Wakizashi tsuba for Phil

[Tank Destroyer]

Ok, I am throwing this out there with my limited knowledge(very limited) of tsuba's, could this tsuba being unsigned come out of the Akao school? The school was in the Echizen province, the wakizashi was made there. Just a guess.

[Tank Destroyer]

Here is one from Choshu

[BOB COLEMAN]

Your tsuba is a bit younger than the blade. It is unusual but not impossible for fittings to be made in the same area as a blade. However, through several hundred years and a few remounts, that fact can not be guaranteed.

[Tank Destroyer]

Learning curve for me. Bob any idea of the age of the tsuba?
Marty

[BOB COLEMAN]

Hi Marty-
Tsuba in most cases need to be studied in hand to note the material and construction. The design work could be 17th or 18th century. This is a guess but the piece does not display great age. Swprds and fittings like any commodity were bought and sold. This continued into the 20th century. There is a incorrect theory that any old blade found in military mounts is an "ancestoral" blade. Nothing could be farther from fact. Some Japanese officers bought an old blade from a sword dealer and had it placed in military mounts to continue the code of bushido. Older blades also cut better than a factory made blade.