Swords of Japan is an impressively comprehensive Beginner's Illustrated Handbook about Japanese swords. It covers the different types of swords, their evolution over the centuries, the parts of a sword, the stylistic variations from period to period and craftsman to craftsman, the manufacturing process, and evaluation criteria. Sprinkled throughout are tidbits about sword-related terms that made it into everyday language; for example, "tsuke-yakiba" means a blade that can't hold a cutting edge, and can also describe a person whose skills are not deep enough.
The volume of Japanese terms can be intimidating for a foreign reader, although it's not surprising that most of the very specific sword-related words haven't been translated. I spent a lot of time flipping back to the glossary or to an earlier diagram to decipher sentences like "blades from this period...are generally wide with little or no difference between the moto and saki-haba, [and] have an extended chu-kissaki."
I feel like I could appraise swords with this book in my hands, figure out when and where it was made and what type of person carried it. I would have liked it if the book had more information about the evolving social contexts for the swords, beyond letting me know that you carry a tachi with the cutting edge down and a katana with the cutting edge up and that a formal daisho must have a plain black lacquered saya.
The volume of Japanese terms can be intimidating for a foreign reader, although it's not surprising that most of the very specific sword-related words haven't been translated. I spent a lot of time flipping back to the glossary or to an earlier diagram to decipher sentences like "blades from this period...are generally wide with little or no difference between the moto and saki-haba, [and] have an extended chu-kissaki."
I feel like I could appraise swords with this book in my hands, figure out when and where it was made and what type of person carried it. I would have liked it if the book had more information about the evolving social contexts for the swords, beyond letting me know that you carry a tachi with the cutting edge down and a katana with the cutting edge up and that a formal daisho must have a plain black lacquered saya.
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