Download or read book Japanese Swords including Katana Wakizashi and Tanto Sword fittings including Tsuba Fuchi kashira Kozuka Kogai and Menuki Arms and Armour written by Christie, Manson and Woods (London) and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Koshirae Japanese Sword Mountings written by Markus Sesko and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-10-23 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With this publication I try to systematically and comprehensively process the subject of ,,Japanese sword mountings". It was not my goal to depict as many extant interpretations of sword mountings as possible but to deal with their different styles. With this publication the reader will be informed in which way the Japanese swords were mounted over time, the origins of the various styles, what changes they underwent and it will also serve as a reference material to classify extant specimen. In this sense the descriptions were embedded in an explanation of their historical context rather then listing them simply by their interpretation or in alphabetical order. As the main focus lies on ,,koshirae", explanations on the sword fittings - the tosogu - were omitted because their descriptions can be easily found elsewhere. Also, the military mountings - the gunto-koshirae - were left out because there are excellent publications available which deal with them in great detail.

Download or read book The G da Collection of Japanese Sword Fittings written by Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). Gōda Collection and published by . This book was released on 1924 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book written by 稲田和彦 and published by Nuinui (Editions). This book was released on 2015-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Masterpieces forged by Japanese artisans accompanied by a glossary of specialised terms and a highly informative commentary. Discover ten ancient Japanese swords in museum collections reproduced in all their splendid detail on double pages with gatefolds plus forty-five additional Japanese swords plus thirty-five accessories and handles. SELLING POINTS: * Fans of traditional Japanese swords, katana and war customs shouldn't miss this book! * Detailed texts by the greatest specialised Japanese authors and scholars * All the swords were chosen in the main Japanese museums for their historical and artistic significance * Stunning photos, taken with special permission from the museums, reproduce the swords in splendid detail and in their original sizes * A highly-informative commentary accompanies each sword, including information on the master who forged it and on its historical and artistic significance * Printed in Japan with high-quality graphic arts Includes 20 double spread gatefolds

Download or read book Intrinsic Values of the Japanese Sword written by Michael DeMarco, M.A. and published by Via Media Publishing. This book was released on 2015-10-03 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The famed samurai sword (nihonto) represents the pinnacle of bladed weaponry in the Japanese warrior’s arsenal. This book addresses the sword’s intrinsic historic, monetary, military, and artistic values. The seven chapters for this particular anthology were selected from materials published in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts. Tharp’s chapter details aspects of the nihonto that make it unique in the world as a valued objet d’art, protected by law codes specifically written to preserve these cultural relics even when made by contemporary master smiths. DiCristofano writes on sword sketchings, which allow the human eye to view details of the sword blade often unnoticed because of the subtlety inherent in the work. Hoshino’s chapter presents a overview of various blade types. His focus on blades leads to the next chapter by Richard Babin on how to make a scabbard. “Test cutting” provides proof of the practicalily of the sword and swordsman’s technique. Peter Ward utilized an ancient diagram of main targets for body cuts and modern technology to actually view the inner structures of the blade’s path along these targets. Peritz’s chapter presents the Ainu, an indigenous group in Japan. They incorporated blades made by Japanese smiths according to their own taste. Goedkoop’s chapter deals with another medium, as the master craftsman creates wooden replicas of Japanese swords. As you read other books and articles about Japanese swords, or practice kendo or iaido, or see highly polished blades in a museum, the chapters here will enhance your knowledge and appreciation of nihonto and their intrinsic value.

Download or read book The Art of the Japanese Sword written by Yoshindo Yoshihara and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2012-09-10 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Art of the Japanese Sword, master swordsmith Yoshindo Yoshihara offers a detailed look at the entire process of Japanese sword making, including the finishing and appreciation of Japanese blades. Japanese sword art stands out in many ways: functionality as a weapon, sophisticated metallurgy and metalsmithing, the shape of the blade itself—all contribute to the beauty of these remarkable weapons. The Art of the Japanese Sword conveys to the reader Japanese samurai sword history and Japanese sword care, as well as explaining how to view and appreciate a blade. With 256 full-color pages, this sword book illustrates in meticulous detail how modern craftsmen use traditional methods to prepare their steel, forge the sword and create the unique hardened edge. By gaining a good understanding of how a sword is made, the reader will be able to appreciate the samurai sword more fully. Topics include: Appreciating the Japanese sword History of the Japanese sword Traditional Japanese steelmaking Making the sword Finishing the sword

Download or read book Katana written by DH Publishing Inc and published by DH Publishing. This book was released on 2007-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A full-color catalog of replica Japanese swords that readers can actually purchase by mail order.

