References: No references whatsoever, not in Pins.
-
Torii Kiyonaga (鳥居 清長; 1752 – June 28, 1815) Signed: Kiyonaga ga (清長画)
-
Ebisu drawing wakamizu, the first water drawn from a well on the New Year. Kitao Shigemasa (北尾 重政, 1739 – 8 March 1820). Signed: Shigemasa. Publisher's mark: Nishimuraya Yohachi.
References:
Jacob Pins #547 [p.217] - Ebisu drawing wakamizu, the first water drawn from a well on the New Year. TNM II (Tokyo National Museum Catalogue vol. 2) #1373.
-
The Seven Gods of Good Luck in the Takarabune (ship of fortune) with a crane (the phoenix) above them.
Attributed to Katsukawa Shunshō, fl. 1726–92. Publisher: Uemura from Shiba (Edo). Marks "Publishers": U361|25-300: Uemura han (1793-1813). Marks "Artists, publishers...": Emiya Kichiemon (1688-1835). Artist signature absent. Looks very much like Pins #565 [p.223], but NOT the same. This exact design has not been found anywhere.
-
Woman Looking out a Round Window at a Woman with a Komusō Hat.
Artist Koikawa Harumasa (a.k.a. Banki): fl. 1801–18. Wikipedia: Koikawa Harumasa (恋川 春政; active 1800–1820), later called Banki Harumasa (晩器 春政). Associated with Katsukawa school.
Signed: Banki ga (on the bamboo flower container in the background). Censor's seal: kiwame. Mark of unidentified publisher, Genshoku #1017; Marks U084 Ibiko, p. 387.
References:
Jacob Pins #828.
-
Tsuba of oval form decorated with clematis six-petal flowers, tendrils, and leaves in cast brass with details carved in kebori, inlaid on iron plate carved in low relief (kebori and sukidashi-bori). Hitsu-ana plugged with shakudō. Copper sekigane.
Heianjō (or Ōnin) school. Unsigned. Mid Muromachi period (1454-1513). Dimensions: 87.2 x 84.3 x 4.3 mm. Tsuba is illustrated and described in Gary D. Murtha's "Onin-Heianjo-Yoshiro" book on pages 38-39. Mid-Muromachi is the age attribution by Gary. “A picture book of Japanese sword guards. Victoria & Albert Museum“, published in 1927 presents us with a somewhat similar tsuba: "Floral ornament. Iron, with brass incrustation". V&A attributes the tsuba to Ōnin style, 16th century. -
Thin iron tsuba of round form pierced with six three-leaf wood sorrels (katabami) in ko-sukashi and inlaid with brass decoration along the rim. Kozuka-hitsu-ana probably cut at a later date.
Late Muromachi or Momoyama period, 16th century. Dimensions: 78.0 x 77.7 x 2.5 mm. -
Mokkō-form (kirikomi-mokkō-gata) iron plate of grey colour decorated on both sides with waves, reeds, cloud, pagoda, and thatched hut in low relief (sukidashi-bori). The kozuka-hitsu-ana is original, the kogai-hitsu-ana probably cut later (lacks raised rim, fuchidoru). Wide (5.7 mm) raised rim of rounded square dote-mimi type, decorated with fine cross-hatching. Momoyama period, 16th century. Dimensions: Height: 75.9 mm, width: 76.4 mm, Thickness at seppa-dai: 2.3 mm, at rim 4.4 mm. Kamakura-bori tsuba of such a form is unusual. The rim is also unusual; it is possible that cross-hatching was done as a preparatory step for damascening, or the the damascening (gold or silver) disappeared with passage of time.
