Sword guard (<i>Tsuba</i>) Depicting Hotei (布袋図鐔)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This tsuba shows on the obverse God of Luck Hotei who shakes a nut tree so that a woman can pick up the nuts from the ground. Her child is stretching out its arms towards the jolly deity and towards the left, we see Hotei’s famous lage bag. Except for some a parts of the tree, the reverse is left undecorated. Tomonobu (友信) was the second generation of the Someya (染谷) School. His first name was Kichigorō (吉五郎) but his years of birth and death are unknown, although we know from extant dated works that he was mainly active around the Bunsei era (文政, 1818-1830). It is said that Tomonobu had also studied painting with Tani Bunchō (谷文晁, 1763-1840).

Arms and Armor

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art