Varshavsky Collection: TSU-0345.2018
Compton Collection, part II, pp. 14-15, №17: Kamakura-bori tsuba, ca. 1450.
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Iron tsuba of six-lobed (mutsu-mokkō-gata) form, with six wild boar's eye shape (inome) openings (sukashi). Ryo-Hitsu and the entire perimeter of tsuba have typical for this school raised rim; raised seppa dai. Lobes are decorated in low relief carving (sukidashi-bori). On the obverse: chrysanthemum, Genji mon, waves and rocks, grasses and star, bellflower, star and flower in tortoiseshell (kikko). On the reverse: Stars and different flowers, and flying geese. The plate is damaged to the left of nakago-ana and around the left hitsu-ana. Kamakura-bori school. Late Muromachi period (1514-1573). Diameter: 89 mm; Thickness at seppa-dai: 4.0 mm; Weight: 108.8 g [large]. There is a similar tsuba in this collection, TSU-0345.2018, but with a different motif and much smaller: diameter 74.3 mm, thickness at seppa-dai: 3.2 mm, weight: 62.8 g.Another look-a-like tsuba can be found at the Compton Collection, part II, pp. 14-15, №17, though his tsuba is more massive (80 x 84 x 4 mm).This tsuba, TSU-0401.2019, is the biggest of all three (another mine and the one from Campton Collection). The presence of a flower in a tortoiseshell symbol (crest or mon) on this tsuba alludes to Izumo Shrine. The overall piece, with symbols of grasses, waves, flowers, incense, stars, and flying geese, is full of autumnal connotations. -
Iron tsuba of mokkō form decorated with inome (wild boar's eye) in openwork (sukashi) outlined with brass wire. The plate decorated with 3 concentric circular rows of brass dots in ten-zōgan. Center of the plate outlined with the inlaid circular brass wire (sen-zōgan). Some dots and the outline of inome on the face are missing.
Ōnin school. Unsigned. Mid Muromachi period, middle of the 15th century. Dimensions: 72.1 x 71.3 x 2.3 mm. -
Iron tsuba of six-lobed (mutsu-mokkō-gata) form, with six wild boar's eye shape (inome) openings (sukashi). Hitsu-ana and the entire perimeter of tsuba have typical for this school raised rim. Lobes are decorated with landscape motifs in low relief carving (sukidashi-bori). On the obverse: A hut under a full moon, Shinto shrine gates (torii) with pines and a full moon, rocks, a large pine tree, and a temple (pagoda) surrounded by rocks and waves. On the reverse: waves, fishing boat, wild gees in flight under full moon, maple, hexagon (tortoiseshell, kikko) with a dot inside and a dot outside (inclusion/exclusion symbol), and chrysanthemum (the last two may be family crests, mon). Kamakura-bori school. Late Muromachi period (1514-1573). Height: 64.2 mm, width: 74.3 mm, Thickness at seppa-dai: 3.2 mm, at rim 2.6 mm. Weight: 62.8 g (light). NBTHK old green certificate №561: Tokubetsu Kicho - "Extraordinary Work". A look-a-like tsuba can be found at the Compton Collection, part II, pp. 14-15, №17, though his tsuba is more massive (80 x 84 x 4 mm).NBTHK paper says that the motif is Hakkei (八景), i.e. "Eight Views," so several interpretations are possible (the original Chinese ones, Omi Hakkei, etc.). However, most likely it is the 'Eight views of Omi' (近江八景 - 'Omi Hakkei'). Why the artist selected a 6-lobed form for depicting 8 views remains unclear, and thus we are in our right to raise the question whether the motif is indeed Hakkei. The term Omi hakkei (eight views of Omi) refers to painting or print sets which illustrate life on the shores of Lake Biwa in Omi (now Shiga Prefecture). The model for such paintings came from China, where, from the eleventh century onward, painters had produced eight views of the Hsiao and Hsiang lake areas of Hunan Province. The themes, which follow the original Chinese models, are: geese descending to land, returning fishing boats, clearing rain, a snow-covered evening landscape, the autumn moon, night rain, a temple bell at evening, and the glow of sunset. Japanese artists have also used the eight-theme approach for other parts of country - including cities - and applied it to subject matter other than landscapes. [Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001, page 308-9]. Japan Encyclopedia by Louis Frédéric also mentions Omi Hakkei as "Eight landscapes of Omi", and states that this theme was often cited in poetry after 1500. It is likely that the tsuba in focus is designed under the influence of the theme popularity in the 16th century. The theme was effectively exploited by prominent ukiyo-e artists Suzuki Harunobu and Utagawa Hiroshige in the 18th and 19th century, respectively. These are the eight scenes of the theme (see Wikipedia):Compton Collection, part II, pp. 14-15, №17: Kamakura-bori tsuba, ca. 1450.
- Returning sails at Yabase (矢橋の帰帆) - Yabase. Yabase is an old harbour on the east side of the lake. Near the Tokaido, it was used for a shortcut to Otsu by boat.
- Evening glow at Seta (勢多（瀬田）の夕照) - The Chinese Bridge at Seta. The long bridge across the Seta was used by the Tokaido. In the background the "Fuji of Omi", the Mikamiyama. It is just above 400 m, but indeed well visible.
