The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths
The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths. By: Tamio Tsuchiko.
Unparalled in its deadly cutting power, strength and enduring elegance, the Japanese sword is a triumph of both technical merit and mythical appeal. For a thousand years the Japanese sword was the linchpin of the warrior class, the mainstay of social order, and the definitive weapon on the battlefield.
In this insightful volume, noted sword expert, journalist and editor, Tamio Tsuchiko, explores the world of gendaito, visiting its practitioners and sharing views and ideas. Through close up interviews with twenty gendai tosho, and dialogues between smiths and polishers, Tsuchiko presents the reader with a fascinating and enriching array of experiences, theories and reflections from those at the forefront of modern sword craftsmanship, as they take this ancient art into purely aesthetic directions. Never before has such a thorough and illuminating study of this kind emerged.
The book is divided into three parts, the first of which provides a context of sword history, from the types of blades, their respective periods, and the prominent styles of workmanship. This will primarily be of interest to specialists. Diagrams accompany explanations of key terminology, which can be cross referenced in a detailed glossary and index.
The centrepiece of The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths, however, hinges on part two, in which Tsuchiko visits twenty gendai-tosho, revealing their thoughts, experiences, and aims, and providing the reader with the most comprehensive discourse on gendaito to appear in English.
In part three, Tsuchiko presents in-depth interviews with three of the leading figures of the sword society: Akitsugu Amata, Kokan Nagayama, and Mitsuo Shibata. Each offers his own unique insight into the dynamic and changing picture of gendaito.
Including over one hundred photographs of the artists and their most recent creations, this will be an important addition to the libraries of collectors, craftsman and sword afficionados as well as those with a more general interest in Japanese weaponry.
Code: 9784770028549
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