Hector Posted July 22 Report Posted July 22 (edited) This is a modern tsuba made by Yamazaki Takashi (山崎隆司), working under the name Ryūken (隆剣) out of Setagaya, Tokyo. He has been referenced on the NMB in another thread as people were worried these tsuba - or similar - would later find their way onto the market labelled as antiques. Therefore, I thought it might be useful to give you a close-up of one of his pieces which I own and a breakdown of what I was able to find out about his techniques. He’s been making tsuba since 1995, largely self-taught, hand-cutting the sukashi pattern with a itokogiri (fret saw) and finishing by file. His signature technique is a 'secret' aging process; after shaping, he buries the new iron plate in a bed of mixed sands and soils for three months to develop a patina that mimics 300 years of age - something which he says he researched himself from old texts. He’s not folding and hammering the billet himself from ore the way a traditional tsuba maker would. He claims to obtain pre-forged, period-composition 'tamahagane-adjacent' iron stock (not raw, mild steel plate), does the sukashi cutting, filing, and shaping himself and then finishes with his own three-month burial aging process. His work has picked up a following among iaido practitioners specifically for practical durability, and he’s built an overseas clientele through his website. Interestingly, his original master was supposedly the person commissioned to make the 'hero' tsuba for Kurosawa Akira’s films Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, and Yamazaki’s workshop still produces those same designs. Edited July 22 by Hector 3 1 Quote
Hector Posted July 22 Author Report Posted July 22 39 minutes ago, Kantaro said: https://setamin.com/kurashi/13149 That's him. Quote
Kiko Posted July 23 Report Posted July 23 Thanks for all that information, Hector; the photos of that guard are indeed eye-opening, and I can see why it might raise a few concerns! I couldn't find the NMB thread you're referring to, could you please provide a link so I can share in the general outcry? 1 Quote
Hector Posted July 23 Author Report Posted July 23 2 hours ago, Kiko said: Thanks for all that information, Hector; the photos of that guard are indeed eye-opening, and I can see why it might raise a few concerns! I couldn't find the NMB thread you're referring to, could you please provide a link so I can share in the general outcry? Hi Nicolas, This is the thread in question. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/52617-which-tsuba-designs-tend-to-be-replicatedfaked/ Best, Hector 1 Quote
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