Download or read book Swords of the Samurai written by Victor Harris and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Connoisseur s Book of Japanese Swords written by Kokan Nagayama and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2017-01-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recently Japanese swords have gained enormous popularity as art objects with collectors and enthusiasts around the world, but until now much of the most detailed information on the subject has been available only in Japanese. This comprehensive guide to the appreciation and appraisal of the blades of Japanese swords provides, at last, all the background that readers need to become true connoisseurs. The book is organized along historical lines for the sake of clarity and convenience, and its approach is always practical. Broad discussions of each tradition within the Gokaden focus on the features that distinguish specific schools and smiths—the various kinds of jihada, hamon, boshi, and hataraki favored in different periods and regions—making this an invaluable reference tool for all enthusiasts, especially those who wish to take part in kantei-kai, or sword appreciation meetings. Each section closes with an easy reference chart summarizing the distinctive features of the work of various schools and smiths. The chapter on terminology gives advice on what to look for when examining the different parts of a blade, again making reference to the unique features of particularly significant smiths. The chapter on care and appraisal of blades tells precisely how to handle blades and what to expect at a sword appraisal meeting, including an explanation of all the various responses that a judge may give in response to a bid. Richly illustrated throughout with more than 550 of the author's own painstaking oshigata illustrations—sword tracings onto which details are penciled in by hand—The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords is easily the most informative and comprehensive guide to the blades of Japanese swords ever to appear in English. Kokan Nagayama, who is widely recognized as one of the foremost living sword polishers, compiled the notes for this book over the course of many years spent teaching the arts of polishing and appraisal. Nagayama-sensei is widely recognized as one of the foremost living sword polishers and is a veteran teacher of both polishing and appraisal. Here in one accessible volume he distills the store of knowledge he has gained over a lifetime of intensive research. "Nagayama-sensei and his senior pupils have for many years now taken an enlightened approach to study of Japanese swords outside of Japan. They have been of great assistance to collectors here in Great Britain and in other countries, traveling and living abroad, organizing exhibitions, teaching us and polishing our swords, always in an altruistic spirit. This translation is another example of this same approach. In the past we have often struggled on our own or in small groups to gain an understanding of this peculiarly Japanese cultural asset, and with many of the definitive books on the subject still untranslated, a wealth of information has in the past been inaccessible to the non-Japanese reader. The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords will be of great help in making educated judgments at kantei sessions, and will be an invaluable and constant reference work." — From the Foreword by Clive Sinclaire, Chairman of the Token Society of Great Britain

Download or read book The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing written by Setsuo Takaiwa and published by Vertical Inc. This book was released on 2013-05-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To understand Japanese sword polishing is to understand the Japanese sword. Down through the years, the great sword connoisseurs in Japan have been sword polishers. A swordsmith can spend a large amount of time forging a classic sword, but refining and bringing out its final shape, color, and texture so that all the details of the steel and hamon (the temper line) are clearly visible is the responsibility of another craftsman—the sword polisher. An experienced polisher can tell immediately by whom a blade was made, so distinctive is each smith’s work and so vital is such knowledge to the skilled polisher. The Art of Japanese Sword Polishing is the first book in English to examine in great detail the polisher’s techniques—skills it often takes up to ten years of apprenticeship to master. It illustrates the methods, materials, and tools used for this process. But the book’s true aim is to enable the reader to fully appreciate the beauty of a well-crafted Japanese sword. As readers learn both how the sword polisher enhances the beauty of the blade and how he handles the problems of coaxing out its finest qualities through polishing techniques, they will come to a deeper understanding of the fine art of making the Japanese sword and will be able to purchase or collect swords with greater pleasure.

