Tsuba (sword guard) with incised flame design

Accession Number
1966/1.101

Title
Tsuba (sword guard) with incised flame design

Artist(s)
Artist Unknown, Nabeshima ware, Japan

Object Creation Date
late 16th century - early 17th century

Medium & Support
Shakudô (copper-gold alloy)

Dimensions
2 15/16 in. x 2 11/16 in. ( 7.4 cm x 6.9 cm )

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund

Label copy
Tsuba are intended to protect the user’s hand, first by shielding it against a blow from the opponent’s blade, and second by preventing it from slipping onto the razor-sharp edge of the weapon being wielded. Until the early seventeenth century, simply designed iron tsuba were dominant, as seen in the example here bearing a mushroom motif. When the Tokugawa regime required samurai warlords to travel regularly to the capital, Edo, and mandated that their wives and children reside there, considerations of urban fashion became more influential than battlefield practicalities in samurai attire and accessories. The tsuba became more an object of display than a functional item—a trend that further intensified when affluent merchants were permitted to carry swords in public and also began to demand attractive tsuba.
As is well represented by this collection, there was great artistic creativity at play in tsuba-making during the Edo period. The newly developed shakudô (a copper–gold alloy of a lustrous purple–black color) was used to create relief designs. Openwork chiseling was a versatile method for creating dramatic representations of family crests or light, airy, and elegant plant motifs.
(Label for UMMA Japanese Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)

Subject matter
Tsuba (sword guard) is inserted between a sword handle and blade to protect hands from sharp blades. The center hole is where the sword is placed. The smaller hole is to insert kozuka, an ornamental stick. This particlar tsuba has incised, overall frame design.

Physical Description
This small, flat metal piece has a quartrefoil shape. Two holes in the middle. Flame-like incision all over the piece. Silver is applied around the center hole.

Primary Object Classification
Arms and Armor

Primary Object Type
sword guard

Additional Object Classification(s)
Metalwork

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
flames
hilts
swords

3 Related Resources

Samurai
(Part of 5 Learning Collections)
Flames
(Part of: Exchange and Influence on Global Trade Routes)

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted

On display

UMMA Gallery Location ➜ FFW, 2nd floor ➜ 216 (Japanese Gallery)