Sword Guard (Tsuba) in Shingen Design (信玄鐔)
Legend has it that once the famous warlord Takeda Shingen (武田信玄, 1521-1573) started to wrap brass wires around the openwork bridges and rim of his tsuba as an excersise of concentration whilst waiting for the start of a battle. There are now tsuba that do feature brass or copper wired wound around an iron openwork frame and such which are merely inlaid with different metals to give that appearance. This tsuba is of the former category. Apart from the Shingen décor, there are two openings for scabbard accessories (hitsu-ana) and wire is also wound around the rim.
Artwork Details
- Title: Sword Guard (Tsuba) in Shingen Design (信玄鐔)
- Date: ca. 1615–1868
- Culture: Japanese
- Medium: Iron, copper
- Dimensions: H. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm); W. 3 3/16 in. (8.1 cm); thickness 1/4 in. (0.6 cm); Wt. 3.9 oz. (110.6 g)
- Classification: Sword Furniture-Tsuba
- Credit Line: Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
- Object Number: 91.1.767
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Japanese
late 14th century
Omori Hidenaga
18th century
Hirata School
ca. 1615–1868
鷲田光中作 Washida Mitsunaka
19th century
Japanese
5th century
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.