Overview
This antique Tsuba is estimated to be 600 years old. It comes with a letter, original box, a letter handwritten in Japanese letters, very cool stuff. This is what some of it says: This item was handed down within my family for a very long time. According to Lord Zentoku'in, an antique dealer from Osaka once came and appraised the piece, saying that it was made about 600 years ago and that it should therefore be esteemed and treasured. Written by Hirotaka on the first day of the fifth month of Meiji 20 (1887) + kao. Naoyoshi attributes (this tsuba) to Shoami Masatake (who was active from Keicho (1596-1615) through Genna (1615-1624) to the end of the Kan'ei Era (1624-1644)) Naoyoshi says that Masatake was the first generation Shoami, that he lived in Matsuyama in Iyo province, and that the lineage worked for about six generations on a stipend-basis for the local Matsudaira family. It is said that there were once some rather small tsuba like this one extant which bore the mei "Yoshu Matsuyama no ju Masatake" and that Masatake is reguarded as ancestor of all zogan inlay (on tsuba). (Referring to the hakogaki) Naoyoshi is uncertain about the name "Dasso" and states that 600 years ago, tsuba were, unlike this one, undecorated and that such sukashi and/or engravings were atypical for that time. He also says that it is conceivable that "Dasso" was an art name of one of the helmet makers of the Myochin family (who made tsuba at the side).
The Japanese writing on the box is translated into Japanese in the letter, but i cannot read that.