SWORDS from KODANSHATwo of the most highly regarded books ever published in English on the Japanese sword are now about to beREPRINTED...

SWORDS from KODANSHATwo of the most highly regarded books ever published in English on the Japanese sword are now about to beREPRINTED...

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AVAILABLE from January 2017

THE CONNOISSEURSBOOK OF JAPANESE SWORDS

FACTS AND FUNDAMENTALS OF JAPANESE SWORDSA COLLECTOR’S GUIDE by Nobuo NakaharaThis is an invaluable resource. Clear explanations and frank opinions enable readers to evaluate the condition of a blade, determine wheth-er it is healthy or problematic, and easily recognise the fundamental elements that characterise works of enduring value.

The book includes:Summary of the historical development of blade shapes / Detailed ex-planations of the different parts of a blade / The effects of polishing / Instructions for sword maintenance and appreciation / Points to con-sider when buying a sword / Detailed explanations of blade grooves & engravings / In-depth discussion of suriage / Detailed overview of inscriptions...

Hardcover; 192 pages; 260 x 190 mm; 160 b/w photos; 140 illustrations£35 HBisbn 978-1-56836-583-1

This comprehensive guide to the appreciation and appraisal of the blades of Japanese swords still offers an English translation of a de-fi nitive Japanese text on the subject. Taking the practical historical approach, it discusses each tradition, examining the features that dis-tinguish specifi c schools and smith – the various kinds of jihada, ham-on, boshi and hataraki favoured in different periods and regions. Each section closes with an easy reference chart summarizing the distinctive features of the work of various schools and smiths. There are chapters on terminology and description, and the care and appraisal of blades.Richly illustrated throughout with 550 of the author’s own painstak-ing oshigata tracings / rubbings, The Connoisseur’s Book of Japanese Swords remains the most comprehensive guide to appear in English.

isbn 978-1-56836-581-7Hardcover; 356 pages; 265 x 195 mm; 550+ hand-fi nished sword tracings £65 HB

MODERN JAPANESE SWORDS AND SWORDSMITHSFrom 1868 to the Present by Leon and Hiroko Kapp &Yoshindo YoshiharaThis book is highly authoritative: it describes the most recent 150-year period of sword history, and presents the work of key craftsmen active since the Meiji resto-ration. The authors illustrate developments in sword-making, its movement into artistic spheres, and the challenges swordsmiths have faced over the last century. It includes interviews with 22 modern smiths –holders of ancient lineages– who demonstrate how the blade’s aesthetic power derives from a symmetry of the sword’s basic elements: steel, shape, and texture. This harmony affords the blade a singular and delicate beauty. The book further includes comprehensive and intricate lineage charts of the major historical schools.The heightened aesthetic sense that characterises the contemporary sword and its production has ushered in what can be categorised as a distinctly new era of sword history, refl ecting the dynamic changes which have taken place.

Hardcover; 224 pages; 264 x 196 mm; 150 b/w photos; drawings; index

£39 HB isbn 978-1-56836-519-0

THE CRAFT OF THE JAPANESE SWORDby Leon and Hiroko Kapp & Yoshindo Yoshihara

Four of Japan’s leading sword craftsmen each have a role creating a blade. Yoshi-hara, the swordsmith, takes raw steel made in a traditional charcoal-fueled smelter and folds and forges, slowly shaping it into a sword with hardened edge. Fujishiro then sharpens and polishes the sword to reveal the colour and texture of the steel. Miyajima makes the copper-and-gold habaki collar to fi t between blade and scab-bard. Finally, Takayama carves the hilt and the scabbard out of a single piece of wood. Black-and-white photographs show every stage, while information on history, metallurgy, and modern-day appraisal is presented in an extensive introduction.First published in 1987, this book still represents the fi nest and most thorough in-troduction to this idiosyncratic Japanese art form ever published. While many fi ne books on sword appreciation exist, these deal primarily with older blades or prob-lems of appraisal. The Craft of the Japanese Sword is the fi rst book in English de-voted 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.

Hardcover; 168 pages; 264 x 190 mm; 8 colour pages; 120 b/w photos; indexisbn 978-1-56836-431-5 £39 HB

MODERN JAPANESE SWORDS AND SWORDSMITHSFrom 1868 to the Present by Leon and Hiroko Kapp &Yoshindo YoshiharaThis book is highly authoritative: it describes the most recent 150-year period of sword history, and presents the work of key craftsmen active since the Meiji resto-ration. The authors illustrate developments in sword-making, its movement into artistic spheres, and the challenges swordsmiths have faced over the last century. It includes interviews with 22 modern smiths –holders of ancient lineages– who demonstrate how the blade’s aesthetic power derives from a symmetry of the sword’s basic elements: steel, shape, and texture. This harmony affords the blade a singular and delicate beauty. The book further includes comprehensive and intricate lineage charts of the major historical schools.The heightened aesthetic sense that characterises the contemporary sword and its production has ushered in what can be categorised as a distinctly new era of sword history, refl ecting the dynamic changes which have taken place.

Hardcover; 224 pages; 264 x 196 mm; 150 b/w photos; drawings; index

£39 HB isbn 978-1-56836-519-0

THE CRAFT OF THE JAPANESE SWORDby Leon and Hiroko Kapp & Yoshindo Yoshihara

Four of Japan’s leading sword craftsmen each have a role creating a blade. Yoshi-hara, the swordsmith, takes raw steel made in a traditional charcoal-fueled smelter and folds and forges, slowly shaping it into a sword with hardened edge. Fujishiro then sharpens and polishes the sword to reveal the colour and texture of the steel. Miyajima makes the copper-and-gold habaki collar to fi t between blade and scab-habaki collar to fi t between blade and scab-habakibard. Finally, Takayama carves the hilt and the scabbard out of a single piece of wood. Black-and-white photographs show every stage, while information on history, metallurgy, and modern-day appraisal is presented in an extensive introduction.First published in 1987, this book still represents the fi nest and most thorough in-troduction to this idiosyncratic Japanese art form ever published. While many fi ne books on sword appreciation exist, these deal primarily with older blades or prob-lems of appraisal. The Craft of the Japanese Sword is the fi rst book in English de-voted entirely to contemporary sword manufacture, and will thus be of enormous

THE ART OF JAPANESE SWORD POLISHINGby Setsuo Takaiwa, Yoshindo Yoshihara, Leon & Hiroko KappTo 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 refi ning and bringing out its fi nal shape, color, and texture so that all the de-tails of the steel and hamon (the temper line) are clearly visible is the responsibility of another craftsman—the sword polisher.This is the fi rst book in English to examine in detail a skill whose apprenticeship is 10 years. It illustrates the methods, materials, and tools used for this process. But the book’s true aim is to bring to readers an appreciation of the beauty of a well-crafted Japanese sword. As readers learn both how the sword polisher en-hances the beauty of a blade and how he handles the problems of coaxing out its fi nest qualities through his polishing techniques, they will come to a higher under-standing of the fi ne art of making a Japanese sword.

Hardcover; 192 pages; 267 x 198 mm; 1,000 b/w photos; index

£39 HB isbn 978-1-56836-518-3

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