Sword guard (Tsuba) With Cherry Blossom Motif (桜透鐔)
This shakudō tsuba shows a three-dimensional openwork design (nikubori ji-sukashi) of a blossoming cherry tree, with the pistils and stamens highlighted in gold. The rim is decorated with a gold inlay of interlocking swastikas (sayagata).
The artist Masanaga (正永) was the founder and first generation of the Bushū Itō (武州伊藤) School. His first name was Jin’emon (甚右衛門), also listed as Jingo’emon (甚五右衛門), and he died in the twelfth year of Kyōhō (享保, 1727). His school worked on a hereditary basis for the Shogunate.
The artist Masanaga (正永) was the founder and first generation of the Bushū Itō (武州伊藤) School. His first name was Jin’emon (甚右衛門), also listed as Jingo’emon (甚五右衛門), and he died in the twelfth year of Kyōhō (享保, 1727). His school worked on a hereditary basis for the Shogunate.
Artwork Details
- Title:Sword guard (Tsuba) With Cherry Blossom Motif (桜透鐔)
- Date:early 18th century
- Culture:Japanese
- Medium:Copper-gold alloy (shakudō), gold, copper
- Dimensions:Diam. 3 1/16 in. (7.8 cm); thickness 3/16 in. (0.5 cm); Wt. 5.2 oz. (147.4 g)
- Classification:Sword Furniture-Tsuba
- Credit Line:Gift of Herman A. E. and Paul C. Jaehne, 1943
- Object Number:43.120.752
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
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17th century
Inscribed by Saotome Ienari (Japanese, Gunma Prefecture, active late 17th–early 18th century)
probably late 17th–early 18th century
17th century
Gotō Sokujō (Japanese, 1600–1631, eighth-generation Gotō master)
early 17th century
Gotō Kenjō (Japanese, 1586–1663, seventh-generation Gotō master)
early–mid-17th century
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