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A Shoami School iron tsuba with silver detailing, sukashi-style, with gilt koi leaping through waves and spume. In Japanese symbolism, the carp (koi) is portrayed swimming upwards, cresting over foamy waters or against the currents of a waterfall. This vivid imagery is emblematic of determination and eventual success. The iron tsuba is in very good condition with only minor signs of wear commensurate with age. Edo Period, Japan

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A striking iron- forged face mask in Somen style with attached doe-skin shikoro (neck guard) woven in beige silk with red leather rivets. The face, with prominent eyebrows in a scowl and mouth turned upward in a grimace, highlights the exaggerated nose and ears, all forged separately and attached with ornate rivets. On the chin are two pegs for cords and a heart-shaped ventilation hole. Its leather interior is beautifully gold-lacquered. This ingenious samurai armor component is the work of the... Click for details

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An iron sukashi tsuba with a beautiful abstract design. Concentric circles in perfect harmony are subdivided at the center. This Owari School tsuba of bold design is in very good condition with only minor wear to the iron, commensurate with age and use. Diameter: 3.4" Edo Period, Japan

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A rare iron itozukashi tsuba with Jin and Yin and Yang motif in low relief, a thin ,thread-like piercing beautifully executed on front and reverse. Gold signature cartouche reads Seiriuken Yeiju. Provenance: British Red Cross Society and the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England. Catalogue #1301, October 1935. Diameter: 2.84" 19th Century, Japan

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An excellent iron tsuba of free form with a striking image of Emma-O, the king of hell, clutching his magisterial robe and wearing his characteristic two-tiered hat, a small demon crouching at his side. On the reverse, a sign attached to gold ropes features a lively tai heavily detailed in gold and shibuichi. The imagery on this tsuba, front and back, is in high relief with gold, shakudo and shibuichi detailing. Iron in very good condition, minor wear to Emma-O's hat, commensurate with age a... Click for details

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An oval, sentoku tsuba with a magnificently carved tiger, eyes piercing, crouching asymmetrically alongside a turbulent stream. Swaying bamboo, slanting rain, high relief carving and dramatic shakudo striping add to the atmospheric activity portrayed on this powerful tsuba. On the reverse, bamboo stalks shiver beneath slanting rain. ( In addition to being a member of the Chinese zodiac, the tiger, though not native to Japan, is a prominent figure in Japanese art honored for its religious signifi... Click for details

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A marvelous, antique samurai wakazashi sword housed in a black-lacquered, ribbed saya. Its fittings are fashioned in silver, gilt, shakudo and shibuichi. Sword includes an elegant silver tsuba, menuki sculpt as snow-capped bamboo and gold fuchi kashira with bamboo leaf design. Other equally exquisite components include: a kozuka with shakudo handle embellished with gold, silver and shakudo plum blossoms, and shibuichi split kogai with gold and silver inlaid kiku and paulownia. The b... Click for details

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An oval sentoku tsuba with metal fukurin (rim cover)overlaid in silver, gold, shakudo and copper. The setting for the front of the tsuba is a mysterious nocturnal scene of a fisherman with two cormorants by the river’s edge. The practice of using cormorants to catch small river fish dates to the Nara Period when the fisherman would tie the bird’s neck with rope to prevent the bird from swallowing the fish. The reverse side of the tsuba depicts a truncated image of a boat among water reeds and on... Click for details

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A shibuichi, eight-lobed tsuba with beautifully executed gilt kiri mons strategically placed, front and back. (The kiri mon, or paulownia crest, one of the most honored Japanese crests, also relates to the legend of the mythical phoenix that perches only on the branches of the paulownia tree.) This tsuba is in very good condition, with 2 kogai bitsu (opening for the kogai and kozuka). Length: 3" Late Edo Period, Japan

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A semi-sukashi, mokko-shaped iron tsuba inlaid with sentoku in Heianjo style. Aoi leaves and fine tendrils on both sides are inlaid in suemon zogan style, the large areas inlaid with slightly- raised sentoku. (This elegant Heianjo style became popular during the Muromachi Period, continuing well into the Edo Period.) This marvelous example of the genre is in very good condition, its minor wear commensurate with age and use. Diameter: 3" Edo Period, Japan