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Decoration is by piercing and shows two cranes, with body and wings more stylized, less realistic than the heads, which face each other. Being the symbol of longevity, the crane is frequently depicted in Japanese art. The abstract sense of Japanese art comes through in this tsuba, where form is barely insinuated, forcing a high decorative sense to the maximum. This is surely the representation of a mon, or family crest. According to professor Torralba, it is the Hirohashi coat of arms, and the crest of the noble Takeya, Toyama and Toyooka clans. (Fernando García Gutiérrez, 2008)

Selected bibliography

• Caeiro Izquierdo, Luis. La Cultura Samurai : armas japonesas en las colecciones españolas [tesis inédita]. Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 1991.
• Pereda, Arantxa. La Colección Palacio : arte japonés en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 1998. p. 44, n° cat. 17.
• García Gutiérrez, Fernando. "Tsuba : Japoniako zaldunen ezaugarri bat. Tsuba bilduma Bilboko Arte Eder Museoan = Un signo distintivo de los caballeros de Japón. Colección de tsuba en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao = The Mark of the Kinghts of Japan. The Tsuba Collection at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum", B'07 : Buletina = Boletín = Bulletin, n° 3. 2008. pp. 101-159.
• Arte japonés y japonismo [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 148, 508-511, 513, 515, 520, n° cat. 12.
• Francisco Durrio, 1868-1940 : sobre las huellas de Gauguin [Cat. exp.]. Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2013. p. 125.