Sasano hakogaki

[DirkO]

I've tried to puzzle it all together and here is what I think it says. Please correct me where needed.
Also putting this one in here as a reference, seeing we don't get these that often.


 

堅格子桐紋透
ken koshi(hard lattice) kiri-mon (paulownia crests) sukashi

 

無銘 桃山期作
mumei Momoyama ki saku

 

鉄地透
tetsu ji-sukashi

 

古雅 清朗 傑作
koga(classical elegance) seirō(crisp and clear refinement) kessaku (masterpiece)

 

平成二年霜月
Heisei ni nen shimotsuki (11th month in the 2nd year of Heisei - 1990)

 

素心 + seal
(Soshin - pen name Sasano Masayuki)

[YourBabyBjornBorg]

Hi! Could it be 竪格子 Tate Koushi (vertical lattice) at the beginning?

 

Edited: I incorrectly typed Take instead of Tate : ( 

 

 

And at the end I think there is one more character after 素心,

 

it reads 素心鑑, appraised by Sosin, then followed by two seals.

 

The rest looks very good!

 

 

Edited Monday at 07:23 AM by YourBabyBjornBorg

[DirkO]

Thanks @YourBabyBjornBorg think you might be right - the kanji 竪 and 堅 are very close and the tsuba is still in transit, so I can't check in hand, but your reading makes a bit more sense! 
For my records: how would 素心鑑 be read? Soshin kan?
 

[YourBabyBjornBorg]

Yes, I think it would be Sosin Kan.

 

I'm not sure, but I think the phrase 「堅格子」, although sensible, meaning hard lattice, might not be a thing that people say in Japanese : (

[Bugyotsuji]

As always, without a photo of the tsuba itself, it is never possible to be absolutely sure about what someone is attempting to describe in a hakogaki. Tate-goshi?

 

Guesses and probabilities in the meantime...

[DirkO]

Hi Piers, description matches the tsuba perfectly. And yes I know people like to have a picture to go with the description  But I didn't want to bias the translation.
As per the outside lid - it's a ko-Shoami

[Bugyotsuji]

Very nice Dirk. Apologies, and thanks!

 

Funny that Sasano did not mention that it's 5-3 Kiri! 五三（の）桐

[ROKUJURO]

3 hours ago, YourBabyBjornBorg said:

Yes, I think it would be Sosin Kan.... = SOSHIN KAN

 

[YourBabyBjornBorg]

@ROKUJURO Thank you! I'm much more used to the Japanese style (Nihon-shiki) Rōmaji where し is si (incidentally, the same as how one types out し using a full-size keyboard),

 

but I see now the Hepburn version, where し is Shi, became the standard adopted by the Japanese government since December 22nd, 2025,

 

Good to know!

 

Edits:

 

Wait, nope, I was wrong, and I was just vibe-typing Rōmaji apparently,

 

because し as Si "feel right", but my ち are all Chi and my つ are all Tsu......

 

Anyway, Hepburn from now on!

Edited Monday at 10:57 AM by YourBabyBjornBorg

[ROKUJURO]

Hi Joe,

I just learned something new!