The (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 Chodan no Kamae guard [1] is determined by the tsuba and the curvature of the blade.

Tsuba are usually finely decorated, and nowadays are collectors' items. 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 crafted onto a tsuba.

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 seemeingly 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.

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

See also

• katana
• saya
• Tanka

Images