Original Item: Only One Available. This is a beautiful Japanese TSUBA (鍔 - cross guard) dating from the EDO Period (江戸時代, Edo jidai) or Tokugawa period (徳川時代, Tokugawa jidai) of Japanese history. This is the period between 1603 and 1867, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional daimyo.

During this time NIHONTŌ (日本刀 - Japanese swords) were in wide use, and came in a variety of shapes and sizes. This TSUBA is of the MARU GATA (丸形 - round shape) type, and is made from iron, very common for the period. This size would have usually been used on either KATANA (刀 - single sided sword) or WAKIZASHI (脇差, - side inserted [sword]), and it features two HITSU-ANA holes near the center, one for a KOGAI hair ornament, and the other for the KOZUKA handle of a KOGATANA knife. This allowed these to be removed while the blade was still sheathed.

It has a heavily perforated design, which may have been cast originally, or would have required extensive time to work on. It definitely is a high grade example, which would have been used on the blade of someone of importance. There are some designs on both sides, including some nice filigree type foliate designs, which show past gilding, and there is also gilding around the MIMI (rim). It measures approximately 2 15/16" in diameter, and the NAKAGO-ANA hole in the center does not show any alterations to fit it to another blade. These would often be re-used with different blades, so they needed to be adjusted to fit, however we do not see any evidence of that on this example.

The TSBUA has a lovely patina, and would be a great addition to any katana or wakizashi that has a missing or damaged cross guard. Ready to research and display!