Higo Style Namako Tsuba with Odawara Rim

The stylistic cutouts of this tsuba are a representation of "sea cucumbers" or namako.  This design is of Higo school origins and is also often referred to as a "Musashi" tsuba due to the one of this type attributed to the famous swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi who also crafted various works of sculpture and sword fittings.  The rim is a unique design called an "Odawara Fukurin" inspired by the folding lanterns of the Odawara region. 

This tsuba is very much alike with another on my site of the same rim design, and I believe these came from the same maker, however they were, in my opinion, produced (or at least modified) within the last 50 or 60 years.  Certainly, this could be a debateable issue, and the pricing of it reflects less than what it would cost to have a similar one made by a current tsuba maker. 

The central plate is a warm toned copper and the rim is silver.  The rim, as is proper with fukurin is not soldered to the plate, but affixed by careful crimping.  It moves very slightly in place as is common with this style.