3 New tsuba

[Brian]

I helped someone local here in SA to move a project Koto katana in out of polish condition, and my part of the deal was I kept the spare tsuba that it had, which didn't belong to that sword.
It's an average piece...I would say in the "Nobiue style" although obviously not even close in quality. But nice tortoise geometric design. Don't have the size on hand. Pattern is clearer on one side, the other side looks purposefully obscured a bit with hammer marks. Nice glossy patina.
Anyways, just a cute tsuba.

Then he offered me 2 tsuba for sale at very modest pricing, so figured I'd pick them up since stuff like this hardly ever comes up for sale in SA.

Can anyone assist with the translation on the signed one? Very lightly signed, nice little tsuba...I like it. 70mm x 73mm, edges taper slightly to about 3mm from about 4mm.

The other I like a lot too. Seems to have a kinpun? mei. Brushes, a leaf and not sure what the other oval emblem is.
Can't tell if that is a Tadahisa or..?
75mm Round, about 5mm thick.

Just sharing in case anyone has any info on them.  Yes...I played with the colours a little but to show the features. All have a decent deep patina with very little wear.

 

 

[thutson]

Three very nice tsuba Brian.

I especially like the Ginkgo leaf tsuba, I believe it's by Ito Jinemon Masakata

 

Andy sold a similar Daisho set, which you can see here:

http://nihonto.us/DAI SHO TSUBA LD.htm

 

Best,

Tom

 

[Brian]

Thanks Tom, appreciate it

 

[Ed]

The top one depicting the Ginko leaves is signed Edo Kanda Ju Ito Jinemon Masakata (Bushu Ito School)

 

The kinzogan mei is Tadahisa.

 

Always liked this style of ginko leaf.

[MauroP]

Hi Brian, nice tsuba here.
The full transcription for the first tsuba should be:
江戸神田住  伊藤甚右衛門政方 - Edo Kanda jū    Itō Jin´emon Masakata.

The subject of the third tsuba is Tanabata (七夕), the festival in the seventh month, when boys used dew left on mulberry leaves to create the ink used to write wishes. So the oval emblem is karasumi (唐墨), Chinese ink bar.

[Brian]

Thanks Mauro and Ed.

For Tadahisa, Haynes has this to say:
F: Shoami
W: Kyoto
D: ca. 1700
NTs: a classic Kyoto Shoami sukashi style iron plate tsuba with leaf, ink stick, and two brushes in the round, with gold nunome inlay.
SCE. R.E. Haynes collection, 1947

So seems to be a tsuba with the same theme by him.