-
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with design of sea waves in low relief carving (kebori) and pierced with design of cherry blossom in negative silhouette (in-sukashi) and water wheel in positive silhouette (ji-sukashi). The solid portion of the plate has a shallow groove just before the edge. Copper sekigane. School attribution is unclear. Unsigned. Momoyama period, 16th - 17th century. Dimensions: Height: 70.3 mm, width: 71.1 mm, thickness at seppa-dai: 4.4 mm, at rim 4.1 mm. Provenance: Robert E. Haynes, Mark Weisman. This is what shibuiswords.com says about this tsuba:
"A very unusual iron plate tsuba. The solid plate is carved with waves on both sides. A cherry bloom in sukashi, lower left, and the right third of the plate in openwork with design of a water wheel. The rim with some iron bones. The hitsu-ana is original but the shape may have been slightly changed. One would expect this to be the work of the early Edo period, but the age of the walls of the sukashi would suggest that this is a work of the middle Muromachi period. This must be the forerunner for the Edo examples we see of this type of design." (Haynes)
I managed to find a look-a-like tsuba in Haynes Catalog #5, 1983, pp. 20-21, №44: "Typical later Heianjo brass inlay example. Ca. 1725. Ht. 7 cm., Th. 4.5 mm., $100/200".We see that the plate design of both tsuba is the same, and the only difference is the trim. It would be logical to assume that both pieces were made at about the same time, rather than 225 years apart. To be fair, let's accept that they were made in Momoyama period.Haynes Catalog #5, 1983, pp. 20-21, №44.
-
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with design of moon, stars, cloud, snowflake, gorintō, and Genji-mon in negative openwork (in-sukashi). Raised tubular rim (dote-mimi). Deep black patina, traces of lacquer. Naka-daka type of plate (thicker in center, getting thiner towards the rim). Visible gap between the rim and the plate. Dimensions: Height: 91.7 mm; Width: 90.8 mm; Thickness at seppa-dai: 2.5 mm, plate before rim: 2.2 mm, of the rim: 5.6 mm. At least Mid Muromachi period, 15th century, but possibly earlier. In 'Silver Book', commenting tsuba №34 Sasano writes: "The technique used to create the rim is the same used for the peak (koshimaki) of helmets (kabuto) during the Kamakura and Nanbokucho periods." On the other hand, the abundance of sukashi elements points towards later times, perhaps late Muromachi or even Momoyama period. "Gorintō is a grave stone composed of five pieces, piled on one the other, representing, from the bottom upward, earth, water, fire, wind, and heaven, respectively" [Nihon Tō Kōza, Volume VI, Part 1. AFU, 1993, p. 6. / LIB-1554]. A romantic description of the piece may look like this: The air is scented (incense symbol); it's a graveyard, marked by gorintō; a winter (snowflake) evening or night (moon, stars); mist is rising from a ravine towards moon. I did not manage to find a katchūshi piece of this design, only a few Kamakura-bori tsuba:
100 selected tsuba from European collections. Catalogue by Robert Haynes and Robert Burawoy, 1984, page 16, №5.
While the upper tsuba is dated end of Muromachi, the lower is attributed to the 17th century - Momoyama or early Edo period, though the author put this attribution under question. Deciphering of the strangely shaped opening to the left of nakago-ana is sometimes "a conventional scroll", and sometimes - a fern or bracken. I think mine is a cloud or mist, but I don't have any material evidence proving this understanding and came to conclusion by context only. It may easily be a dinosaurs playing ball. The fact that this thing always accompanies the Genji-mon, or incense symbol, it may be a scent itself.Japanese Sword Fittings. Collection of G.H. Naunton, Esq., by Henri L. Joly, - 1912; №9.
-
Iron tsuba of oval form pierced with design of slanting rays of light (shakoh), a Christian motif (Jesuit’s IHS symbol), and a pair of tassels in positive silhouette (ji-sukashi). Details on tassels carved in low relief. Traditional description of this kind of design is called “tokei”, or “clock gear”. Rounded rim.
Unsigned.
Edo period, 17th or 18th century. Possibly - Owari school.
