An unavoidable difficulty with books that deal with Japanese swords in general is that the workmanship of a smith has to be reduced to its most important characteristics which can be seen on the majority of his works. It is here that this work comes into play, with the motive to provide more concretely described reference examples. Unique is that – depending on the blade – former participant’s kantei bids are also addressed. This means that one’s own approach and attempt at attributing a blade may also be comprehended. With the 169 introduced shinto and shinshinto blades from altogether 13 provinces, this volume constitutes an extensive reference work. The order starts for shinto with Kyoto, Edo and Settsu, and for shinshinto with Edo.

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ISBN 9781300555711, Paperback, 8.26 wide x 11.69 tall, 416 pages

98.00 $ / 75,21 €

An unavoidable difficulty with books that deal with Japanese swords in general is that the workmanship of a smith has to be reduced to its most important characteristics which can be seen on the majority of his works. It is here that this work comes into play, with the motive to provide more concretely described reference examples. Unique is that – depending on the blade – former participant’s kantei bids are also addressed. This means that one’s own approach and attempt at attributing a blade may also be comprehended. With the 189 introduced kotô blades from altogether 19 provinces (including the five gokaden) this volume constitutes an extensive reference work. The order starts in the classical way, namely with the gokaden Yamato, Yamashiro, Bizen, Sôshû and Mino.

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ISBN 9781300552581, Paperback, 8.26 wide x 11.69 tall, 464 pages

98.00 $ / 75,93 €

With this publication I try to systematically and comprehensively process the subject of „Japanese sword mountings“. It was not my goal to depict as many extant interpretations of sword mountings as possible but to deal with their different styles. With this publication the reader will be informed in which way the Japanese swords were mounted over time, the origins of the various styles, what changes they underwent and it will also serve as a reference material to classify extant specimen. In this sense the descriptions were embedded in an explanation of their historical context rather then listing them simply by their interpretation or in alphabetical order. As the main focus lies on „koshirae“, explanations on the sword fittings – the tosogu – were omitted because their descriptions can be easily found elsewhere. Also, the military mountings – the gunto-koshirae – were left out because there are excellent publications available which deal with them in great detail.

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ISBN 9781300333241, Paperback, 6.63 wide x 10.25 tall, 202 pages

49.15 $ / 40,54 €

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.

Lulu Inc.

ISBN 9781291024982, Paperback, 22,86 x 15,24 cm, 430 pages

40,90 € / 50,32 $ / 31,66 £

This catalogue records a selection of the blades from the Nihonto-Club Germany. But it is not just an illustrated list but offers sound and considerable informations to each blade, its characteristics, and its maker and/or school.

Listed are 40 blades of which twelve bear the status juyo-token. The sequence is as usual, speak Koto-gokaden, Koto blades of other provinces, Sue-Koto, Keicho-Shinto, Shinto, Shinshinto, and Gendaito.

Books on Demand

ISBN 978-3-8423-4724-3, Paperback, 29,5 x 20,8 x 1 cm, 104 pages

49,90 € / 36,65 £

The Hon´ami were the official sword appraisers and polishers of the shogunate. Besides that, they also issued origami appraisals for blades. This book provides an overview of the different lineages of the Hon´ami, introduces individual family representatives, and also deals with their works, the practice of origami, sword appraisal, and much more.

Books on Demand

ISBN 978-3-8448-0777-6, Paperback, 21,8 x 15,4 x 1,2 cm, 140 pages

34,90 € / 51,90 $ / 25,67 £

This index contains a comprehensive listing of more than 20.000 Japanese swordsmiths, from the early days right down to modern times, i.e. from kotô to shinsakutô. It is not simply a list of names, it also provides biographical information according to the extent of a smith´s fame. Aim is to give the reader a coherent picture of a certain smith, that means his civilian name, how did he sign, in which style did he work, and who was his master or his school environment. Thereby, the most common theories on a smith are included and discrepancies in the transmissions are pointed out.

This work is a revised and completely new recorded list of smiths by incorporating all relevant Japanese and non-Japanese sources. Incorrect entries and double listings were deleted and readings corrected. The smiths are listed in alphabetical order and sorted according to their used characters. A list of all characters used in the names of the smiths in this index is available, sorted by stroke order, so that the search of a smith with an unknown reading is also possible.

Books on Demand

ISBN 978-3-8482-0303-1, Hardcover, 31,2 x 22 x 3,3 cm, 428 pages

129,90 €

This index contains a comprehensive listing of more than 20.000 Japanese swordsmiths, from the early days right down to modern times, i.e. from kotô to shinsakutô. It is not simply a list of names, it also provides biographical information according to the extent of a smith´s fame. Aim is to give the reader a coherent picture of a certain smith, that means his civilian name, how did he sign, in which style did he work, and who was his master or his school environment. Thereby, the most common theories on a smith are included and discrepancies in the transmissions are pointed out.

This work is a revised and completely new recorded list of smiths by incorporating all relevant Japanese and non-Japanese sources. Incorrect entries and double listings were deleted and readings corrected. The smiths are listed in alphabetical order and sorted according to their used characters. A list of all characters used in the names of the smiths in this index is available, sorted by stroke order, so that the search of a smith with an unknown reading is also possible.
Books on Demand

ISBN 978-3-8482-0250-8, Hardcover, 31,2 x 22 x 4,1 cm, 444 pages

129,90 €

This work focuses on the explanation and the origins of the most common terms in the field of tsuba, kodôgu, and tôsôgu. Terms from all areas are explained in detail, like zôgan (inlay), hori (carvings), iroe (colouring), sukashi (openings), dôgu (tools), jigane (raw materials), jimen (surface and surface finish), etc. Most of the explanations are supported by illustrations.
Books on Demand

ISBN 978-3-8423-6422-6, Paperback, 21 x 14,8 x 0,6 cm, 88 pages

24,90 € / 38,90 $ / 27,50 £