Zodiac Tsuba

Steve Waszak · February 23, 2021

Offered is a maru-gata tsuba whose motif is the Chinese Zodiac expressed in beautifully-rendered kanji. The characters are manifested via an etching process in the iron. The skill required to manipulate the etching in order to achieve such classically expressive calligraphic characters in so sensitive a fashion is truly remarkable. The Zodiac motif is present on both sides of the sword guard. The plate itself comes across as quite dense, as the tsuba is heavy for its size. The etching process also reveals subtle ripples in the surface of the plate in some areas, indicating the construction method (see close-up photo). The hitsu-ana are carefully crafted, being well-placed and sized. Measuring 7.6cm and 3.5mm in thickness, the tsuba boasts a deep blue-black color. These etched sword guards have not received sufficient study, even in Japan, it seems. Many of them, such as the present example, are of a quality that invites focused scholarship. The lack of such scholarship makes it challenging to estimate a period of production here, but I believe this guard fits into an early-Edo Period (17th-century) dating. $350, plus shipping.