Jesuit Christian Symbol Tsuba - (Judged as "Tokei")
NBTHK Hozon
Dimensions: 7.2 cm x 7.2 cm 5 mm seppa-dai and 4.5 mimi
This is an iron suakshi tsuba in the theme of a Jesuit Christian symbol. The paper states "Tokei", which is a clock gear. Traditionally, this theme has been seen as "Tokei" in Japan. But modern research, see Fred Guyer's studies in the 2006 Kokusai Tosogu Kai book, have shed new light on this theme. This sunburst is the IHS monogram, an ancient way of writing Jesus Christ. This tsuba looks like Owari work in the IHS theme based on my studies and observations of tsuba. NBTHK Hozon paper to "Tokei" issued in 2000. This falls into an exciting area of new research and is a high quality example.
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