Kashira

Hollyhock-shaped mokko design; a four-lobed decorative motif often used on tsuba and fittings.

A tsuba outline that widens toward the bottom like the mud-flap of a saddle; another name for shōdeigata.

Protruding menuki; handle ornaments that extend prominently from the tsuka wrapping surface.

Protruding menuki; grip ornaments that project prominently from the handle wrapping.

The collar at the base of the handle, next to the guard.

Matching set of collar (fuchi) and pommel cap (kashira) fittings for the handle.

The fuchi and kashira as a matched set.

The front face of the habaki (blade collar) that faces outward when worn.

Holes in the tsuba (sword guard) through which the kozuka and kogai are inserted into their respective pockets in the scabbard.

Heart-shaped openwork pattern commonly found in tsuba and other sword fittings.

"My own style"; a supplementary inscription (soemei) that the Bakumatsu metal artist Tōryūsai Kiyotoshi cut beside his signature, with similar phrases such as Ga-ikkaku (我一格) and Ikka-shiki (一家式), to assert an independent manner.

Presentation-grade tsuba made as gifts to lords or high-ranking officials.