The A. H. Church Collection of Japanese Sword-Guards (Tsuba)
An unpublished catalogue of the A. H. Church collection of Japanese sword-guards (tsuba) by Albert James Koop.
The founder of this group, Hirano [Japanese text], later Ichiriū [Japanese text] Tomoyoshi I (middle of the 18th century), was a pupil of the Yasuchika. He was followed by three masters of the same name, by a junior branch bearing the surname of Hirano, and by many pupils down to the middle of the 19th century.
The characteristic work on guards is in the pierced iron with mythical animals and similar subjects in very high relief or actually in the round, often enclosed by a rounded border with inner “wire” edge.
Tsuba with peony sprays (EAX.11017)
Tsuba with bottle gourd and leaves (EAX.11018)
Lobed tsuba in the form of overlapping rice bales (EAX.11019)
Tsuba with sago palms (EAX.11020)
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