Tsuba

The tsuba (鍔) is the round guard at the end of the grip of the arm. They contribute to the control of the sabre (the right index of the fighter typically touches the tsuba), and to the protection of the hand. The Chudan no Kamae guard http://www.halifaxkendo.org/images/kamae/Chudan.jpg is determined by the tsuba and the curvature of the blade.

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Tsuba are usually finely decorated, and nowadays are collectors' items. Tsuba were made by whole dynasties of craftsmen, whose only craft was making tsuba. They were usually lavishly decorated. In addition to being collectors items, they were often used as heirlooms, passed from one generation to the next. Japanese families with samurai roots sometimes have their family crest (mon) crafted onto a tsuba. Tsuba can be found in a variety of metals and alloys, including iron, steel, brass, copper and shakudo.

Related Topics:
Families - Samurai - Shakudo

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In a duel, two men may lock their katana and try to push each other off to gain a better position to strike the other down. As this is a precursor to an actual attack, a standoff before a more important fight is called Tsubazeriai (鍔迫り合い), lit. clash with tsuba. For example, when a newly-wed goes with her husband for a brief stay at her stepmother, a seemingly casual praise about her clothes can be a veiled insult for spending too much money on her own and she might retaliate by saying that her stepmother always looks the same. Such a minor clash could be called tsubazeriai by those not involved in one.

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In modern Japanese, Tsubazeriai (鍔迫り合い) has become an expression meaning "to prepare doing something".

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