- Autumn moon at Ishiyama (石山の秋月) - Ishiyama Temple. The Ishiyamadera was located on a hillside next to the Seta River. It got his name form the strange rocks on which it is built, partly on supporting beams. A hut at the upper end of the site allows a view of the lake, and the moon.
- Clear breeze at Awazu (粟津の晴嵐) - Awazuhara. Awazu is well known for its pine wood, Awazu-ga-hara.
- Evening bell at Miidera (三井晩鐘) - Mii-dera. Miidera temple was built in the 8th century. Its famous bell is one of the "Three bells of Japan", the other two being those at Byoodo-in, Uji and at Jingoji, Kyoto.
- Evening rain at Karasaki (唐崎の夜雨) - Karasaki Shrine. Karasaki is a small cape with a single large pine tree, a hitsu-matsu.
- Wild geese returning home at Katata (堅田の落雁) - Ukimido. Alighting geese cannot be seen always, however the little temple near Katata in the square hōkyō-style, detached from the lakeside, connected by a bridge. The first part of the name uki is the same as in Ukiyo-e, meaning floating. Midō means temple.
- Evening snow at Hira (比良の暮雪) - Hira Mountains. The Hira mountains on the west side of the lake experience the hard winter, when the winter monsoon brings much snow from the continent.
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Iron tsuba of round form decorated with two boar's eyes (inome) and two dragonflies (tombo) in small openwork (ko-sukashi) outlined with brass wire. The plate also decorated with 2 to 5 concentric circular rows of brass dots (nail heads) in ten-zōgan. Center of the plate outlined with the inlaid circular brass wire. The inlaid metal is of red-ish hue, so it may be copper, and not brass. The surface has remnants of lacquer. Ōnin school. Mid Muromachi period, middle of 15th century. Dimensions: Diameter: 90 mm, thickness: 3.2 mm. Notes regarding design: "According to various sources, the dragonfly (tombo) is emblematic of martial success, as various names for the insect are homophones for words meaning "victory". The dragonfly is also auspicious because references in the Kojiki and Nihongi link it in both name and shape to the old kingdom of Yamato." [Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001, p. 108]. "The dragonfly (tonbo), was also called kachimushi in earlier times, and due to the auspicious literal meaning "victory bug" of the characters of this word it became a popular theme on sword fittings." [Iron tsuba. The works of the exhibition "Kurogane no hana", The Japanese Sword Museum, 2014, p. 13]. Two other cutouts - in the form of what in European tradition symbolizes the heart, on the top and in the bottom of tsuba disc - may have two different explanations. The most usual one, inome - "Heart-shaped pattern, which is said to go back to the shape of a wild boar's eye" [Markus Sesko. Encyclopedia of Japanese Swords. Print and publishing: Lulu Enterprises, Inc., 2014.]. This understanding is shared by Robert Haynes [Robert E. Haynes. Study Collection of Japanese Sword Fittings. Nihon Art Publishers, 2010.] and elsewhere, with an exception of Okabe-Kakuya [Okabe-Kakuya. JAPANESE SWORD GUARDS. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In cooperation with the department of Chinese and Japanese art; - 1908, p. 14], who provides the illustration of inome-shaped cut-outs with the following explanation: " The tsuba shown in Fig. 13 approaches a square form with rounded corners and is perforated with Aoi decoration. But this book was written long time ago, when people even at MFA might not know enough...
The same interpretation of the said heart-like symbol (aoi leaf) is given at Helen C. Gunsaulus. Japanese sword-mounts in the collection of Field Museum. // Publication 216, Anthropological Series, Volume XVI; Chicago, 1923; p. 54: "This mokkō-formed tsuba recalls the aoi form, perforated as it is with the four aoi leaves." It is possible that the "wild boar's eye" theory was developed by later scholars.
There is also a theory, supported by Graham Gemmell, saying that: “In simple terms Onin works are decorated Ko-Katchushi tsuba. … But, not content with iron alone, they began to decorate it with what was, in the early Muromachi period, a rare and valuable metal, brass. The Onin workers cut the design into the iron, using narrow channels, cast the brass, piece by piece, and then hammered it into the iron plate as though they were putting together a jigsaw. When complete the tsuba would be black lacquered exactly as the plain iron ones had been, the brass shining dully through it in a way that fulfilled the goal of shibui or restrained elegance.” [Tosogu. Treasure of the samurai. Fine Japanese Sword Fittings from The Muromachi to The Meiji Period, by Graham Gemmell. // Sarzi-Amadè Limited, London, 1991. An exhibition held in London from 21st March to 4th April, 1991]. The following illustration from Helen C. Gunsaulus. Japanese sword-mounts in the collection of Field Museum. // Publication 216, Anthropological Series, Volume XVI; Chicago, 1923; pp. 43 supports the idea.
Helen C. Gunsaulus' description of the dragonfly emblem is as follows: "This motive, the dragon-fly (akitsu), is generally accepted as a symbol of the kingdom of Japan, and the origin of the idea is traced to the legend recounted in the Kojiki and Nihongo of the Emperor Jimmu's view of the island from mountain top. He is said to have thought the kingdom looked like a dragon-fly touching its tail with its mouth. From this it received its name Akitsu-shima... etc."
