^Lot 909a Japanese 'Eichizen Kinai' Tsuba.

Edo era iron Maru-Gata katana Tsuba Signed "Echizen Kinai". (Feint) With an openwork maple leaf design with soft brass alloy rim. Diameter 2½". Kinai school of Echizen (17th to 19th century). Possibly a branch of the Miochin (Group IV), this family was founded by Ishikawa Kinai, who moved from Kioto to Echizen province [Japanese text] and died in 1680. The succeeding masters, however, bore the surname of Takahashi. All sign only Kinai [Japanese text], with differences in the characters used and in the manner of writing them. Signed Echizen no ju Kinai saku (“made by Kinai, residing in Echizen province”),