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Sword guard (Tsuba) With Cherry Blossom Motif (桜透鐔)

early 18th century
Not on view
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 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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