Japan

Room 10

Sword fittings 刀装具

Case 2

From the 14th to the 17th century, tsuba were mostly made of iron, a resistant metal, well adapted to weapons used in battle. Their decoration was at first limited to pierced designs, but later further embellished with brass, and then gold, inlay. Despite the introduction of more malleable alloys from the 17th century on, iron would continue to be used in certain schools up to the modern period.

1 to 6:  Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891) 柴田是真 (1807-1891)