Many tsuba designs revolve around gods & demons or mythical creatures such as the dragon, phoenix, and kirin, or natural phenomenon like waves, clouds, and landscapes others revolve around animals such as the tiger, crane, and insects, or even plants like flowers and trees. Close ups of individual tsuba reveal the amount of detail that they may have (Pictures 5 - 8). While many new tsuba are cast to meet demands, antiques are on display in museums (Picture 4).
![iaido phoenix iaido phoenix](https://docplayer.nl/docs-images/93/113123656/images/7-5.jpg)
The third picture shows that there can be very slight variations between each design pattern. Many sword and accessory stores allow customers to browse a variety of tsuba via these numbered catalogues. Some customers are first time sword buyers picking out the fittings of their blades, while others are looking for replacements to swap the old tsuba out. The first two pictures are from a Japanese catalogue of tsuba. Similarly, you’d be wrong if you thought saya (sheath) was just one component and could not be further broken down! All of this information may be quite overwhelming, so let’s look at specific parts individually. As you can see, while the handle appears quite simple, it is actually quite intricate. Menuki (grip ornaments) are also fitted underneath the tsuka-ito as decorations and also for extra grip, and a kashira (pommel) is also secured at the end of the hilt by the tsuka-ito. It is a wooden piece wrapped by samegawa (ray skin), which is further wrapped with tsuka-ito (hilt wrap generally made of cotton, leather, or silk).
![iaido phoenix iaido phoenix](https://www.kendo-sport.de/images/product_images/info_images/526_1.jpg)
![iaido phoenix iaido phoenix](https://kenshindojo.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/morgan-dojo-2.jpg)
The handle is pegged to the sword with mekugi (peg) through the mekugi-ana (peg hole). The sword is also divided along its length, and below the tsuba (handguard), the tsuka (handle) hides even more pieces. Even just at the tip of the blade, close to 20 different divisions can be identified. A quick glance at the photos on the slideshow to the left reveals that there are many technical terms to denote different parts of the sword.