Tsuba (sword guard) with eight family crests / Artist Unknown, Japan

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Record Details

Accession Number
1978/2.7
Title
Tsuba (sword guard) with eight family crests
Artist Nationality
Japanese
Medium and Support
iron and gold
Object Creation Date
19th century
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
Japan (nation)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
Japan (nation)
Dimensions
7.8 cm x 7.8 cm x 0.5 cm (3 1/16 in. x 3 1/16 in. x 3/16 in.)
Century
19th century
Primary Object Classification
Arms and Armor
Primary Object Type
sword guard
Secondary Object Classification
Metalwork
Secondary Object Type
sword guard
Physical Description
Circular tsuba, made of iron. Inside an exterior circle, eight smaller circles are placed with the same spacing. The eight circles are connected to the exterior circle as well as to the three center holes where kôgai, blade, and kozuka are placed. Each of the eight circles have a different family crests. The openwork technique seen here is called "marubori" (round carving). The surface is slightly textured by minute stippling.
Subject Matter
Family crests were important markers of the samurai class, in which military and political connections and blood and marriage relationships heavily weighed and determined one’s social status. This tsuba with eight different family crests alludes that the owner has some kind of relationship to eight different households or lineages; either of his own household (One household used more than one crest, although usually there was one dominant than other crests), his relatives or his allies.
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Technical Details

Image Size
691 x 715
File Size
58 KB
Record
1978/2.7
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1978-sl-2.7/1978_2.7.jpg

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1978-SL-2.7:1978_2.7.JPG

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"Tsuba (sword guard) with eight family crests; Artist Unknown, Japan." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1978-sl-2.7/1978_2.7.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 29, 2024.
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