I have recently come across a series of tsuba - if that is what they are - other sources have termed them "asian export guards" as there is some dispute as to their origin. I have found at least thirteen examples, all slightly different and not cast. I have five examples in my own collection. One example not in my collection is listed as 'Bushu' but I have not found another attribution from that school. Another is described as Vietnamese based on an eight lobed design common in that country, how
