Tsuba theme help requested. Warrior carrying statue over bridge?

[Deez77]

Hi everyone. This is a tsuba I bought not too long ago. Could anyone provide insight into the motif? It looks to me like a warrior carrying something on his back (religious statue?) has put down his naginata and stopped to tie his shoe on a bridge. 😆 I could be waaay off. I'm sure it's related to a traditional story, right?

Thanks a lot for your help. 

 

Damon

[Matsunoki]

Looks like Minamoto Yoshitsune and Benkei on the Gojo bridge…..they had a bit of a disagreement there.

[Deez77]

27 minutes ago, Matsunoki said:

Looks like Minamoto Yoshitsune and Benkei on the Gojo bridge…..they had a bit of a disagreement there.

Wow! That was quick. I appreciate it, Matsunoki.

 

Happy new year all! 

 

Damon

[Spartancrest]

   

[Jake6500]

On 1/2/2025 at 12:20 AM, Matsunoki said:

Looks like Minamoto Yoshitsune and Benkei on the Gojo bridge…..they had a bit of a disagreement there.

This is 100% Benkei, cut and dry!

 

I was watching this tsuba myself but the auction was not at an opportune time for me unfortunately.

 

Great pickup!

[Deez77]

On 1/3/2025 at 3:12 AM, Jake6500 said:

This is 100% Benkei, cut and dry!

 

I was watching this tsuba myself but the auction was not at an opportune time for me unfortunately.

 

Great pickup!

Thanks Jake. I know the feeling. I'll post some better quality images of the piece once I've got it in hand.

 

Thanks to all who contributed! 🙇

 

Damon

[Deez77]

I'm really pleased with this little tanto-sized tsuba. The workmanship is really quite nice, and the pictures I had access to did not do it justice. 

 

As promised, better quality images attached for your viewing pleasure. 

 

Thank you again for those who provided help with the motif.

 

Damon