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TSU221 Phoenix Tsuba
In Japan, as earlier in China, the mythical Phoenix was adopted as a symbol of the imperial household, this mystical bird represents fire, the sun, justice, obedience, fidelity.
This is According to legend, the Hō-ō bird / Phoenix appears very rarely, and only to mark the beginning of a new era - the birth of a virtuous ruler, for example. In other traditions, the Hō-ō appears only in peaceful and prosperous times (nesting, it is said, in paulownia trees), and hides itself when there is trouble. As the herald of a new age, the Hō-ō decends from heaven to earth to do good deeds, and then it returns to its celestial abode to await a new era. It is both a symbol of peace (when the bird appears) and a symbol of disharmony (when the bird disappears). In China, early artifacts show the Phoenix (female) as intimately associated with the Dragon (male) -- the two are portrayed either as mortal enemies or as blissful lovers. When shown together, the two symbolize both conflict and wedded bliss, and are a common design motif even today in many parts of Asia.
鳳 = Fèng, Male Phoenix 凰 = Huáng, Female Phoenix
The Asian Phoenix should not be confused with the Phoenix found in Egyptian and Greek mythology - that is a bird of completely different features and traditions. The Arabian-Western Phoenix, is a solitary creature - only one of its kind. When it dies, it dies in flames, and from the ashes is born the next phoenix.
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