Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) With the Motif of Sunrise Over the Ocean (日の出に波濤図鐔)

Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) With the Motif of Sunrise Over the Ocean (日の出に波濤図鐔)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This irregularly shaped tsuba shows on both sides waves. The spray appears to be either silver or shakudō. On the obverse, the sun is inlaid in flush gold hira-zōgan and raises from behind clouds. The artist, whose name can be read Hidechika or Teruchika, is unrecorded but from this tsuba we learn that he used the art name Hisshinsai (筆心斎) and that he lived in Okayama in Bizen province (present-day Okamaya Prefecture).

Arms and Armor

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) With the Motif of Sunrise Over the Ocean (日の出に波濤図鐔)Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) With the Motif of Sunrise Over the Ocean (日の出に波濤図鐔)Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) With the Motif of Sunrise Over the Ocean (日の出に波濤図鐔)Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) With the Motif of Sunrise Over the Ocean (日の出に波濤図鐔)Sword Guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) With the Motif of Sunrise Over the Ocean (日の出に波濤図鐔)

The principal goals of the Arms and Armor Department are to collect, preserve, research, publish, and exhibit distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker. Arms and armor have been a vital part of virtually all cultures for thousands of years, pivotal not only in conquest and defense, but also in court pageantry and ceremonial events. Throughout time the best armor and weapons have represented the highest artistic and technical capabilities of the society and period in which they were made, forming a unique aspect of both art history and material culture.