This is a tsuba, or sword guard, of mumei (unsigned) status. It features a Hyotan-sukashi (gourd openwork) and Arare-zogan (hailstone inlay) design. The tsuba is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu by the NBTHK and dates to the Late Muromachi period.
Certificate reading — 無銘（応仁）
NihontoWatchBETAmumei · mid Muromachi (c. 1400-1450)
Onin School
mid Muromachi (c. 1400-1450)
Unsigned
Tokuho (NBTHK)
Iron-tsuba · Kyoto
The Ōnin school represents a distinctive category of late Muromachi period tsuba characterized by their unsigned status and their integration of thin iron plate construction with brass inlay decoration. While the name suggests a connection to the Ōnin era (1467–1469), contemporary scholarship places these works more broadly within the later Muromachi period. Learn more →
A Hozon-certified fitting of notably superior craftsmanship and condition, often with signature or workmanship of high reference value.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
This is a tsuba, or sword guard, of mumei (unsigned) status. It features a Hyotan-sukashi (gourd openwork) and Arare-zogan (hailstone inlay) design. The tsuba is certified as Tokubetsu Hozon Tosogu by the NBTHK and dates to the Late Muromachi period.
Certificate reading — 無銘（応仁）
NihontoWatchBETAmumei · mid Muromachi (c. 1400-1450)
Onin School
mid Muromachi (c. 1400-1450)
Unsigned
Tokuho (NBTHK)
Iron-tsuba · Kyoto
The Ōnin school represents a distinctive category of late Muromachi period tsuba characterized by their unsigned status and their integration of thin iron plate construction with brass inlay decoration. While the name suggests a connection to the Ōnin era (1467–1469), contemporary scholarship places these works more broadly within the later Muromachi period. Learn more →
A Hozon-certified fitting of notably superior craftsmanship and condition, often with signature or workmanship of high reference value.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official siteNo cooling-off period or returns; refund only if the purchased sword is proven fake, capped at purchase price (excludes commission sales, accessories, auction items).
