Inscription (front): Myōchin Muneyoshi
Inscription (reverse): August, second month of Keio
1866
Donated by the Homma family
1866
Donated by the Homma family
Considered a type of sword mount or guard, a tsuba is usually a round (or occasionally squarish) guard positioned at the end of the grip of bladed Japanese weapons. This particular tsuba depicts three types of light: the sun, moon, and stars on an iron base. We may infer that these represent prayers to deities associated with these celestial bodies, such as Amaterasu Ōmikami (the sun goddess), Dainichi Nyōrai (the Cosmic Buddha) and Myōken Bosatsu (the Buddhist deification of the North Star).
Myōchin Muneyoshi (date of birth and death unknown) was a master craftsperson of the Sakai family in the Shōnai district. He was a member of the Shōnai Myōchin School, a branch of the highly respected Myōchin school of armourers.