Tsuba: Collecting Japanese Sword Guards
The tsuba is the guard that sits between a Japanese sword's blade and its handle. It protected the hand and balanced the sword, but over the centuries it also became a small canvas for some of the finest metalwork in Japan. Because tsuba are compact, varied and relatively affordable, they are one of the most popular ways to begin collecting samurai art.
Parts of a guard
- Nakago-ana. The central wedge-shaped opening through which the tang of the blade passes.
- Sekigane. Soft metal plugs in the opening, added to fit the guard to a particular blade.
- Hitsu-ana. One or two side openings for the small knife and hairpin carried in the scabbard.
- Seppa-dai. The plain oval area around the central opening, where a signature is usually found.
- Mimi. The rim, which can be plain, rounded, raised or decorated.
Iron schools
Early tsuba were made of iron, often by swordsmiths and armourers. Later schools developed distinctive styles. Owari and Kyō-sukashi guards are known for bold openwork silhouettes. Higo guards, made for the Hosokawa lords in Kumamoto, are prized for their refined iron and restrained design. Akasaka guards in Edo favoured elegant pierced pine, bamboo and wave motifs.
Soft-metal schools
Craftsmen known as kinkō worked in softer metals and alloys: copper, brass, silver, gold, blue-black shakudō and silvery-grey shibuichi. The Gotō family made formal fittings for the shoguns' court for generations. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, independent artists of the Nara, Yokoya, Ishiguro, Hamano and Ōtsuki lines created pictorial guards of dragons, tigers, birds and scenes from legend, inlaid in several metals.
Signatures
A signature, mei, adds interest and value, but false signatures, gimei, are extremely common on tsuba, sometimes added centuries ago. Judge the work first and the signature second. For important pieces, papers from the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords, the NBTHK, offer an independent opinion; its grades begin with Hozon and Tokubetsu Hozon.
Hand-worked or cast
- Hand-chiselled iron has crisp, purposeful edges and tool marks. Cast copies have soft edges, pitting and a uniform surface.
- A genuine old patina is deep, even and slightly glossy. New rust or a painted black surface suggests a modern piece.
- Compare both faces. Fine guards are finished on the reverse as carefully as the front.
Care and travel
Never scrub or polish a tsuba; the patina is part of its value. Handle with clean hands or gloves and store in a dry place, ideally in a fitted box or soft pouch. Tsuba are fittings, not weapons, and travel without the special export procedures that apply to swords.