Sword Guard (Tsuba)

The image shows a bronze-colored Japanese sword guard, or tsuba. The tsuba has an irregular octagonal shape and a bronze-colored background. Two oval-shaped holes are present side by side in the center, with the left hole slightly lower than the right. A narrow slit connects the two holes. The tsuba features a design with a man standing on the bottom right, wearing a robe and a hat, holding a staff. The man stands on a wavy line representing water. On the right side, a tree with bare branches extends over the man. A similar tree with bare branches is on the left side. Some characters are written vertically on the left side between the two holes. The background of the image is light gray.

Artwork Details

Date: late 18th century
Medium: Copper alloy (sentoku), copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), gold, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), copper
Culture: Japanese
Dimensions: 600 × 600 px
Public Domain: Yes
Museum Record: View original

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