Hi guys

Check out this B&W pic of a Tang Dynasty sword disc guard shaped like flower-shaped bronze mirrors of those ancient times...



Compare with an actual antique Tang Dynasty foliate mirror....



The disc guard is preserved in a Japanese temple and is identified as Chinese; as can be seen from page 16 of the Japanese language book "The metallurgy of ancient swordblades".

Seems like that is taken from a straight dao 直刀 not a double-bladed sword.

oh wow, I can definitely see where Japan got it.

Do you have any more? What time did it come from? Most Tang sword guards I've seen seem to be very small anyways.

You know, even in the latest college textbooks in the US, they all are really lacking in how Chinese and Japanese swords are related.

is that just a hollow ring? as the inside is the same color as the background.

I don't really know much about Chinese hand guards, it seems most were very small or non-existant like on some Han swords, then we get those round shaped ones that show up in wushu. I guess they came around in Tang?

Yes... The guard above is a hollow ring...

here's the pics.

the ones that resemble those Tang guards at the top, the book 'arms and armor' (Cameron Stone) says they're called Shitogi Tsuba. The book's info is dated so there's no connection made to Chinese designs, but it says....

"an early form of guard which was used on ceremonial tachi long after its use was discontinued on fighting swords. The original shape is said to be derived from the ritual rice cake, called shitogi, which was made by squeezing a handful of cooked rice as to leave the impression of the fingers in it. Although this guard is made of considerable thickness it is narrow and afforded little protection for the hand. It was therefore supplemented by a loop of metal on each side"



the guards underneath it, no.2 is of Chinese make, resembles any other Japanese design