Tsuba Nagamaru Gata - The Poet Jittoku And His Broom

Saber hilt in sentoku-do (golden-tinted brass) in nagamaru gata (oval) shape, decorated in katakiri bori (chiselling technique imitating painting in Indian ink) and in silver taka-zogan. The decor depicts the poet Jittoku sweeping the ground, two butterflies, and a pine branch. The poet Jittoku is a Taoist character taken from a Chinese legend, always represented with a broom. He is traditionally accompanied by his friend Kanzan, who carries a scroll. Two holes are drilled in the tsuba, the kogai hitsu aa and the kizuka hitsu ana, used to pass the top of the handles of the kogai and kozuka, when the sword is in its scabbard.