If you are not familiar with Japanese Samurai swords and their congruent parts, a tsuba is the protective hand guard mounted on a sword that slips on over the central tang of the blade. It has many functions, such as: being a counterbalance to the weight of the sword blade; preventing the user’s hand from sliding onto the sword’s blade, when thrusting; represent the beliefs, tastes and social standing of the owner and to protect the user’s hand from the blade of an opponent, to some extent. A tsuba in its basic form can be a plain, undecorated plate, but most are embellished with surface texturing, inlay/overlay of various types of metal and cut-out openwork or Sukashi, which also means ‘in silhouette’. Tsuba may be constructed from various materials that include “soft” metals, like copper and its alloys (bronze, brass and others); gold silver, leather, iron, etc.
Namban or Nanban tsuba is a type of style that has found its way to Japan from China, or by the East Indian route and gained popularity. In other words, it is a style with foreign influence in its design. These tsuba are almost always constructed of iron and have undercut scrollwork that may incorporate dragons, with the tama jewel or other creatures. Here is a helpful tip concerning the cleaning of your tsuba. Never clean it with metal polish because it will remove the patina and destroy the tsuba’s beauty and value. The spectacular Japanese tsuba featured here is antique iron Namban, possibly from the Edo era, which is 18th to 19th century. Its impressive stats are as follows: length is 7.0cm, width is 6.55cm, thickness is 0.5cm and weight is 82g. This phenomenal tsuba is maru gata, or round, in shape and the Sukashi is of a gorgeous twin dragon design. This incredible antique, iron Japanese Namban tsuba is a true work of art in its own right and would be an asset to any collection!
