John Lindsey
28th February 2003, 00:52
Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths: A Review
Fred Stride
When I first saw the Kodansha new publication, Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths: From 1868 to the Present, I was across the room from the owner at a Token meeting and couldn't get my hands on it, but I did overhear that its topic was Gendaito. Having had my appetite whetted, I eagerly waited for my copy to turn up as I have long thought that the books available just did not cover the period of Gendaito very well from the blade enthusiast's point of view. If you were interested in militaria, the variations in design of modern military mountings since the Meiji have been well catalogued, but a systematic survey of smiths working during the war years has been lacking. This book goes a long way to fill this information gap and is required reading for the serious student of Nihonto.
Read the full review at:
http://www.thejapanpage.com/html/columns/Detailed/61.shtml
Fred Stride
When I first saw the Kodansha new publication, Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths: From 1868 to the Present, I was across the room from the owner at a Token meeting and couldn't get my hands on it, but I did overhear that its topic was Gendaito. Having had my appetite whetted, I eagerly waited for my copy to turn up as I have long thought that the books available just did not cover the period of Gendaito very well from the blade enthusiast's point of view. If you were interested in militaria, the variations in design of modern military mountings since the Meiji have been well catalogued, but a systematic survey of smiths working during the war years has been lacking. This book goes a long way to fill this information gap and is required reading for the serious student of Nihonto.
Read the full review at:
http://www.thejapanpage.com/html/columns/Detailed/61.shtml