Tsuba with Yoshitsune Learning to Fence from the Tengu King

Description The mythical creature at the right of this tsuba is Sôjobô, the king of the Tengu. Tengu are mischievous creatures who live in the forest and mountains. Sôjobô sits in a cypress tree, holding a feather fan. He is watching over the action on the other side of the tsuba where his tengu subjects are teaching Yoshitsune to fence. This scene is incised into the tsuba body. Yoshitsune is a late Heian period warrior who is the son and half-brother of powerful warriors. His father was killed when Yoshitsune was a baby. Yoshitsune's exploits with his companion Benkei are popular stories.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Signature] 政盧鐫; [Transliteration] Masayoshi horu; [Translation] Cast by Masayoshi

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters