Nine tsuba (sword guards) Edo period (1615-1868), 18th to 19th century The first of shakudo, lobed mokkogata outline, chiselled with chrysanthemums embellished with gold; the second of iron, circular, pierced and chiselled with a horse and bamboo, signed Esshu no ju Myochin Yoshihisa (Myochin Yoshihisa of Echizen Province); the third of iron, circular, chiselled and inlaid in gold, silver, and other metals with Shoshi riding a dragon and carrying a qin or koto, the reverse with birds and waves; the fourth of iron, circular, pierced and chiselled with flowering chrysanthemums embellished with gilding, signed Echizen no ju Shoami saku (Made by Shoami of Echizen [Province]), the fifth of iron, pierced, chiselled, and inlaid with sennin in and under a pine tree, signed Soheishi Nyudo Soten sei; the sixth of iron, formed as dragons surrounding the seppa-dai, indistinctly signed; the seventh of iron, lobed mokkogata outline, chiselled and inlaid as a piece of rotten wood reinforced with metal ties and infested with insects, indistinctly signed Aizu [...] Shoami Ikko; the eighth of iron, aoigata outline, chiselled and gilded with dragons and waves, signed Esshu no ju Yoshihisa saku (Made by Yoshihisa of Echizen Province); the last of iron, oval, pierced and chiselled with hares leaping over waves, embellished with silver dots of spray. The smallest: 6.3cm (2½in); the largest: 8.4cm (3 5/16in). (9).