tsuba ID challenge

[ROKUJURO]

2 hours ago, Spartancrest said:

An inlay design to add to your group of images - the birds face right and left "outward" to the rim....

Yes Dale,

I think so, too. But the pictured birds are probably not KARIGANE but CHIDORI?

[Spartancrest]

 

1 hour ago, ROKUJURO said:

KARIGANE but CHIDORI

What type of bird is this supposed to be?  I don't know of any that look like this in reality.

[Brian]

Actually, I really love that depiction of birds..likely geese. It is so "modern" that the depiction that way can only come from a nation that sees images depicted in bonji.
A very futuristic depiction of a bird seen through an artist's eyes :-)

[ROKUJURO]

I thought that these were CHIDORI. They have a very different flight pattern compared to KARIGARE. This depiction always expressed the erratic flight - often in large flocks - of plovers in an appropriate way for me.

But that is just my interpretation.

[Bugyotsuji]

1 hour ago, Spartancrest said:

 

What type of bird is this supposed to be?  I don't know of any that look like this in reality.

Look at the Kamon on Shibata Katsuie’s kimono.

[Brian]

Maybe doesn't even represent a specific bird, maybe just birds without a species. Never know...

[ROKUJURO]

Piers,

as you are living in the midst of Japanese culture, could you perhaps ask the opinion of the 'natives' about this?

[MauroP]

The examples I provided are all from papered tsuba, and all NBTHK papers reported the subjects as karigane. The stylized birds with "twisted body' are reported as 結雁金  - musubikarigane.

[ROKUJURO]

Musubi Karigane (結び雁金) is a traditional Japanese family crest (kamon) featuring a stylized wild goose whose wings are knotted or looped into a circle. It symbolizes "a bird that carries good luck and good news" and is closely associated with SAMURAI families, most notably the SANADA clan. It represents loyalty and is a variation of the Karigane (wild goose) motif. 

Key details about Musubi Karigane:
Design & symbolism: It features a kari (wild goose), a migratory bird often linked to autumn. The bird is designed with its face facing left and its wings deformed/knotted into a circle.

Samurai Crest: This crest was used by the Shinano-Sanada clan, as well as families like the Umino and Inoue. It was frequently used for armor, sword mountings (TSUBA), and other samurai gear.

Variations: Often stylized as Shiri-awase Mitsu-musubi Karigane, where three knotted geese are arranged in a circle.

Modern Usage: It is still recognized as a classic design in Japanese traditional arts, sometimes used on clothing or items related to Japanese history.

Taken from the internet