Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image shows a circular object with a dark brown or gray metal color. The object, titled "Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>)" by an unspecified artist, is round and flat with a smooth edge. It has three cut-out sections: one on the left that is rounded on top and flat on the bottom, one in the middle that tapers from a wide top to a narrow bottom with a small copper-colored piece attached at the top, and one on the right that is an elongated oval. The object features an etched design of leaves and flowers around the perimeter. There are also some vertical Japanese characters etched on the left side. The background of the image is white.