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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.
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.
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Only forty years ago, it appeared that the ancient craft of the Japanese sword would die out. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Only forty years ago, it appeared that the ancient craft of the Japanese sword would die out. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a book about swords, but more than that it's a book about sword makers. Although it will serve as an introduction, Kanzan Sato's book is probably a better choice for swords alone.
Where this book shines is in its description of the craft processes that go to making a sword. Four makers are included; a smith, a polisher, a habaki maker and a scabbard carver. All describe their contemporary work, in great detail. It's a very modern treatment - formal koshirae are mentioned, but the scabbard maker's tale is of working on a plain "white scabbard", as that's what his current market is.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
There are several very good books out there on the Japanese sword, but in my opinion as a newcomer to this subject, this one is the best. Very straight to the point, lots of information, and many fine black & white photos of Japanese blades in excellent detail.
For me the balance of the book is just about perfect. It tells me in sufficient depth all I want to know about the various aspects of sword making, down to the fitments and the scabbard, and it keeps subject matter like sword appraisal to a nice minimum. I am unlikely to ever want to appraise a sword, in fact it is highly unlikely that I will ever hold a genuine Katana, that being the case, I certainly don't want to be informed of the finer details of appraisal.
All in all a truly excellent introduction to the Japanese sword, and far better than some of the weightier and more expensive tomes that are currently available.
For me the balance of the book is just about perfect. It tells me in sufficient depth all I want to know about the various aspects of sword making, down to the fitments and the scabbard, and it keeps subject matter like sword appraisal to a nice minimum. I am unlikely to ever want to appraise a sword, in fact it is highly unlikely that I will ever hold a genuine Katana, that being the case, I certainly don't want to be informed of the finer details of appraisal.
All in all a truly excellent introduction to the Japanese sword, and far better than some of the weightier and more expensive tomes that are currently available.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is an excellent book, not just in binding quality, but in the way information is presented to the reader. I believe that the success of the book lies in the effective integration of the authors; traditional Japanese swordsmith, metallurgist and journalist, to create a technically informative, yet interesting read.
On a slightly critical note, however, I would have liked to see some glossy colour pictures of the steel composites at various forging temperatures. Some descriptions are presented in the book, but colour photos would go a long way to appreciating how the composite structure of the blade changes visually throughout the duration of the forging process. My understanding from the book, is that this is one technique an experienced swordsmith employs to approximate temperature of the blade at each stage of the forging process.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great value- great read
First off, I write this review as both a sword-enthousiast, Tokiophile and hobby knife-maker.
If you're looking for a book with a lot of pretty pictures of swords, you... Read more
If you're looking for a book with a lot of pretty pictures of swords, you... Read more
Published on 21 May 2010 by B. Geeraerts
How modern swords are made (with colour pictures)
Beutifull & Fascinating book. Big and well illustrated with lots of photos, many colour. Cover all the processes of making a blade from casting the raw iron to fitting a... Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2001 by Dave
Probably the best book on this subject you can buy.
This book taught me almost everything I wanted to know about Japanese sword making. A well researched, written and presented book. Excellent for the beginner and collector alike. Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2000 by brook.family1@virgin.net
This book is excellent for beginners to learn about swords.
I know a little about Japanese swords but not all the details of how they were made. This book is a great beginning for those who want to understand the manufacturing processes of... Read more
Published on 23 Feb 1999
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