Katana tsuba

We Use Cookies Our website uses cookies for some features to work including currencies, shopping cart, katana tsuba, sign in, sorting and check out systems. The Tsuba is the Katana's guard designed to protect the wielders hand during a sword fight as well as prevent the swordsman's hands from accidentally slipping forward onto the blade. The tsuba also contributed to the swords katana tsuba by being weighted properly to counter-balance the blade, katana tsuba. During the Muromachi and Momoyama periods between and Japan's clans and families were in a nearly constant state of war.

The Tsuba of the Katana. Tsuba are the guards of Japanese swords katanas, wakizashi, tantos. Their goal is to prevent the opponent's blade from slipping on the saber and cutting off the hand. Each tsuba has a size 5 to 10 cm , a slice and a particular shape. It is however possible to identify ten different shapes: round Marugata , "square" with rounded angles Kaku gata, Yuko Ito gata , quadrilobate Moko gata, Tate Ito gata , rectangular Aori gata.

Katana tsuba

Tsuba is a kind of Japanese sword mounting. It was initially equipped with a Japanese sword for practical reasons. However, Tsuba attached importance to its decorativeness. It had been developed as an essential sword outfit that combines utility and beauty since the Edo period. Western swords also have guards, but especially since modern times, many of them are connected with handles; therefore, they look different, compared to Japanese handguards, Tsuba. People expected that Tsuba fulfills two roles: practicality to attack enemies and to protect users. In each area, Tsuba had been enhanced its artistry through the efforts and ingenuity of numerous Tsuba artisans. You can enlarge all the photos to see the detail of the item. Thank you for visiting our website. This Tsuba was sold as each antique Japanese Tsuba is one of a kind. However, we have various kinds of antique Japanese Tsubas available. Our customer service will help you find your ideal Tsuba you will cherish for generations. Please feel free to contact us or check the list of Tsubas.

For the short sword wakizashiits tsuba generally features two katana tsuba —the kozuka hitsu-ana on the left and the kogai-hitsu-ana on the right. Hook sword Zhanmadao.

Tsuba artisans soon produced ornamental styles, which became family heirlooms. Most of these designs reflect the mythology, legends, customs, religion, and artistic side of Japan. Knowing the history and distinctive characteristics of these sword guards may inspire you to build your collection or personalize your Japanese sword for training. Without it, the sword loses much of its efficiency. A Japanese tsuba must be crafted from high-quality materials with good design and craftsmanship. Originally, tsuba makers created handguards by welding together steels of different hardness , then twisting and deforming them in various ways.

Japanese sword mountings are the various housings and associated fittings tosogu [1] that hold the blade of a Japanese sword when it is being worn or stored. They were externally featureless save for the needed mekugi-ana [3] to secure the nakago tang , though sometimes sayagaki blade information was also present. The need for specialized storage is because prolonged koshirae mounting harmed the blade, owing to factors such as the lacquered wood retaining moisture and encouraging corrosion. Such mountings are not intended for actual combat, as the lack of a tsuba guard and proper handle wrappings were deleterious; as such they would likely never make their way onto a battlefield. However, there have been loosely similar "hidden" mountings, such as the shikomizue.

Katana tsuba

Tsuba artisans soon produced ornamental styles, which became family heirlooms. Most of these designs reflect the mythology, legends, customs, religion, and artistic side of Japan. Knowing the history and distinctive characteristics of these sword guards may inspire you to build your collection or personalize your Japanese sword for training. Without it, the sword loses much of its efficiency. A Japanese tsuba must be crafted from high-quality materials with good design and craftsmanship. Originally, tsuba makers created handguards by welding together steels of different hardness , then twisting and deforming them in various ways. The material should have the strength to withstand impact, and the most commonly used alloys are shakudo and shibuichi. A term that literally means black gold, the shakudo is a copper alloy that contains small amounts of gold, at least 4 percent. A harder alloy than shakudo , the shibuichi contains silver about a quarter of its weight. Its composition varies and usually contains copper, lead, zinc, or tin.

Stormwind to northrend

At some point, the Japanese acquired a taste for imported Chinese saber guards called dao hushou, so they eventually used them on their swords. By the Heian period from to , the classic hollyhock-shaped tsuba called aoi-gata emerged. However, there have been loosely similar "hidden" mountings, such as the shikomizue. Hook sword Zhanmadao. We will be more than happy to help you. Here are the main parts of tsuba and their functions:. However, we have various kinds of antique Japanese Tsubas available. The earliest tsuba was iron-made, found in the 8th-century burial mounds and earlier. Download as PDF Printable version. Juliana has been writing for nearly thirty years and concentrates on Tudor and Medieval history. Most iron tsuba used smooth plates and relied on decorations, from carving to inlays or openwork. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Some shikomi-zue also concealed metsubushi , chains, hooks, and many other things. Tsuba with dragonfly in shibuichi. It is still possible today to find craftsmen specializing in the manufacture of tsubas.

Photo Credit: A samurai and his horse bound up the bank of a river to come to grips with the enemy. Precious sword in hand, the tsuba, or hand guard, is clearly visible. For hundreds of years great artistry was worked into the tsuba.

Some tsuba artisans also crafted menuki and fuchi-kashira. Westerners often describe these sword guards as having a heart shape in each corner. Here are the main parts of tsuba and their functions:. The tsuba also contributed to the swords performance by being weighted properly to counter-balance the blade. The Japanese blades are removable from the rest of the sword. Juliana has been writing for nearly thirty years and concentrates on Tudor and Medieval history. By the 18th and 19th centuries, sword guards became too delicate or elaborate. Most of the time, the Japanese tsuba are disk-shaped and elliptical. Women carried them in their kimono either in a pocket like fold or in the sleeve [12] for self-defense or for suicide by means of slashing the jugular veins and carotid artery in the left side of the neck. A Japanese tsuba must be crafted from high-quality materials with good design and craftsmanship. A koshirae should be presented with the tsuka hilt to the left, particularly in times of peace with the reason being that you cannot unsheathe the sword easily this way. Never has the decorative genius of the Japanese been so brilliantly asserted as in the saber-guards, which are generally masterpieces of decorative composition and execution. Liaoning bronze dagger. Classic stage Dha. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.