Ko-Kinko – Fishes in Waves

An old kinko work in shakudo from the Momoyama period. On either side we see three fish swimming in a stormy sea full of raging waves. What makes this tanto tsuba a great study piece is the uttori, the technique the fish and some splashes of angry gout are gilded with gold.
The waves pour over the fukurin and decorate it completely, while the fukurin itself, like the hitsu-ana, is slightly offset by a small gap. In my opinion this makes the tsuba appear more elegant.

This tsuba is from the collection of the famous kodogu collector Kokobu Kenichi.