Six Echizen tsuba (sword guards) Edo period (1615-1868), 17th to 19th century All of iron, circular or roughly circular, and made in Echizen Province, the first pierced and chiselled with vine leaves and tendrils, signed Esshu no ju Myochin Yoshihisa saku (Made by Myochin Yoshihisa of Echizen Province); the second pierced and chiselled with peony blossoms and leaves, signed Echizen no ju Kinai saku (Made by Kinai of Echizen [Province]); the third pierced and chiselled in the round with a flowering prunus tree, the blossoms gilded, signed as the second; the fourth modelled as an aoi-mon (hollyhock crest) and stylised bird, signed as the second; the fifth and last similar to the second. The smallest: 7cm (2¾in); the largest: 8cm (3 1/8in). (6).