A Japanese nanban style tsuba

Description

An interesting little sword guard, of fairly simple form with designs carved i

Asian Export sword guard

Private collection. Not for sale.

A Japanese kusarigama

The Japanese kusarigama is a variation of the gama, a scythe-like weapon that was l

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Things Chinese, 1719

Description

A Japanese volume from the 唐土訓蒙圖彚 or "Illustrated Encyclopedia of Things Chinese", it was publi

A nanban kozuka / kogatana

Nanban kozuka are extremely rare, and this is a particularly fine example.

Converted Chinese guard

A purely Chinese guard and not a very ornate one, converted for Japanese use.

Nanban tsuba & Asian export sword guards

For long, "nanban tsuba" literally "Southern barbarian sword-guards" have been a catch-all classification for sword guards for Japanese swords (tsuba), that show foreign influence.

Chinese export sword guard

An iron openwork guard two dragons chasing a flaming pearl.

A nanban tsuba with Christian orb

A near round tsuba with beaded rim depicting two dragons in vegetal scrollwork.

A nanban tsuba

A rather good example of a Japanese-made nanban tsuba.