Silver overlaid talwar hilt
Never mounted, still with the shop's wooden stopper.
Rooster fight kozuka
Executed in gold and silver on a shakudō nanako base, with golden back.
Cast iron compass rose guard
A peculiar cast iron sword guard, probably from the South China Seas area.
Nanban kogai & kozuka set (futakoromono)
The only set of its type known to me in both private and museum collections.
Ainu sword hilt
Made of wood, with a silver ornamental fitting of remarkable workmanship.
Kankyûtô (貫級刀/貫首刀)
Japanese word for a samurai tool.
An Edo period kankyûtô
A double-edged samurai tool with morbid origins.
Kozuka (小柄)
Japanese name of a small utility knife worn in sword and dagger scabbards.
Signed nakago kozuka
A by-knife for a Japanese sword, with a hilt shaped like a sword tang.
Tsuba (鍔 / 鐔)
Japanese name for a sword guard.
Chinese lòukōng sword guard
The archetypical Chinese sword guard that gave rise to the Japanese genre of "nanban tsuba".
Hūshǒu (護手)
Chinese for the handguard of a weapon.
Qing openwork saber guard
A very rare Chinese saber guard dating from the height of the Qing dynasty.
Chinese hùshǒu with lantsa script
A Chinese sword guard from the 18th century with a Buddhist mantra in lantsa script.
Chinese sword guards in Japan
The Chinese saber guard is called dāo hūshǒu (刀護手), or hùshǒu pán (護手盤) in Chinese. This literally translates to "saber handguard" or "disc handguard". At some point, the Japanese got quite a taste for them. Over the years a number of them have turned up from Japanese sources that exhibit alterations that indicate they were used by Japanese on their swords.
Early chilanum hilt
An old bronze hilt in the shape of chilanum hilts.
Kōgai (笄)
The Japanese term for a hair arranging pin that was worn in Japanese sword scabbards.
Wari-kōgai (割笄)
The Japanese term for a hair arranging needle that can be split to form a pair of chopsticks.
A Japanese wari-kōgai
Iron chopsticks that combine as a kogai, with silver inlaid Paulownia mon.
"South China Sea Guard"
Most likely used by the multi-cultural crews of pirate fleets that roamed the South China seas.
Tachi-mokkō-gata (太刀木瓜形)
Japanese term for a cross-shaped tsuba often used on tachi swords.
Aoi-gata (葵形)
Japanese word for a sword guard shape. Literelly "hollyhock shape".
Kiyou-Toujin Tsuba
A Japanese style sword guard made in 17th century Nagasaki Chinatown.
Tachi tsuba of nanban tetsu
A rare 17th-century sword guard made of foreign steel.
House of Aviz tsuba
A Japanese sword guard with the cross of the House of Aviz.
Hisayuki (久隨)
A Japanese maker of sword mounts, active in the Edo period.
Alluva
Sinhala for side plates on a sword.
Ath häde
Sinhala for "knuckle guard".
Ath väsma
Sinhala term given by Deraniyagala for "knuckle guard".
A Korean sword guard
Adjusted for use on a Japanese sword.
Kiyou Toujin tsuba (崎陽唐人鐔)
Japanese style sword guards made by Chinese craftsmen in Nagasaki.
Asian export sword guard
An interesting pierced iron Asian export sword guard that is part of a small group of guards that were made with a mu
Dāo hūshǒu (刀護手)
Qing Chinese for "saber guard".
Iron ship sword guard
A chiseled iron sword guard depicting a Dutch ship with a figure on its stern.
Sinhalese export sword guard
A large circular Asian export sword guard with elaborate decor carved in relief on both sides.
Fuchi kashira by Hisayuki
A beautiful signed Japanese ferrule and pommel plate.
Asian export sword guards
Sword guards that were made across Asia, specifically with export in mind.
Antique Chinese saber fittings
Description
An antique set of scabbard fittings for a Chinese saber, probably second half of the 18th centu
Chiseled iron Hindu basket hilt
With blackened iron panels with decorative borders carved in relief.
Classic Choshu ship tsuba
The work nice and crisp, the execution has a naturalistic charm to it.
Fine Canton-style export sword guard
Introduction
Many Asian export sword guards, and later Japanese guards inspired by them, were modeled after
"Love of Lotus" Korean guard
Description
Korean ceremonial sabers of the Joseon dynasty are pretty small and often exhi
Asian export disc guard
The design, overlaid in silver, gold, and copper, over a crosshatched background shows dragon amongst clouds.
Ezo style tsuba
Introduction
What are today known as "Ezo fittings" are a style of Japanese sword mounts that are character
A Japanese nanban style tsuba
Description
An interesting little sword guard, of fairly simple form with designs carved i
Chinese openwork (loukong) saber guard
The archetypical Chinese sword guard of the 17th century.
Asian Export sword guard
Private collection. Not for sale.
