Tomoe Umebachi Tsuba - T001

This made in Japan Tsuba features a double comma and plum flowers.
The comma shape "Tomoe" is a representing the Magatama, a prehistoric Japanese symbol that was re-implemented in the myth of the imperial Regalia as represented in the Kojiki. The Magatama were described as divine jewels (often made of jade) and had implications in various religious tales. One of the divine Magatama is still one of the 3 imperial regalia that remain in the hands of the emperor. For this reasons, the Tomoe is very commonly used in Japanese heraldic crests.
The fruit of the Japanese apricot tree, or Prunus mume, is used in juices, as a flavouring for alcohol, as a pickle and in sauces and is also used in traditional medicine. An Superstition says that eating the fruit for breakfast staves off misfortune. Plum blossoms are often mentioned in Japanese poetry as a symbol of spring. Plum blossom were prefered by the Japanese until the Heian period, in which the cherry blossom (Sakura) was preferred. It is considered as a charm against evil, and the tree is often planted in the northeast of the gardens, the direction from which evil is supposed to come.

• Material: Blackened iron
• Weight: 97 g
• Vertical height: 78 mm
• Horizontal width: 78 mm
• Thickness: 4 mm