Metalwork has both artistic and practical value in Japanese culture and both are present in weaponry. Japanese sword mountings serve not only practical but also decorative purposes, and often express the producer’s and bearer’s unique personalities. A similar connection between beauty and the bushidō samurai code can be seen in the features of this bronze statue of an archer. The figure is inlaid in non-ferrous metals and alloys. Its artist, metal chaser Yoshimitsu, originally produced sword adornments, but when the samurai status was abolished, he focused on work for Western clients. The archer’s dynamic pose logically reflects a European taste and approach to figural sculpture, but his focused expression also displays the rigid dramatic character of Japanese portrait art.