A cosmopolitan taste

As we have seen previously, certain details of the tsuba’s materiality hint to the complex network of East Asian maritime trade. In fact, the wash of the waves is not the only element which speaks of the adoption or movement of material objects, artistic styles and motifs. Two other details convey these ideas in this tsuba: the rim of the guard, and the octagonal area surrounding the tang hole.

The tsuba’s beaded rim is not traditionally seen on Japanese sword guards, and is instead found on their Chinese counterparts: it was only later adopted by Japanese and East-Asian craftsmen. https://www.mandarinmansion.com/item/chinese-loukong-sword-guard

The area around the tang hole depicts a pattern of waves: this decoration is also not found on traditional Japanese tsuba. It seems to be more commonly found on sword guards crafted as objects of trade in East-Asia (either to or from Japan).[Mandarinmansion]

Given these elements and the Dutch style of the decoration, this object can be categorized as a “nanban tsuba”, literally a “Southern barbarian sword guard”, a category which includes both sword guards made by Japanese craftsmen influenced by foreign designs, as well as sword guards made in other East Asian countries intended for Japanese customers. Given the state of research, this tsuba might belong to either of these subcategories.

Either way, the tsuba stands out not only for its beautiful and luxurious craftsmanship, but also as an object that resulted from East-Asian maritime trade. This is even more interesting given the time frame in which the tsuba was made: it coincides with the Japanese politics of “sakoku” (usually translated as “closed country”), which forbade the Japanese from being in contact and trading with foreigners other than the Dutch, the Chinese and a few other Asian countries.

Given these politics, Edo period Japan is usually described as closed and isolated. Objects such as these tsuba can challenge the closed country approach, and open up research on how much actual trade and interest in foreign countries was taking place in Japan during this time period.