Tsuba with Relief Decoration

Tsuba with Relief Decoration is held by Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe. Museum description: The egg-shaped sword guard, a so-called "tsuba", belongs to the "nagamaru gata" type.

Stylistically, it is attributed to the "Shôami" school. The decoration follows the shape of the "hidari-mitsudomoe". This consists of a threefold wave-like motif turned to the left, the "tomoe". On one side of the guard, three kiri blossoms (also called paulownia blossoms) of the foxglove tree appear in gilded relief. On the corresponding other side, only two kiri blossoms have survived. The third is abraded. "Tsuba" are Japanese sword guards made of iron, copper, or copper alloys that sit between the hilt and the blade of a sword.

In the center of the guard is an opening for the sword's tang. Two further openings are intended for an auxiliary knife ("kozuka") and a hair-arranging needle/bodkin ("kôgai"). Tsuba protected the hand from the The museum record gives measurements height: 7.2 cm, width: 7.0 cm, depth: 0.6 cm (overall). These details come from the holding museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.