Tsuba (sword guard) with bridge and waterwheel scene

Tsuba (sword guard) with bridge and waterwheel scene

Artist Yoshū Matsuyama Jū Shoami Molikuni (Japanese)

Datelate 1700s–early 1800s

Mediumiron and copper

Dimensions8.5 × 8 cm (3 3/8 × 3 1/8 in.), 4 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.405

DescriptionCup-style waterwheel with apparently metallic cups, assembled with rivets. Rivets alternate on front and back of tsuba. Reverse shows the underside of the bridge.
Label TextTsubas often require broad knowledge of Japanese culture to interpret. This waterwheel and bridge probably refer to the "Waterwheels of Yodo," which once supplied water to Yodo Castle, but fell idle during the Edo Period, only to become tourist attractions, ideally viewed from a nearby bridge and tea pavilion.ProvenanceCollection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.

On View

Not on view