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- Despite their limited surface size, there have been a multitude of themes depicted on tsuba covering all aspects of Japanese culture, ranging from religion, history and mythology to landscapes and nature. There were a number of human figures illustrated on tsuba, which include famous warriors, generals and Chinese legendary figures like the god of war Guanyu or Guandi (Kan'u in Japanese), the demon queller Zhong Kui (Shoki in Japanese), Bodhidarma (Daruma in Japanese), the playful monks Hanshan and Shide (Kanzan and Jittoku in Japanese), to name a few. The landscape designs on tsuba were often based on Chinese paintings. The scenes could include high mountains in the background with trees, a river, a temple, a gateway, travellers or boats in the foreground. Among the most popular creatures represented from nature are the tiger, the monkey, the horse, the snake, the hare, the crane and the carp. Many of the illustrated mythological beasts were inspired by Chinese folklore, such as the dragon, the phoenix and the qilin (kirin in Japanese). The dragon was associated with the emperor and the phoenix (ho bird) with the empress. The kirin symbolized imperial authority.
The techniques and decorative devices for the tsuba were also quite varied. The surface was created by forging and hammering, and in the case of iron, tempering. The traditional material used for sword guards was iron�which could acquire a number of patinas including red, black and brown�as well as soft metals like copper and, later, brass. During the long peace of the Edo period, when the arts were allowed to bloom, the use of copper-based alloys like shakudo (containing gold), shibuichi (containing silver) and sentoku (containing brass) were used to make exquisite tsuba. These were embellished with gold or gilt metal. Usually the tsuba are decorated on both sides with the most visible "handle" side being the most decorative. Tsuba were often decorated with punched and incised designs and perforations, which allowed for inlay techniques. It was not uncommon for samurai to have several interchangeable tsuba for a single cherished blade. The choice of the tsuba might depend on the season or the occasion at which the sword was to be worn.
Selected Bibliography
Caldwell, R.B. "Tsuba, Handguards of the Japanese Sword." Arts of Asia. Vol.
23, No. 1, 1993.
Earle, Joe. "Japanese Sword-fittings in the Victoria and Albert Museum." Orientations. Vol. 17, No. 12, 1986.
Lorber, D. and H.B. Martin. "Japanese Sword Fittings." Arts of Asia, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1977.
Swart, Paula, Robert E. Haynes and John Berta. The Soul of the Samurai, A Selection of Sword Guards from the Vancouver Museum. Vancouver, 1993.
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