Download or read book The Craft of the Japanese Sword written by Leon Kapp and published by Vertical Inc. This book was released on 2012-09-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Well over a thousand years old, the tradition of swordmaking in Japan is one of the most highly regarded metal crafts in the world. When all sword manufacture was prohibited in Japan for seven years after World War II, the age-old techniques were in danger of being lost forever. Today, in the hands of a new generation of practitioners, the craft is making a startling comeback. Connoisseurs say that the swords being produced now are the equal of anything made in Japan in the past few hundred years. This book takes the reader into the workshops of four of Japan's leading sword craftsmen. Each craftsman has a different role in the manufacture of a blade. Yoshindo Yoshihara, the swordsmith, begins with raw steel made in a traditional charcoal-fueled smelter and refines it by folding and forging, gradually shaping it into a sword with a hardened edge. Okisato Fujishiro then sharpens and polishes the sword with fine stones to reveal the color and texture of the steel. Metalworker Hiroshi Miyajima makes the small copper-and-gold habaki collar that fits between the blade and the scabbard. Finally, Kazuyuki Takayama carves the hilt and the scabbard out of a single piece of wood. Black-and-white photographs show every stage of the manufacture, while important information on history, metallurgy, and modern-day appraisal is presented in an extensive introduction. The swords made in Japan today are not, of course, intended for actual use. But their design, the quality of their steel, and the techniques used to create them still derive from the sword's historical function as a lethal hand-held weapon. A sword must be razor sharp, light, well balanced, and strong, but not so brittle it will break. In the perfect resolution of these qualities lie the beauty of the blade and the challenge of the craft. This book demonstrates how brilliantly Japan's sword craftsmen today have met this technological challenge. The impulse of the craft now is to preserve the utilitarian object and yet create an enduring art for the modern age. While many fine books on sword appreciation exist, these deal primarily with older blades or problems of appraisal. The Craft of the Japanese Sword is the first book in English devoted entirely to contemporary sword manufacture, and will thus be of enormous value to metal artists everywhere, as well as to collectors and students of weaponry.

Download or read book The Art of the Japanese Sword the Craft and Its Appreciation written by Leon Kapp and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book 21 written by 土子民夫 and published by Kodansha International. This book was released on 2002-05 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths is a Kodansha International publication.

Download or read book Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks written by Richard Fuller and published by Airlife Pub Limited. This book was released on 1997-02-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This essential reference covers more than 110 military and civil Japanese swords and dirks from 1868 to 1945. Detailed illustrations of individual swords include period photos of the weapons as they were worn.

Download or read book Facts and Fundamentals of Japanese Swords written by Nobuo Nakahara and published by Kodansha Amer Incorporated. This book was released on 2010 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aims to enable the reader to accurately judge the quality and pedigree of any sword. This book is illustrated with 160 b/w photos and 140 drawings elucidating details from nakago (tang) controlled rusting and inscriptions to the shape, dimensions, style, patina and every other visible element of the blade itself. This is the first book to enable the reader to accurately judge the quality and pedigree of any sword. This book is the first English translation of a key reference title published in Japanese in 2005. Its value lies in its purpose, which is to ensure that the reader is

Download or read book Japanese Swords and Fittings in the Western Australian Museum written by George Trotter and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This illustrated catalogue describes the swords and fitting from the Cool Collection which were collected in pre-war Europe. The swords are subdivided chronologically. B/w & colour illustrations throughout.

Download or read book Art of the Samurai written by Morihiro Ogawa and published by Metropolitan Museum of Art New York. This book was released on 2009 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This extensively illustrated catalogue is published in conjunction with the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the arts of the samurai, including the finest examples of swords - the spirit of the samurai - as well as sword mountings and fittings, armor and helmets, saddles, textiles, and paintings. The works in the catalogue, drawn from public and private collections in Japan, include 34 officially designated National Treasures and 64 Important Cultural Properties, the largest number ever to be shown together at one time. Dating from the 5th to the early 20th century, these majestic objects offer a complete picture of samurai culture and its unique blend of the martial and the refined." "Many of the greatest Japanese swordsmiths are represented in this volume, from early masters such as Yasuie (12th century) and Tomomitsu (14th century) to the Edo-period smiths Nagasone Kotetsu and Kiyomaro. The blades by these and other masters, cherished as much for their beauty as for their cutting efficiency, were equipped with elaborate hilts and scabbards prized for their exquisite craftsmanship and fine materials such as silk, rayskin, gold, lacquer, and certain alloys unique to Japan. Japanese armor is also fully surveyed, from the rarest iron armor of the Kofun period (5th century) to the inventive ceremonial helmets made toward the end of the age of the samurai." --Book Jacket.