Title: Umetada-style, Ryu Zu Description Oval-shaped Tsuba that has Kozuka and Kougai holes. A dragon is engraved as if it is it emerged from the clouds. If you focus on one of this dragon’s hands, you will find that it brings a ball-shaped object. It is the Nyoi Houju (如意宝珠, Cintāmaṇi); a fantasy jewel that fulfills any desire, gives out treasure, clothes, food, and drink. Moreover, it heals illness and suffering, removes evils, purifies muddy water, and prevents disasters. It is said this magical item is taken from the brain of the king of the dragon. Initially, the dragon is an imaginary creature found in ancient traditions or myths. Furthermore, it is a symbolic beast of auspicious signs. Its body is likened to nine animals: antlers are deer, the head is a camel, eyes are demons, the neck is a snake, belly is the Mizuchi (蛟, mythical animal in Japan which looks like a snake and have a horn and four legs), scales are fish, claws are falcons, palms are tigers, and ears are cows. It was thought that the dragon would reign at the top of all animals because of its odd-looking appearance. Although the whole letters cannot be read, the engraved inscription tells us that this Tsuba was made by a Umetada (埋忠) school’s maker. We cannot appraise if this signature is authentic, but we would like to introduce the Umetada school here. The first Umetada: Umetada Myouju (埋忠 明寿) was born in Yamashiro-no Kuni (山城国, Kyoto Pref. today) as the Shigetaka (重隆)’s second son. The Umetada family was a distinguished family who produced excellent swordsmiths, and Myouju succeeded to the household headship. He firstly served under Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利義昭, 1537-1597, the 15th Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate), and later his works were admired by famous Samurais such as Oda Nobunaga (織田信長, 1534-1582), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉, 1537-1598), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, 1543-1616). The Umetada family was a prestigious school of metalworks in Kyoto. They produced both Japanese swords and sword mountings. *As this item is an antique, please check each photo and ensure its condition. What is Tsuba? Tsuba is the hand-guard of the Japanese sword. High-class Samurai wore his Katana sword with its beautiful sword mountings such as Tsuba. Tsuba’s front design tends to be more decorative as this part was often seen by other Samurais when he was walking on the streets. Why is it that the sword mounting was important for Samurai? The sword mountings of the Japanese sword have many kinds of decorations such as handguards (Tsuba), sword hilt (Menuki), pommel (Fuchi Kashira). The Japanese sword worked as a weapon and as an object to show who he was. For example, it shows their personalities and beliefs. You could say that it is like decorations for smartphones today. We recommend you zoom in on the pictures of the sword fittings. When you do so, you can see the skill of Japanese metal engraving techniques. They are mainly made of iron and copper with inlays of gold, silver, and bronze. When it comes to handguard (Tsuba), each one has a different outline and weight. These sword fittings that have lived with Japanese swords of the same age might be worth as much as the Japanese swords. They are inconspicuous parts of the Japanese sword. Nevertheless, if you are knowledgeable or particular about it, you will become a connoisseur of the Samurai. 【About us】 Samurai Museum is located in Tokyo, Japan, exhibiting antique artifacts related to the Samurai history. Samurai Museum Shop is the place for those who are interested in Japanese culture and craftsmanship. We deal with antique Samurai swords/armor, traditional crafts made in Japan and so on. 【Payment method】 We accept payment through Stripe (Credit card), PayPal , Apple Pay or ChromePay, all of which are secure payment methods. Also, you don’t need to make an account on Stripe for the checkout. If you prefer other payment method, please contact us. You may either pay in JPY , USD , AUD , CAD , EUR , CHF or GBP . The price i

Title: Umetada-style, Ryu Zu Description Oval-shaped Tsuba that has Kozuka and Kougai holes. A dragon is engraved as if it is it emerged from the clouds. If you focus on one of this dragon’s hands, you will find that it brings a ball-shaped object. It is the Nyoi Houju (如意宝珠, Cintāmaṇi); a fantasy jewel that fulfills any desire, gives out treasure, clothes, food, and drink. Moreover, it heals illness and suffering, removes evils, purifies muddy water, and prevents disasters. It is said this magical item is taken from the brain of the king of the dragon. Initially, the dragon is an imaginary creature found in ancient traditions or myths. Furthermore, it is a symbolic beast of auspicious signs. Its body is likened to nine animals: antlers are deer, the head is a camel, eyes are demons, the neck is a snake, belly is the Mizuchi (蛟, mythical animal in Japan which looks like a snake and have a horn and four legs), scales are fish, claws are falcons, palms are tigers, and ears are cows. It was thought that the dragon would reign at the top of all animals because of its odd-looking appearance. Although the whole letters cannot be read, the engraved inscription tells us that this Tsuba was made by a Umetada (埋忠) school’s maker. We cannot appraise if this signature is authentic, but we would like to introduce the Umetada school here. The first Umetada: Umetada Myouju (埋忠 明寿) was born in Yamashiro-no Kuni (山城国, Kyoto Pref. today) as the Shigetaka (重隆)’s second son. The Umetada family was a distinguished family who produced excellent swordsmiths, and Myouju succeeded to the household headship. He firstly served under Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利義昭, 1537-1597, the 15th Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate), and later his works were admired by famous Samurais such as Oda Nobunaga (織田信長, 1534-1582), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉, 1537-1598), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, 1543-1616). The Umetada family was a prestigious school of metalworks in Kyoto. They produced both Japanese swords and sword mountings. *As this item is an antique, please check each photo and ensure its condition. What is Tsuba? Tsuba is the hand-guard of the Japanese sword. High-class Samurai wore his Katana sword with its beautiful sword mountings such as Tsuba. Tsuba’s front design tends to be more decorative as this part was often seen by other Samurais when he was walking on the streets. Why is it that the sword mounting was important for Samurai? The sword mountings of the Japanese sword have many kinds of decorations such as handguards (Tsuba), sword hilt (Menuki), pommel (Fuchi Kashira). The Japanese sword worked as a weapon and as an object to show who he was. For example, it shows their personalities and beliefs. You could say that it is like decorations for smartphones today. We recommend you zoom in on the pictures of the sword fittings. When you do so, you can see the skill of Japanese metal engraving techniques. They are mainly made of iron and copper with inlays of gold, silver, and bronze. When it comes to handguard (Tsuba), each one has a different outline and weight. These sword fittings that have lived with Japanese swords of the same age might be worth as much as the Japanese swords. They are inconspicuous parts of the Japanese sword. Nevertheless, if you are knowledgeable or particular about it, you will become a connoisseur of the Samurai. 【About us】 Samurai Museum is located in Tokyo, Japan, exhibiting antique artifacts related to the Samurai history. Samurai Museum Shop is the place for those who are interested in Japanese culture and craftsmanship. We deal with antique Samurai swords/armor, traditional crafts made in Japan and so on. 【Payment method】 We accept payment through Stripe (Credit card), PayPal , Apple Pay or ChromePay, all of which are secure payment methods. Also, you don’t need to make an account on Stripe for the checkout. If you prefer other payment method, please contact us. You may either pay in JPY , USD , AUD , CAD , EUR , CHF or GBP . The price i