction of cheap copies that are easy to make. Also, I think there is a difference in intention and quality of copies, fakes, and utsushi. The later two are of special importance to collectors because good fakes are intended to command high prices with the intention of being passed off as the real thing. The one I purchased recently was cast to imitate the sekigane (I was fooled by this) and may have been intended to deceive even dealers (can't really tell if the seller was aware) and less likely to be reproductions of famous and iconic tsubas expressly for mounting on iaito or katana. The utsushi are of course acknowledged homage pieces by well-known and skilled tsubako working in a particular popular style.

[ROKUJURO]

Steve,

we did not mention those TSUBA copies that were "legally" made with traditional techniques by apprentices and employed craftsmen in TSUBA workshops. Some had standard designs which were used over and over for long periods of time with very little variation.

Your question on which TSUBA were chosen for reproduction should be formulated more specifically, I think. What copying method, what basic material, what decorative techniques were used? What period of time do you look at, and which was the intended market for fakes and copies? 

[Jesta]

For some reason, this design seems quite popular. When I do a reverse image search it turns up quite a lot:

 

[Iaido dude]

Jean, yes of course the work of apprentices in ateliers must be acknowledged as reflecting the original style and standard designs/composition of and supervised/authorized production by the master. 

 

For me as an active modern day collector, the interest is in relation to: 1) what reproductions of any kind and intention tell us about which original and iconic tsuba designs and artistic/material production features are of relatively broad appreciation (can give some indication of the historical value of genuine pieces); and 2) what should we be particularly aware of regarding contemporary fakes posing as genuine antiques. I’m less interested in the plethora of Edo period reproductions and fakes such as of Nobuie and Yamakichibei with poorly executed mei. These should be well-known to collectors, although I am surprised by how often such tsuba are being offered for $300 by seemingly reputable dealers without any other comment except "...with mei of Nobuie," which is technically not fraud, but nonetheless feels dishonest towards those less experienced collectors. 

[Spartancrest]

 

A little off topic as these are not difficult to tell what they really are, compared to other reproductions ment to deceive.  Yet another aspect to consider is when fake/copied tsuba are themselves then faked.  

 

https://www.jauce.com/auction/1186920457      A brand new fake following on the success of these fakes. https://www.ebay.com/itm/196883702824 

It is easy to see why when the "new" fake is so much cheaper than the "old" fake, the incentive is to undercut the other seller!

   

 

Some time back Paul Chen Hanwei produced a set of "famous figures" tsuba for his swords - I think it was a matter of weeks before all his designs were being copied.  What a minefield for new collectors when you can't even trust a fake to be a real fake!

 

This aside: Japanese humor turned into a joke!  Please note the cloud from the original design has somehow become a rabbit in the trashy fake. Tomiyoshi would not be amused!

https://www.jauce.com/auction/e1186249206

 

 

 

The cloud came back in this one!

[Exclus1ve]

Absolutely everything is copied... When I was looking for information about my Soten tsuba, I found a similar creation)

 

 

[Tim Evans]

This site is worth checking occasionally. 

 

http://tsubaryuken.com/

 

This is a modern tsuba smith who works in iron and many of them are copies right out of the Sasano books and other references. I don't think there is an intent to deceive or fake, however, second or third owners may misrepresent them as antique, after distressing them a bit. It looks like these are hand cut - drill, saw and file, as opposed to mechanically made - cast, laser cut or CNC machined. There is a "toad skin" like texture on some of them. The fact that some of them are copies of well known tsuba is a red flag to be careful if seen for sale at auction sites or dealer sites.

[Curran]

On 5/30/2025 at 10:20 PM, Toryu2020 said:

Double Namako by Miyamoto Musashi

 

 

 

Yes please.  And a kinko example at that???

Send to...

[Iaido dude]

8 minutes ago, Tim Evans said:

This site is worth checking occasionally. 

 

http://tsubaryuken.com/

 

This is a modern tsuba smith who works in iron and many of them are copies right out of the Sasano books and other references. I don't think there is an intent to deceive or fake, however, second or third owners may misrepresent them as antique, after distressing them a bit. It looks like these are hand cut - drill, saw and file, as opposed to mechanically made - cast, laser cut or CNC machined. There is a "toad skin" like texture on some of them. The fact that some of them are copies of well known tsuba is a red flag to be careful if seen for sale at auction sites or dealer sites.

 

Tim, this is a bit disturbing if the tsuba maker is adding sekigane as well. He states that these are intended to be replicas for collectors and for mounting on iaito, but from images it would be potentially difficult to distinguish them from the originals. This maybe where shinsa plays a role since the tsuba would have been assessed in hand and photographed. 

[Curran]

I'd been thinking on this topic for a few days, since I'd started and contributed in the "Dancing Skunk Tsuba" discussion.

There are waves of tsuba designs that will get bumper crop copied for a few years,  then seem to disappear into the back corner of drawers.

 

Then there are the increasing numbers of cast gold menuki that can be surprisingly convincing.

They just seem to get better at deceiving from year to year.

 

What I've been noticing more on Yahoo!Japan is....

quite a few of the iron copies from years and decades past are now popping up with rust that makes them look more convincing.

sometimes the rust seems natural, and sometimes artificial, to make a viewer more likely it is authentic rather than a carefully rusted iron copy.

    There is a certain Ko-Akasaka design of an axe nature. The originals looked too fresh to fool most people. Fast forward 10 years, and now I am seeing more of them popping up with rust patterns to make that $100 tsuba into a $1000+ tsuba.

