Antique MYOCHIN TSUBA iron samurai sword guard #5069

- width: approx. 8.42cm (3 5⁄16in) x 9.19cm (3 5⁄8in)

- thickness: approx. 1cm (25⁄64in) - 0.2cm (5⁄64in)

- center hole: approx. 0.9cm (23⁄64in) x 3.04cm (1 13⁄64in)

- weight: 168g

- carved letters: Myochin Munetoshi lives in Tosa

Munetoshi was a tsuba craftsman from Tosa Province. Originally, the Myochin family, to which he belonged, were primarily armorers. However, with the arrival of peaceful times in the Edo period, the demand for armor, gauntlets, and face guards decreased, leading them to shift their focus to producing sword fittings such as tsuba and matching metal fittings. Among the armorers, including Haruda, Mamen, Nagasone, and Myochin, there are still existing masterpieces in sword fittings. Specifically, within the Tosa Myochin school, they excelled in imitating Higo tsuba, Akasaka tsuba, and Nobuya tsuba, creating works of such high quality that they would be considered genuine even if the signatures were erased. Munetoshi lived around the Tenmei to Kansei era (1781-1789) and was a skilled craftsman active in the early days of this school. The method of manufacturing from before the mid-Edo period involved layering and forging three metal plates together. When viewed from the side, this tsuba appears to be made of three layers.