Sword Guard (Tsuba)

Inscribed by Kanō Natsuo Japanese
Inscribed by 紫原壽良画 Murasakibara Toshiyoshi Japanese

Not on view

Kanō Natsuo, the last great maker of sword fittings, decorated the front; his co-worker Toshiyoshi decorated the reverse. The commissioner of the tsuba is identified as Shirase. It features a design of a kingfisher on a branch.

Sword Guard (Tsuba), Inscribed by Kanō Natsuo (Japanese, 1828–1898), Copper-silver alloy (shibuichi), copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold, silver, copper, Japanese

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Obverse