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Source Description
In the Buddhist pantheon, Bishamonten is the chief of the four Guardian Kings who guard the cardinal directions. He protects the north and is shown holding a lance and a small pagoda. The pagoda symbolizes a treasure house of spiritual wealth that he protects. He also appears as one of the seven gods of good fortune in folk beliefs. In that context, he is considered the god of warriors. This makes him a particularly appropriate decoration for a tsuba. The reverse shows a pine tree, which is also considered a sign of good fortune. The branches from this pine tree appear along the upper border of the front side, as well.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
17841
label
Tsuba with Bishamonten
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
17841
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Tsuba with Bishamonten
description
In the Buddhist pantheon, Bishamonten is the chief of the four Guardian Kings who guard the cardinal directions. He protects the north and is shown holding a lance and a small pagoda. The pagoda symbolizes a treasure house of spiritual wealth that he protects. He also appears as one of the seven gods of good fortune in folk beliefs. In that context, he is considered the god of warriors. This makes him a particularly appropriate decoration for a tsuba. The reverse shows a pine tree, which is also considered a sign of good fortune. The branches from this pine tree appear along the upper border of the front side, as well.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
19th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Arms & Armor
tsubas
sword components
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
6.6
height
6.1
depth
0.2
dimensionsRaw
2 9/16 x 2 3/8 x 1/16 in. (6.55 x 6.1 x 0.22 cm)
Source extras
cul
Japanese
inscriptions
none
med
shibuichi, gold, copper
creator_ids
6194
collection_ids
JMA
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
53f5576d796888c7
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
640752ed4bdc67f5
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no