Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths From 1868 to the Present

by Kapp, Leon; Kapp, Hiroko; Yoshihara, Yoshindo; Kishida, Tom

• ISBN13: 9784770019622
• ISBN10: 4770019629
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-12-13
• Publisher: Kodansha USA

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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.

Table of Contents

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