Tsuba (sword guard) decorated with snakes motif and rasterizing

The sword was not only a weapon, but also a Japanese warrior’s adornment. Its parts and accessories, such as the sword guards, tsuba, small knife, kozuka, hair arranger, kōgai, scabbard end piece, kojiri, handle ornament, menuki, sword hilt cap, kashira, and guard metal collar, fuchi, have always been major examples of Japanese artistic craft.