Tsuba
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1850
This Japanese sword hand-guard (tsuba) is attributed to the Shōnai school and dates to circa 1850. Made of iron, it features a rounded, multi-sided outline with central openings for the blade and accompanying fittings. The surface is decorated with engravings and multi-metal inlays depicting flowers of the four seasons, executed using silver, copper, and shakudō, a copper-gold alloy. An inscription records that the piece is signed Zaiya.
Measuring approximately 8.38 cm in height and 8 cm in width, the tsuba exhibits detailed botanical motifs such as leaves and blossoms scattered across its dark plate in contrasting metallic tones. It was created in Japan during the mid-nineteenth century.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The tsuba is a protective guard fitted between the hilt and blade of a Japanese sword. Originally created as simple iron disks sometimes decorated by piercing or low-relief hammering, later guards were frequently made from copper alloys, patinated in diverse colours, and inlaid with contrasting metals as different maker schools developed their own artistic styles.
Physical characteristics
- Dimensions
- Height (approx.): 8.38 cm; Width (approx.): 8 cm
Technical characteristics
- Inscriptions
- Date: Text: Research required; Latest: Research required; Earliest: Research required; Note: Research required; Type: Research required; Medium: Research required; Method: Research required; Script: Research required; Content: Signed Zaiya ; Language: Research required; Position: Research required; Inscriber: Name: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Association: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Description: Research required; Translation: Research required; Interpretation: Research required; Transliteration: Research required
- Place recorded
- Japan
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Tsuba
- Museum object number
- M.31-1919
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.