Tsuba with Summer Blossoms

Tsuba with Summer Blossoms is held by Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe. Museum description: The sword guard curved like leaves on four sides, a so-called "tsuba", belongs to the "mokkô gata" type because of its quatrefoil shape.

Worked in lacquer, it is among the outstanding pieces of the Karlsruhe collection. The work is signed "Jôka". Stylistically, this tsuba is attributed to the "Yamada" school. The decoration of the guard shows butterflies flying among various summer blossoms and grasses. The individual motifs are partly inlaid with gold or covered with gold dust. "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 opponent's sword The museum record gives measurements height: 8.5 cm, width: 8.5 cm, depth: 0.4 cm. 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.