Tsuba Otaku (鍔おたく)
Reflections of a Not So Empty Mind
(鍔ギャラリー③) Tsuba Gallery #3
Hōan Tsuba (法安鐔)
Japanese Title: 輪宝図鐔 (rinpo zu tsuba)
Material: Iron (Tetsu 鉄)
Age: Early Edo Period (江戸時代初期)
Size: 7.4 cm X 7.4 cm, 3.0 mm at rim.
Signature: Mumei (無銘)
Shape: Maru-gata (丸形)
Surface Finish: Yakite-kusarakashi (焼手腐し)
Attachment: NBTHK Hozon Paper
This a handguard (tsuba 鐔) made or forged iron (tetsu 鉄). It was made to be mounted on a short sword (wakizashi 脇差). The design showing excellent workmanship is raised above the surface of the plate using a heat and acid based etching method called (yakite-kusarakashi 焼手腐し) this method of carving was often used by the early generations Hōan School. The design is that of the Buddhist Dharma wheel (rinpō 輪宝) (Sanskrit: dharmachakra) with an atypical 16 spokes in place of the more common eight spokes. The sixteen spokes of the Dharma wheel reference the Sixteen Great Enlighted beings (Sanskrit: bodhisattva) of Esoteric Buddhism (Jūroku Daibosatsu 十六大菩薩). The stokes of the wheel are in the shape of double-edged sword blades (ken 剣) often seen on some Buddhist statues and other religious art. The motif also has around the spokes of the wheel strings of Buddhist prayer beads (juzu 数珠). The thin rim has a rounded square shape (kaku-mimi koniku 角耳小肉). Iron bones (tekkotsu 鉄骨) are presence along the rim and are quite notable. The thickness of the plate increases towards the center (seppa-dai 切羽台) from the rim where is it thinnest. On the ura side of the tsuba is a small carved mark, which is likely an old owner’s or collector’s mark.
On May 11, 2016, it underwent formal appraisal (shinsa 審査) in Tokyo, Japan at the Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Art Sword (NBTHK). An appraisal paper (hozon tōsōgu kanteisho 保存刀装具鑑定書) was issued confirming the tsuba is authentic, of good quality, has artistic merit, and is worthy of historical preservation. I estimate this tsuba is an unsigned work of the first or second generation Hōan master. The first generation was named Kawaguchi Saburō´emon Noriyasu (川口三郎右衛門法安) and used Hōan (法安) as his artist’s name. The second generation was Sakuma Yō´emon (佐久間要右衛門) and used the artist’s name Hōan Hisatsugu (法安久次). The tsuba dates from the early Edo Period circa the 17th Century.
Provenance: Purchased from Boris Markhasin of Tosoguya (https://www.tosoguya.com/) at the 2023 Chicago Show.
Ko-Nara Tsuba (古奈良鐔)
Japanese Title: 火縄銃図鐔
Material: Iron (Tetsu 鉄)
Age: Mid Edo Period (江戸時代中期)
Size: 8.0 cm X 8.5 cm, 4.0 mm at rim.
Signature: Mumei (無銘)
Shape: Mokkō-gata (木瓜形)
Surface Finish: Tsuchime-ji (槌目地)
Attachment: Wooden Storage Box
This is unsigned (mumei 無銘) handguard (tsuba 鐔) of a long Japanese sword (katana 刀). Due to quality of the inlays and characteristics iron plate likely means this tsuba is a work of the Ko-Nara Ryūha (古奈良流派) made during the middle Edo Period before the time of the third generation Nara master, Tabei Toshinaga (太兵衛利壽) who lived from 1667-1736 CE.
The design is of a (Hinawajū 火縄銃) early flintlock pistol and all its accessories. The design is done in high relief (takabori 高彫) highlighted nicely with three different soft metals of brass (shinchu 真鍮), silver (gin 銀), and (shakudō 赤銅). The design continues onto the backside of the tsuba showing the long fuse used to fire this type of early firearm. The nicely raised rim shows wonderful iron bones (tekkotsu 鉄骨).
Previous Owners Comments on inside of box lid:
“Very unusual design on tsuchime surface tsuba Hinawaju + target. Reverse has hemp cord for fire. Looks to be Ko-Nara work of early Mid Edo. Matchlock + barrel are early design. 1st tsuba of this design I have owned.”
Provenance: Purchased from the collection of John (Jack) Frost.
Jakushi Tsuba (若芝鐔)
Japanese Title:: 龍の図鐔 (ryū no zu tsuba)
Material: Iron (tetsu 鉄)
Age: End of the Edo Period (江戸時代末期)
Size: 6.7 cm X 7.4 cm, 3.0 mm at rim.
Signature: Omote: Kiyō-sanjin Jakushi (崎陽山人 若芝)
Ura: Ryū unken Koretaka + kaō (龍雲軒 是高「花押」)
Shape: Maru-gata (丸形)
Surface Finish: Yakite-kusarakashi (焼手腐らかし)
Attachment: None
A forged iron (tetsu 鉄) handguard (鐔). It was likely made for use on a long sword (katana 刀). The design is that of a dragon among fire and clouds of smoke. The dragon’s eyes, clouds of smoke, and flames of fire is colored (iroe 色絵) vividly with gold fabric inlays (kin nunome-zōgan 金布目象嵌) that contrast nicely with dark patina of the heat treated corroded (kusarakashi 腐らかし) surface. Interesting enough the dragon that is pictured on the tsuba is female as indicated by the shape of end of the tail. The plate of the tsuba has a uniform thickness from the middle (seppa-dai 切羽台) towards the rim (mimi 耳). The rim is a rounded square (kaku-mimi koinku 角耳小肉) in shape.
The front of the tsuba is signed by the artist: Kiyō-sanjin Jakushi (崎陽山人 若芝). On the reverse side design continues. It is signed by a second artist: Ryū unken Koretaka + kaō (龍雲軒 是高「花押」). Based upon demographic information I can find in the reference The Index of Japanese Sword Fittings and Associated Artists by Robert E. Haynes the two artists are recorded. The first artist who signed the front (omote 表) is Haynes Index entry number H11981.0. He is recorded as being an artist of Jakushi School who made tsuba and kozuka in the city of Nagasaki (長崎) located in Province of Hizen (肥前國). The recorded date of this death is 1857 CE. The artist signing the reverse (ura 裏) is Haynes Index entry number H03485.0. This artist has a dated piece 1851 CE, and his recorded date of death is September 12, 1878, CE. With this information I can estimate this tsuba being made sometime in the early 1850s before death of the first artist in 1857 CE. The first artist signing the front of the tsuba was likely the teacher and the artist signing the reverse was likely the student.
Provenance: Joe Rigano Collection