 

Also, some Kanayama, Ono, and Owari of dubious origins. Supposed Yagyu too, though I find those easier to spot.

Be careful with the Yahoo!Japan stuff. There are some dubious ones up at present.

 

 

[Iaido dude]

The surface of the new ones on the site do look too fresh and uniform. The sekigane at the top seems too round on all of them and unlikely to have been actually mounted, but the one at the bottom is a good imitation of the sharp corners you might expect. They are almost all 4 mm thick (some 3.5 mm), which is generally thinner than the originals. Given a decade and/or with intentional distressing and it might still be difficult to tell if it is original. 

 

I might consider purchasing a repro of an iconic one-of-a-kind original tsuba design for an iaito or practice katana. For example, I own this Kanayama thunderbolt tsuba with hozon from Sasano's gold book. I wouldn't thick of mounting such a valuable tsuba on a practice katana. However, Ryuken makes the ¥24,000 reproduction if I were so inclined. The only difference in the design is that it has two kozuka hitsu-ana, whereas both the originals in the gold and silver books (two slightly different ones) have one kozuka and one kogai hitsu-ana. Of course, the yakite shitate on the original is not present on the reproduction, while the latter has tagane-ato on each side of the seppa-dai.

 

Original vs. reproduction:

 

[ROKUJURO]

It is quite a difference! But if it would be o.k. for your IAITO.....

If it was for my sword, I would rather get a nice authentic TSUBA for little money

 

 

[Iaido dude]

And I have on used authentic tsuba up to now. However, I never thought I would have the option to put a repro with the design of my tsuba on an iaito or a practice katana (not nihonto) to inspire me to strike like a thunderbolt (not exactly a traditional Yagyu Shikage-Ryu teaching, but probably close). 

[Spartancrest]

The "Backyard Blacksmith" has a range of designs - https://www.jauce.com/user/CAWaKufXrxBdNGAA4UXmvfeWjVRf?search=tsuba  - he has put up his prices from his usual 8,000 yen! He may make designs to order?

[Iaido dude]

This current Jauce auction is a bit suspicious. Has the kind of surface of the Ryuken copies including absence of indent in the upper sekigane. 

 

https://www.jauce.com/auction/k1187148258

 

 

[ROKUJURO]

I can't see anything wrong on these images. Looks fine for me.

I don't think this design would be cheap and easy to copy.

[Iaido dude]

There are only 3 images provided and it is not papered. Hard to say. Ryuken makes reproductions that are even more intricate than this one without charging more than for simpler designs. What I gather from the comments on this post is that nearly all designs and construction types can be and will be reproduced/faked. 

[ZH1980]

7 hours ago, Iaido dude said:

This current Jauce auction is a bit suspicious. Has the kind of surface of the Ryuken copies including absence of indent in the upper sekigane. 

 

https://www.jauce.com/auction/k1187148258

 

 

Hi Steve - I wonder if you could elaborate a bit - or provide another example - on what you mean by "absence of indent in the upper sekigane." This sounds like an important "tell" for possible modern replicas, but I didn't understand your point.

[Iaido dude]

This is the link to the Ryuken site of modern reproduction tsuba that are treated with a special patination technique.

 

http://tsubaryuken.com/

 

I noticed that the upper sekigane on all of the tsuba look like a sword had never been mounted because there was no attempt to replicate the upward indent to accommodate the ha. We see this often extending into the seppa-dai on previously mounted tsuba when the sekagane fall out over time. I also noticed that the vast majority are only 4 mm thick, although some are 5 mm thick (none are thicker). The carving/filing of sukashi walls is less even than we see on genuine old iron sukashi tsuba. The precise work on the hitsu-ana on the Jauce tsuba is more like we would expect from many genuine tsuba, so Jean may be right that it is genuine. I think these points should be kept in mind when considering a tsuba that we can't examine ourselves in hand or that don't have papers. If I were seriously interested in this tsuba, I would have request more images from the seller.

[ZH1980]

Thanks very much, Steve. 

[Jesta]

What do you all think of this one:

https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/art-asia/soft-metal-inlaid-metal-tsuba-shoki-652/260894?ldp_breadcrumb=back 

 

It is a design that seems to come up a lot, both Bonhams and Christies have sold (or are selling) tsuba with this exact design. Looks fairly suss to me… 

[Kurikata]

Hi Justyn, this specific tsuba has been discussed years and years : 

 

[Jesta]

2 hours ago, Kurikata said:

Hi Justyn, this specific tsuba has been discussed years and years : 

 

Thanks… I was just doing a reverse image search, and came across one of the discussions… I came on here to edit my post 

 

The one for sale now at Christies looks almost identical to the one Dale posted, it may even be the same one… 

[Spartancrest]

7 hours ago, Jesta said:

The one for sale now at Christies looks almost identical to the one Dale posted, it may even be the same one… 

There are so many of these I can't say it is the same piece, but I wish there was some way to warn the bidders off!  600 euro so far - why don't these buyers do a little image search before they put in a bid?

 https://item.rakuten.co.jp/shicmx/xtong02/  and they can have this piece of crap for just 30 euro! That would leave them plenty of cash to waste on the next piece of crap they didn't bother to check out!

I seriously thought there was a worldwide monetary crisis, yet some people can really get stuck-in, throwing their money away. Good luck with the "investment portfolio" -  when it comes time to launch these back on the market, but I guess people aren't actually getting smarter, when their phones do all the thinking.