Size: 76.0 x 73.0 x 6.2 mm. -
Iron tsuba of round form decorated with design of keys to the storehouse of the gods in openwork (sukashi). Rounded rim. Copper sekigane.
Unsigned. Early Edo period, 17th century.
Size: 71.0 x 70.9 x 6.0 mm.Merrily Baird, Symbols..: The Key to the Storehouse of the Gods, one of the Myriad Treasures.
-
Iron tsuba of oval form decorated with design of jakago (bamboo lattice work) in openwork (sukashi). Copper sekigane.
Unsigned. Edo period.
Size: 73.7 x 70.3 x 5.6 mm.Note regarding design: though some might think that this piece belonged to a member of the lost tribe of Israel, it did not. Jakago baskets were made of bamboo, filled with rocks and used to catch crabs (besides other uses).
Jeanne Allen. Designer's Guide to Samurai Patterns. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1990; p.51, №57.
-
Iron tsuba of round form with design of double crossbar and two family crests (hikiryo-ni-kamon) in openwork (sukashi). Squared rim. Copper sekigane. Owari school. Early Edo period: Late 17th century (Kanbun / Enppo era). Height: 80.9 mm. Width: 80.8 mm. Rim thickness: 5.0 mm. Center thickness: 4.6 mm. Provenance: Sasano Masayuki Collection, № 172: "A paulownia and a clover are diagonally opposite two crossbars. This expressive design suggests a Higo origin, but the iron and the finish are certainly of the Owari school. Work of this nature may have been influenced by Hayashi Matashichi (1613-1699)."
-
Iron tsuba of octafoil form with design of rudder (kaji) and lake in openwork (sukashi) outlined with brass wire. Thin plate also decorated with three concentric circular rows of brass dots (nail heads) in ten-zōgan. Center of the plate outlined with the inlaid circular brass wire. Cut-outs for kozuka and kogai probably added later. Slightly raised rim between the indentations (suki-nokoshi-mimi). The inlaid metal of red-ish hue, so it may be copper, not brass. Sekigane, visible on the NBTHK paper photo, are missing, possibly removed by a previous owner. Muromachi period. Ōnin school. Unsigned. Dimensions: 81.2 mm x 81.8 mm x 2.7 mm. Weight: 79.0 g. Large nakago-ana: 34 mm high and 10 mm wide. NBTHK certificate №455786: Hozon. Note regarding design: it was quite hard to interpret the big oval opening. The first suggestion was 'sea cucubmer', and it was based on a design published by Kazutaro Torigoye [Kodogu and tsuba. International collections not published in my books (Toso Soran), 1978] on page 202: Katchūshi tsuba: Sea cucumber and butterfly. Look and judge yourself:The second suggestion - 'lake' - came from [Iron tsuba. The works of the exhibition "Kurogane no hana", The Japanese Sword Museum, 2014], page 14 №5:
Torigoye: sea cucumber and butterfly.
Opening on my tsuba looks more like the 'lake'. Also, rudder and lake make more sense than rudder and sea cucumber. At least to me...Ko-Katchūshi tsuba: Lake and pine.
-
Ko-kinko ymagane cast tsuba of mokko form (kirikomi-mokkō-gata) with chiseled diaper pattern of double head waves on both sides and a rabbit cast and carved with its eye inlaid in yellow metal (gold or brass) on the face. Fukurin which holds together the sandwiched layers of metal (sanmai) is about 2.4 mm wide. A look-a-like tsub of oval form instead of mokko-gata is illustrated at Robert E. Haynes's Catalog #3,1982 on page 11, lot 15: "Rare design in style of Sanmai (three layers) / Wasei work. With yamagane core and heavy rim cover. The web plates are carved with double head Goto style waves and the face has a fox. The web plates were riveted at the seppadai. See Lot 4, page 8. Ca. 1350. Ht. 6.6 cm, th. 3 mm" [underscore mine]. Quality of photo is so poor that I decided not to provide it here. Muromachi (if we follow Robert) or Momoyama period. The Momoyama attribution is mostly based on a fact that "waves and rabbit" motif became most popular in Momoyama times. Size: 68.5 x 59.8 x 4.0 mm. NBTHK Certificate № 423120. This tsuba is listed at Yakiba website with the following passage: "Attributions as well as dating of this type of tsuba has been the subject debate over the years. There are those who believe these type of tsuba to be ko-Mino (early Mino School) tsuba, others believe them to be tachi-kanaguchi tsuba. Still others insist they are simply ko-kinko (early soft metal) tsuba. This tsuba was authenticated and determined to be "Ko-Kinko" by the NBTHK". Oval form tsuba with the same design can be found in this collection - TSU-0323.
