Download or read book Lethal Elegance written by Joe Earle and published by MFA Publications. This book was released on 2011-03-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the "soul of the samurai," the sword is famously both the symbol and instrument of Japanese military prowess. Less known, at least in the west, is its role as a fashion accessory or status symbol. More than the weapon itself, it was the sword's metal fittings--from the hand guard to the small decorative plates on the hilt--that reflected the complexities of samurai life. Some fittings were meant to convey the honor and self-control expected of a samurai, while other, more flamboyant fittings reflected the samurai's leisure-time persona as "man about town." Later, when the wearing of swords spread beyond the samurai class, both the decorative function of the fittings and the variety of their designs increased, leading to some of the most accomplished metalwork ever created. Now in paperback for the first time, Lethal Elegance presents 150 of these remarkable sword fittings, and is one of the few books to focus on their styles and techniques. It discusses the visual effects achieved with different alloys, the evolution of fittings following changes in warfare, symbolism and standards for connoisseurship. Though these objects were created for violent ends, their variety and beauty also reveal them as wonders of self-expression.
Download or read book The Connoisseur s Book of Japanese Swords written by Kōkan Nagayama and published by Kodansha International. This book was released on 1997 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Connoisseur's Book Japanese Swords is a Kodansha International publication.
Download or read book 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 592 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 actually 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 Cutting Edge written by Victor Harris and published by . This book was released on 2005-03-15 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published: London: The British Museum Press, 2004.
Download or read book Collecting Asian Art written by Markéta Hánová and published by Leuven University Press. This book was released on 2024-02-29 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rather than centering on the well-known collections in Western European and North American museums, Collecting Asian Art turns to museum collections of Asian art in Central Europe which emerged from the late 19th century onwards. Highlighting the dimensions of Central European connectedness, this volume explores how these collections evolved and changed under changing cultural and political conditions from the pre-World War I to the post-World War II periods. With a primary focus on collections of East Asian, South Asian, and West Asian art in Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Warsaw, Kraków, Budapest, and Ljubljana, it outlines the transregional connections and networks that gradually developed. Collecting Asian Art locates Asian art across the twentieth-century in Central Europe via discourse and ideology, and discusses key collections and the way individual collectors built their networks. It thus explores transregional connections that developed through collecting activities and strategies in the prewar, interwar and postwar eras. Contributors also examine the personal connections between a group of Indologists from postwar Prague and modernist Indian artists from the early 1950s to the 1980s and also discuss the systematic archiving of East Asian art collections in Slovenia. A concluding conversation looks at colonisation and decolonisation from a broader perspective by approaching it through recent art historical discussions on the global dimensions of modernism. By defining the region through its external relationships and its entanglements with regions across Asia rather than as a self-contained unit, the contributions in this volume outline how these transregional connections and networks evolved and changed over time, thus highlighting their singularity in comparison to developments in Western Europe. Based on recent research, Collecting Asian Art reveals neglected sources while reinterpreting well-known ones.
Download or read book Art of the Samurai written by 原田一敏 and published by Metropolitan Museum of Art. This book was released on 2009 with total page 358 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.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Japanese Swords written by Markus Sesko and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2014-09-30 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This completely new encyclopedic reference for the Japanese sword contains about 2,500 terms, many of them illustrated by photos and drawings. The Encyclopedia of Japanese Swords is an A-Z general encyclopedia covering each and every part of the sword: the blade, the mountings, the fittings, and all their different interpretations. Further, this encyclopedia also explains the literal or etymological meaning of each Japanese term and provides an even deeper insight into the subject.
Download or read book Early Japanese Sword Guards written by Masayuki Sasano and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Pleasures of Collecting written by Gardner Callahan Teall and published by . This book was released on 1920 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Modern Japanese Prints Statler written by Oliver Statler and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-09 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring over 100 unique prints, Modern Japanese Prints is a testament to the continuity of Japanese art and creativity. By far the most vitally creative group of artists working in Japan today, modern print-makers are truly international in appeal. Although they owe much of their heritage to the famous ukiyoe techniques of the past, they depart from their forebears in at least two important respects. In the first place, whereas in the ancient ukiyoe tradition a print was the joint production of three men— the artist-designer, the artisan who carved the blocks, and the printer—these modern artists perform all these functions themselves, thus satisfying their demands for individual artistic expression at every step of the creative process. Another distinguishing feature of this artistic school is that its inspiration is derived neither solely from its own Japanese past nor solely from the West. This book carefully traces the history of the modern print movement through detailed discussions of the life and work of twenty-nine of its most noteworthy and representative artists. It describes vicissitudes which the movement has undergone and the high artistic ideals which have motivated its members in spite of public apathy and the hostility of the traditionalists.
Download or read book The Japanese Sword written by Kanzan Satō and published by Kodansha International. This book was released on 1983 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the foremost experts on the Japanese sword describes their history andppreciations in this book, with photographs and illustrations.
Download or read book The Henry D Rosin Collection of Japanese Sword Fittings written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Collecting Japanese Antiques written by Alistair Seton and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2012-06-26 with total page 1009 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collecting Japanese Antiques is an excellent overview of the uniquely Japanese aesthetic and how it relates to Japanese culture. From the time Japan started trading with the West in the sixteenth century, Japanese arts and crafts have intrigued and delighted Westerners, especially lacquer, screens, swords and porcelain. Antique hunters will benefit from the practical and cautionary advice in this book; newcomers will appreciate information on the basics of collecting Japanese antiques; while other sections might reawaken interest in experienced collectors. Striking photographs throughout make this art and antiques book a must for collectors and lovers of Japanese art. Chapters include: Japan's Art Heritage Collecting for Fun and with Wisdom Screens and Scrolls Ukiyo-e and Other Prints Sagemono Ceramics Furniture Textiles Lacquerware Cloisonne Sculpture and Metalwork Swords and Armor Tea Ceremony Utensils Dolls Flower Baskets
Download or read book The Japanese toso kinko Schools written by Markus Sesko and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-08-10 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book deals systematically, for the first time in English, with all the Japanese tôsô-kinkô schools and sorted by their production sites such as Kyôto, Edo, Mito, Higo and the like. Comprehensive cross references are given for the origins of the individual schools and the master-student relationship(s) of the individual artists, supported by genealogies for the larger schools. In addition, a detailed introduction of the historical context of the Japanese tôsô-kinkô, the manufacturers of sword fittings, is given at the beginning. Also added is an extensive index containing all the names, first names and pseudonyms of the artists introduced in this publication.
Download or read book Japanese Sword Guards written by Gary Murtha and published by . This book was released on 2017-08-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Handbook for Tsuba Collectors written by Gary Murtha and published by . This book was released on 2021-12-10 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Shunga written by Rosina Buckland and published by Harry N. Abrams. This book was released on 2013-08-29 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring paintings, handscrolls, prints, and illustrated books of erotica produced in Japan between 1600 and 1900, Shunga showcases some of the finest examples of Japanese erotic art, created with opulent materials and special printing effects.
