T490.  Excellent, mint condition Higo tsuba with Tokubetsu Hozon paper from the NBTHK giving it to Kanshiro.  6.9 x 7.6 x .45 cm.  The nakago hitsu-ana is .9 x 2.4 cm.  Irogane (copper), long marugata, with a design of waves (nami nu Zu).  This came to me from a very knowledgeable collector in Europe who told me that the patina is original (not messed with) and that the attribution to Kanshiro means that the NBTHK thinks this is by either the 1st or 2nd Kanshiro (if they thought it was later work they would have said Nishigaki).  However, he told me also that Mr. Ito Mitsuru (the world’s foremost authority on Higo kodogu and author of those 3 beautiful books) has seen this tsuba and determined it to be work of the 3rd generation (1680 – 1761).  Everybody involved with this knows more than I do; I’ll stay out of it.

One of the ryo-hitsu has a copper pillow and the other has been moved outward with a chisel punch.  The tsuba comes in a high end, fitted box with a pillow.  Quite fine this.  $3,295.