Knife Handle (Kozuka)
Unknown Artist
ca. 1615–1868
Medium
Copper-gold alloy (shakudō), enamel, gold, silver
Dimensions
L. 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm); W. 9/16 in. (1.4 cm); thickness 1/4 in. (0.6 cm); Wt. 1.2 oz. (34 g)
Classification
Sword Furniture-Kozuka
Culture
Japanese
Department
Arms and Armor
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
Accession Number
91.1.840
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant *kozuka*, or knife handle, hails from Japan during the Edo period (ca. 1615–1868), a time of relative peace under the Tokugawa shogunate when samurai culture flourished. Measuring just 3¾ inches long, it served as the hilt for a small utility knife (*koshō*), tucked into the scabbard a samurai's katana or wakizashi. Though functional, such fittings were prized status symbols, transforming weapons into wearable art. Crafted from *shakudō*—a copper-gold alloy famed for its deep, iridescent black-blue patina achieved through heat treatment and chemicals—the handle is enriched with e...