TSU-0323. Ko-kinko yamagane tsuba with waves and rabbit motif.
-
Shibuichi Kozuka carved in low relief (takabori, usuniku-bori) and inlaid in gold and silver with design of Shoko, reading by moonlight, thatch, pine rosettes, and fool moon. According to Henri L. Joly [LEGEND IN JAPANESE ART. London, 1908; LIB-1416 in this collection] Shoko was a Chinese student of Taoism who was so poor that he had no money to buy illuminating materials and read by moonlight. Shoko mentioned in the article about another Chinese character - Shaen, who was reading by the light emitted by glow-worms (see page 310). Signed on the back: Haruchika (春親) + kaō. Size: 97.3 mm (H) x 14.8 mm (W). Edo period, mid 19th century. NBTHK Certificate № 449542. Hamano Haruchika from Edo was a student of Haruyuki in 1848-54; Hamano School, Etchū Toyama Branch, according to M. Sesko's "Genealogy", page. 34. Most probably it is his work. Following the MFA data, it is also possible that "our" Haruchika is indeed Nara Haruchika or Tsuchiya Haruchika from Nara School; though I did not hind such artist in Markus Sesko books. However, in his "Toso-Kinko" on page 177 there is certain Shingorō who carried out his business under the name of Yanagawa Haruchika (1791-1857?)
-
Silver Kozuka carved in kebori ("hair carving") with a ukiyo-e style half-length figure of a beautiful woman (possibly a courtesan) dressed in a splendid kimono and hair ornament (kanzashi). Signed on the back: Koreyasu/Zetai + kaō (是休「花押」) - transcribed by Markus Sesko. Size: 96.8 mm (H) x 14.9 mm (W). Edo period, early 19th century. I managed so far to find the only mention of Koreyasu at Japanese sword-mounts. A descriptive catalogue of the collection of J. C. Hawkshaw, Esq., M.A., of Hollycombe, Liphook. Complied and illustrated by Henri L. Joly. London, 1910 [LIB-1439 in this collection], page 204: 2623. — F./v., nigurome, chased in relief and inlaid with Omori Hikoshichi (large faces). Signed : Koreyasu of Yedo. xix. 2624. — F.K., nigurome, chased and inlaid in relief with Omori Hikoshichi and the witch. Signed : Shinriusha Koreyasu. No pictures of items or signature provided.
-
Iron tsuba of round form inlaid with brass and shakudo (suemon-zōgan) with a design of tendrils, leaves, double gourds, and folding fan with two wild geese on the face and the same design only with a fan with two interlocked rings (wachigai) on the back. Design is supplemented with a round family crest (mon) of three fans in openwork (sukashi). Hitsu-ana and the mon are outlined with brass rope. Copper sekigane.
Some attribute such tsuba as belonging to Heianjō or even Yoshirō School, and date them to Momoyama period. I keep this piece under Ōnin rubric, late Muromachi, but this is just a question of personal preference.Some inlay is missing, some repaired; traces of rust. Otherwise - decent condition.
Late Muromachi period (1514-1573). Size: 77.4 x 77.1 x 3.8 (center), 3.2 (rim) mm