Saihai Motif Daisho Tsuba Set Signed Akagiken Oyama Motozane (kao). Saihai (signaling baton) motif NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Certifcate PRICE JP￥2,400,000-

Oyama Motozane trained in Edo before returning home to Mito to polish his skills under his father Motonori. Motozane would later go on to elevate the Akagiken school and the fame of Mito metalwork across the country.
These daisho tsuba boldly depict saihai (signalling batons) across the faces of the tsuba. Both the dai and the sho are crafted with remarkable detail, artistic inscription, and heavy gold inlay attesting to the superb skill of Motozane. The saihai depicted on the tsuba are extremely ornate and suitable for a Shogun…
Saihai were batons carried as signs of rank and were used by military commanders to give the signal for an attack.
A saihai usually consisted of a wood stick with metal ends. The end section had a hole for a cord for the saihai to be fastened to samurai armor the samurai when not being used to signal the attack. The top fitting of the saihai had a hole with a cord attached to a tassel of strips of lacquered paper, leather, cloth, or possibly yak hair. The saihai first came into use during the 1570s and the 1590s between the Genki and Tensho year periods as large troop movements and full battlefield engagements required commanders in the rear to be able to signal their troops during a battle.
These are of juyo quality and should be submitted to the next shinsa

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