Edutainment > Japanese Tsuba

Japanese Art
Japanese Tsuba Mokko Shape

A tsuba is the hand guard of a Japanese sword. It served several purposes. The tsuba balanced the sword. And it protected the hand of the sword holder from an attack by an enemy as well as from gliding into the sword blade. The third purpose was a more refined one. The Japanese tsuba developed into a kind of a status symbol for the sword owner. Thus the Japanese sword tsuba became an elaborate piece of art - far beyond its practical use.

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Tsuba History

During the Muromachi period (1333-1573) and the Momoyama period (1573-1603) feudal lords and powerful clans fought fierce battles against each other. Therefore the functionality of the sword tsuba was more important than its decoration. The Edo period (1603-1868) brought an uninterrupted period of 256 years of peace to Japan. Now the Japanese sword tsuba rapidly developed into a refined piece of art.

The Materials

Most tsubas were made of iron. However a great variety of other materials can be found as well.

• Copper
• Sentoku - a yellow alloy consisting of copper, zinc and tin
• Shakudo - a dark pickled metal alloy - a mixture of copper, gold and some other materials
• Shibuichi - a silvery gray metal alloy consisting mostly of silver, copper, tin, lead or zinc
• Brass
• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold

The Shapes

• Plain oval
• Plain round
• Square
• Mokko - with 4 lobes
• Aoi - the pattern of the leaves of the mallow

Decorations

The subjects for decorations on Japanese sword tsuba were taken from religion, history, Japanese mythology and nature. Dragons and forms from nature like leaves are often to be found on Japanese tsuba. Early decorations were Buddhist prayers.

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