Tsuba with monk in the snow
This sword guard depicts a young monk who is caught in a snowstorm while fetching water. The snowstorm is represented here with silver inlays. The monk is carved in raised relief with coloured metal inlays, and snow is already gathering on his straw hat.
Opposite the monk is a relief inscription with the words ‘Agami mo hito no ko’, which roughly means ‘Gods are only human too’.
On the reverse side are only individual snowflakes worked in silver and the artist’s cartouche. Engraved in gold is the inscription ‘Kōsō Toshiyoshi horu’. Toshiyoshi lived in the 19th century and was a pupil of Tanaka Kiyotoshi (1804-1876).