Liquidation The Craft of the Japanese Sword

Description

Well over a thousand years old, the tradition of sword making 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 equals 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-fuelled 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.