Very Old Antique Japanese Tsuba / Handguard for Katana Sword • Signed, 1600s?

Description

This is a really great iron tsuba that would have fit on a full-sized Japanese katana. It has a very nice cutout design and a hole for the kozuka. There are copper pieces which show that it was refitted to a different blade some time in its life. It is clearly signed but I have not translated the maker. It measures 3" in diameter x 1-1/16" thick and weighs 3.9 oz. The cutout for the blade is 29 mm long x 9 mm wide at the widest. It has a nice, old patina and would look great on any sword. I do not know the exact date because I never translated the characters but I'm guessing it is probably late 1600s from the style. Guaranteed 100% authentic antique tsuba.
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