Design query

[kissakai]

I can see the key fret design but I believe it was never used as a mon

It is the top and bottom shapes I don't understand. I did think of clippers but the shape is wrong

Tongs?

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Grev, they are Hōju power balls. The Kura key and Hōju are symbols of the Inari fox gods.

At the Inari Shrine in Kyōto you can see the foxes carrying both symbols.

[kissakai]

WOW that was quick

As these were unknown to me as they are those found on a Google search

 

Mandala of the Mani hoju, the Jewel that Removes Misfortune
MANI HOJU MANDARA ZUSHI E
摩尼宝珠曼荼羅厨子絵 MANDALA OF THE MANI HOJU, THE JEWEL THAT REMOVES MISFORTUNE
Japanese, MEIJI ERA, 19TH CENTURY, PHOTO CREDIT: MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON

Known as the hōju 宝珠 or hōju-no-tama 宝珠の玉 or nyoi houju 如意宝珠 in Japan, this jewel signifies the bestowal of blessings on all who suffer, for it grants wishes, pacifies desires, and brings clear understanding of the Dharma (Buddhist law). In Japan, the hoju is often appears as giboshi bridge ornaments and are said to resemble the onion domes seen in Western or Baltic cultures, however, they are mostly likely the form of the peach which is the fruit symbolic of immortality and healing (known from the myths and legends of the ancient chronicles of Japan).

One of the oldest known forms of the hoju is the jewel (called kuurin) atop a simple stupa called the gorinto or sotoba. The gorinto was originally a stupa structure component of a mausoleum built over a sacred area and usually containing a relic of either the Buddha or a revered teacher. Over time, exterior forms of the sotoba of China, Tibet and India changed, but the sotoba always included symbolic shapes integral to the doctrine of the godai Five Elements, Mahabhuta. This is the doctrine of Five Elements of Indian origin, that the physical body, being composed of five elements, would in death return to them.  Given that the hoju jewel was used in the mausoleum context, the “jewel” may actually originally have been symbolic of the magical peach of immortality for those going into the afterlife, the peach that Izanagi lobbed at the hags of hell or as a magical amulet to keep the “hungry ghosts” at bay.

The mani hoju or jewel is also found on top of railing structures called giboju or giboshi　擬宝珠, particularly older bridges built in ancient Japan. The giboju is a decoration made of bronze, wood, tile, brass or iron that is found on top of the newel, an upright post structure of oyabashira 親柱, of railings *kouran 高欄, bridges, and platforms *dan

[Bugyotsuji]

What size is that tsuba, Grev?

[kissakai]

85 x 86 x 5.20mm

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Ah thanks. Quite large then!