Sword Guard (Tsuba) With Shishi Lion and Peonies Motif (獅子牡丹図鐔)

Japanese

Not on view

This tsuba shows a shishi lion who crawls through one of the hitsu-ana (opening for scabbard accessory) which is carved to represent a rock formation, thus half of his body is carved out of the obverse and half of the reverse. A large and prominent peony is depicted at the bottom right of the obverse and so the motif alludes to the Nō play Shakkyō (石橋), The Stone Bridge, which features a famous scene of a shishi lion dancing among peonies.

Tsu Jinpo (1721-1762), first name Hachizaemon (八左衛門), was an Edo-based artist who had studied with the fourth Nomura master Masamichi (正道, 1707-1754) but who is also assumed to have trained with Gotō School.

Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) With <i>Shishi</i> Lion and Peonies Motif (獅子牡丹図鐔), Brass (sentoku), Japanese

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Obverse