9784770019622

This illustrated guide to the development of the Japanese sword in the modernra concentrates on the techniques and output of the best smiths. It includes detailed look at the swords used during World War II and should be ofnterest to collectors and enthusiasts.

LEON KAPP is a cell and molecular biologist working in the San Francisco Bay area. He has spent a considerable amount of time studying Japanese swords with the swordsmith Yoshindo Yoshihara. HIROKO KAPP is a correspondent for the Tokyo-based Senken Shinbun news organization. The Kapps live in San Rafael, California.
YOSHINDO YOSHIHARA is a swordsmith who is ranked among the top sword craftsmen in Japan. His family has been making tools and swords for several generations, and his son is also a swordsmith who now works with him in Tokyo. The Kapps and Yoshindo are the authors of The Craft of the Japanese Sword, which describes how a Japanese sword is made and finished.
TOM KISHIDA is a professional photographer living and working in Tokyo. He worked with the authors on their last book, and he has been photographing swordsmiths and their work for more than twenty years. His acclaimed Japanese-language book, Yasukuni Tosho, is widely recognized as the definitive study of Yasukuni smiths.

Foreword

7

(1)

Introduction

8

(7)

Part One TERMINOLOGY

15

(20)

Historical Periods

16

(1)

Main Sword Categories

16

(1)

Koto and the Five Traditions (Gokaden)

17

(1)

Types of Swords

18

(1)

Parts of the Japanese Sword

19

(1)

Measuring the Japanese Sword

20

(1)

Sword Structures (Tsukurikomi)

21

(1)

Types of Sori (Curvature)

22

(1)

Types of Kissaki

23

(1)

Types of Mune

24

(1)

Types of Shinogi

24

(1)

Types of Nakagojiri (Tang Ends) and Yasurime (File-Mark Patterns)

25

(1)

Types of Grooves (Hi) and Carvings (Horimono)

26

(2)

Jigane and Jihada

28

(1)

Nie and Nioi

29

(1)

Types of Hamon

30

(2)

Hataraki (Activity)

32

(2)

Types of Boshi

34

(1)

Part Two HISTORY

35

(62)

The First Half of the Twentieth Century

36

(37)

The Meiji Era

37

(4)

Revival of Gendaito

41

(2)

Yasukuni Shrine and the Nihonto Tanren Kai

43

(1)

Yasukuni Shrine

44

(1)

Nihonto Tanren Kai

44

(5)

The Nihonto Tanren Denshu Jo

49

(10)

Seki and Showa-to

59

(2)

Showa-to

61

(2)

Showa-to Production in Seki

63

(1)

Materials and Techniques Used in Seki

64

(1)

Traditional Swords and Their Construction

65

(1)

Showa-to Production Techniques

66

(1)

Fujiwara Kanefusa

67

(6)

The Latter Half of the Twentieth Century

73

(16)

Kowa-Kinen-To

76

(2)

NBTHK and the Annual New Sword Competition

78

(3)

The Tatara

81

(2)

Non-Japanese Contributors

83

(1)

Colonel Victor Cadwell

83

(2)

John Yumoto

85

(1)

Albert Yamanaka

85

(1)

Keith Austin

86

(1)

Yasu Kizu

87

(1)

Richard Fuller

88

(1)

Swordsmiths in the Heisei period

89

(8)

Becoming a Swordsmith

89

(1)

Registration of Swords

90

(1)

The Craft Today

90

(2)

The Future of the Japanese Sword

92

(1)

A Shin-Gendaito Era?

93

(4)

Part Three INTERVIEWS

97

(88)

Amata Akitsugu

98

(4)

Osumi Toshihira

102

(3)

Yoshihara Yoshindo

105

(4)

Yoshihara Kuniie

109

(4)

Gassan Sadatoshi

113

(3)

Kanbayashi Tsunehira

116

(3)

Yamaguchi Kiyofusa

119

(3)

Kawachi Kunihira

122

(5)

Ono Yoshimitsu

127

(4)

So Tsutomu

131

(5)

Mikami Sadanao

136

(4)

Miyairi Norihiro

140

(4)

Seto Yoshihiro

144

(5)

Hiroki Hirokuni

149

(5)

Miyairi Kozacmon Yukihira

154

(3)

Okubo Kazuhira

157

(5)

Yoshihara Yoshikazu

162

(4)

Ogawa Kanekuni

166

(5)

Horii Tanetsugu

171

(5)

Sumitani Masamine

176

(3)

Hokke Saburo Nobufusa

179

(3)

Enju Nobutsugu

182

(3)

Part Four PERSPECTIVES

185

(15)

Comments from a Living National Treasure Swordsmith

186

(2)

Gendaito: A Curator's Viewpoint

188

(1)

Gendaito: A Metallurgist's Viewpoint

189

(2)

Gendaito: A Polisher's Viewpoint

191

(2)

Gendaito: A Martial Artist's Viewpoint

193

(2)

Gendaito: A Swordsmith's Viewpoint

195

(5)

Lineage Charts for Modern Swordsmith Schools

200

(17)

Acknowledgements

217

(2)

Bibliography

219

(1)

Index

220

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Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths From 1868 to the Present

Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths From 1868 to the Present

4770019629

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials