The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 6, 2026

A tsuba, a rounded vertical oval iron sword guard, features a dark landscape in relief. Peaked mountains span the top, while tiered-roof buildings sit on the right and a curved bridge arches across the bottom. Three vertical openings pierce the center: a wedge-shaped hole flanked by two smaller rounded ones. Faint gold highlights accent the mountain peaks and architectural edges, set against the textured metal body and openwork cutouts.

Sword Guard

late 1600s

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)
iron (Jakushi type)
Average: 7.7 x 8.3 cm (3 1/16 x 3 1/4 in.)
Gift of D. Z. Norton 1919.453
Location: Not on view
  • "Accessions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 6, no. 6 (1919): 113-14. Mentioned: p. 114 25136301
  • {{cite web|title=Sword Guard|url=false|author=|year=late 1600s|access-date=06 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1919.453