Show and tell – Tsuba II

     


Earlier this year I introduced to you all my interest in Tsuba, the hand guards of Japanese swords (link). Well, here is another in my collection. There are only three Tsuba in my collection, it’s an expensive hobby you know!

This Tsuba
I picked this one up in Fukuoka city. This probably won’t seem so unusual to you, Japan may well be the place to pick up a Japanese antique or two. (Just keep that to yourselves though.) The majority of Tsuba that I’d bought though were back in my home town of Brisbane or on-line. Be sure to check out E-bay, but beware, there is a mountain of crappy ones.

In contrast to the majority of Tsuba made of iron, this one is copper. The overall feel is quite delicate & elegant. You’ll notice there are inlays of two different colour metals. Both are alloys, the dark one in known as Shakudō, the other is an impure gold. And by the way, the pattern is known as Sayagata (紗綾形) and it wraps around the rim in places. The central hole allowed the tang of the blade to pass through and you can see its shape has been altered multiple times.

How old is it? No idea. Who made it / What school of Tsuba maker? No idea, I know enough to know to not trust what is written on the box (Umetada). Size? Dang small.

The box rounds things off nicely. A previous owner obviously felt that the Tsuba was deserving of a made-to-order home.

Just a quick question. What did you collect when you were younger? Visited my wife’s cousin’s house the other day. He had boxes upon boxes of spiderman toys. How about you?

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  • http://chaari.wordpress.com Travis

    I have my father’s comicbook collection – mostly late 70s to mid 80s Marvel. Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, that sort of thing, though I really latched onto the X-men. Working to fill in the gaps in my dad’s collection while buying new issues, I eventually came to have ever issue of the main title Uncanny X-men from 1979 to 2006 or so, as well as most of the issues of most of the secondary related titles, e.g. New Mutants, Cable, Excalibur, New X-men, X-treme X-men, Astonishing X-men…

    Also, while I can’t say that I own any genuine art objects or artifacts, really, I have in recent years come into possession of a handful of fun and interesting items, such as a Noh utaebon published in the 1910s, a replica handscroll of the famous Siege of Sanjo Palace scroll, in actual scroll form, with cloth (silk?) mounting, wooden box and everything; and some replica Hokusai and Hiroshige prints. Someday I’ll start collecting actual art objects, and/or old books, and the like.

  • http://japandave.com David LaSpina / JapanDave

    I guess I was the stereotypical American kid — I collected Baseball cards. These days I seem to collect expensive gadgets… ipods, cameras, an iphone, maybe an ipad soon… Also matcha bowls. Man, I like your hobby, tho. I can’t say I knew anything about tsuba before reading this, but now I want to buy one!

  • http://toshogu.blogspot.com Tornadoes28

    I love that tsuba. It is very simple yet very beautiful. Very interesting the designs around the edge. Love it.

  • admin

    Wow Travis, you may well be sitting on a goldmine. Not that that is the primary concern of course. I was never really into comics myself, except Asterix. They must have made quite an impression on me because if I crane my neck around I can see them sitting on my shelf. It’s comforting knowing they are there.

    Just a question for you about the scroll, what’s the scale? Same as the original? And how is the quality of the reproduction?

    As for how many art objects you may or may not have, I’ve a sneaking suspicion you’ll be coming across plenty when you eventually run some major museum.

  • admin

    I think the closest thing I ever got to collecting cards were star wars cards from Return of the Jedi. I can still smell that gum that it comes with. Bizarre.

    Looks like Apple inc. has its hooks into you. Mind you, I would too if I could afford it.

  • admin

    Thanks Tornadoes28, I’m assuming you are into Tsuba (and other Nihonto related things) yourself. Any pics online? I’d like to see…

  • http://www.poolofzen.com コルーズ・真秀

    Hoi!

    I never really collected anything as a kid…. But I sure did pick up a bunch of GI-Joe toys to play with. My parents still have all of them (well used) at my old house.

    I guess I know a fairly average amount about Japanese swords. I’ve watched the documentaries, and been to some Japanese sword shops… but otherwise I can’t name all the parts. I do know tsuba, though, and I can really understand an interest in collecting them. They are pretty cool. And they sorta tell a story huh?

    I picked up an Iaito sword while I was in Kyoto in ’06. It isn’t a real sword, just a hand made replica. It would be used for Iaido practice…. but as expensive as it was…. I think it can sit on a shelf and wage war with dust bunnies….. (I should have just bought a real sword………) It’s realistic enough that it was a bit of an adventure getting it out of Japan, and I attracted the attention of a couple of police officers with jo-sticks…. hehehe

    (Now I collect Japanese grammar books that I don’t read!)

    Ha!

    Thanks for sharing the photo, very cool indeed1

    M

  • admin

    I don’t know a great deal about GI-Joe but I recall seeing a could back in the school days. And I can get a good idea of amount & condition when I see my kids toy boxes (which are usually empty but all the toys are on the floor.)

    As for the Iai-to, did you do a bit of Iai-do?