Kyo-sukashi tsuba depicting a deer among autumn grasses

Edo period, 18th century

Mokkogata: : 8,1 cm

Thickness: 3.2 mm

Rounded edge (maru-mimi)

Certification: the tsuba comes with a hozon tosogu certificate issued by the NBTHK. 

This elegant tsuba depicts a deer among tall autumn grasses that are elegantly woven together by joining with asymmetrical lines various points of the four-lobed border. Since the Heian period, such a theme has been employed in poetry and art to represent autumn, imparting a melancholy feeling associated with this season.

Kyoto, the political and urban capital of Japan during the Muromachi period, influenced many aspects of culture, and tsubas are no exception. The prevailing taste was expressed in the unique design of Kyo-sukashi tsubas, openwork iron tsubas, made over a span of 450 years, starting from the Muromachi period and throughout the Edo period.

Kyo-sukashi tsubas are thin and relatively small, with rounded edges (maru-mimi) and half-moon shaped hitsu-ana.  The carvings are sometimes in relief (nikubori).