Date Masamune tsuba
For the tsuba collector, the enthusiast wishing to create a custom sword or the sword owner wishing to customize an existing sword, Hanwei had created a line of katana tsuba replicating renowned pieces from museum collections. Each piece was authentically crafted in iron with gold detailing and has an antique finish that makes it difficult to differentiate from museum-conserved originals. Some minor fitting work may be necessary to adapt these tsuba to individual katana tangs but this can be easily accomplished. The tsuba is supplied in a fitted wooden case that is in itself an attractive means of display.
The Tsuba is the hand-guard of the japanese sword also called Katana.
The Tsuba changed of utility over time from hand-guard to sword ornament. Indeed, during the Muromachi (1333-1573) and Momoyama period (1573-1603) they were more functional, made in solid metals and of very simple design, then came the Edo period (1603-1868) and his era of peace who made the Tsuba an ornament, which made their designs becoming increasingly aestheticized, but less practical for combat.
Tsuba were made by family specialized in its production and was often transmitted from generation to generation. Many families had their samurai crest or "mon" inlaid or engraved on them.
Today those Tsuba are very valued collectible.
Date Masamune(September 5, 1567 - June 27, 1636) was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful daimyo in the Tohoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all the more iconic for his missing eye. A case of smallpox attacked his eye and would have killed him had he not gouged out his own eye. For this, Masamune was often called dokuganryu, or the "one-eyed dragon".
