Tsuba with New Year's Decorations

Description The objects on the tsuba are part of the decoration and celebration of New Years. On the right, three rice cakes are stacked on a stand with a branch of flowering plum behind them. At the lower left are pine boughs, which symbolize longevity. On the reverse is a fish head on a stick and holly leaves. This is a decoration that was attached to door frames to ward off demons.

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

Inscriptions [Signature] 知壽; [Translation] Tomotoshi (kao)

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters