Sword Guard (Tsuba)
Not on view
This tsuba comes from a burial mound (kofun) in Shioda, in the Japanese province of Bizen, and is one of the earliest sword guards to survive from Japan. It was part of the exchange of objects between the Imperial Museum (later the Tokyo National Museum) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was arranged by Bashford Dean in 1905–6.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.