Egret Tsuba
Even in times of war there were always some tsuba which were more for show
than for action. With the accession of the Tokugawa shogunate such tsuba became
more commonplace and decoration began to take an ever increasing role in the
making of tsuba.
Techniques reached new heights. Yujo Goto in the 16th century is frequently
credited for this. The workmanship of many guards from this time is often astonishing
in its conveyance of detail, texture, color and contrast. Its probably fair
to say that these tsuba represent the finest soft metal work of all time.
As time goes by however we see more and more tsuba with the body made entirely
in soft metals such as copper or shakudo. The more frequent use of the all soft
metal body represented a decadence in the art because it no longer had the functional
integrity of battle tested iron. Decline was accelerated in the mid ninteeth
century when the Samurai class was abolished. Many tsuba makers drifted into
other persuits such as making knick knacks for the tourist trade. |