Best Reference book

[Goldy]

G'day all,

 

This may be a bit of a newbie question but please bear with me. Is anyone able to suggest the best reference book that contains info on modern day smiths? When I say modern I mean from about 1900 through to the present. This will probably turn out to be a collection of publications spanning the period I'm guessing.

 

I admire some of the work that smiths of this period produce but have trouble finding out more about them.

 

Thanks for any help, its much appreciated.

 

Goldy

[Brian]

Hi Goldy (Is this a first name?)

 

That would depend I guess on what info you are looking for. If you are looking for brief info and oshigata to compare signatures, then I would recommend An Oshigata Book of Modern Japanese Swordsmiths by John Scott Slough. : http://www.afuresearch.com/Slough.htm

 

If you are looking for info on modern smiths and manufacture with interviews and general info, then I would recommend these 2:

The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths by Tamio Tsuchiko : http://www.amazon.com/New-Generation-Ja ... 4770028547

or Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths: From 1868 to the Present by Yoshihara and Kapp : http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Japanese-S ... 4770019629

 

Another very worthwhile book is The Yasukuni Swords: Rare Weapons of Japan, 1933-1945 by Tom Kishida : http://www.amazon.com/Yasukuni-Swords-W ... 4770027540

 

Those should give you decent info on Post 1900 Gendaito. I am sure others will contribute a few more. Can't say which is best, as I enjoy them all.

 

Regards,

Brian

[Wim V]

Hi,

 

If you are able to find your way in the Japanese books, you could try the Gendai Toko Meikan, by Ono Tadashi. This index contains info on approximately 200 gendai smiths. However, as this book already has some age (written in 1973 or so) it contains Meiji, Taisho and early Showa (WW II) period smiths, but most "present day" modern smiths are of course not included.

 

Regards,

 

Wim

[Goldy]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks for your replies, its most appreciated. Ive been pouring through the indexes listed on Richard Stein's wonderful site and I think I'll have to find a few different titles. Reason being that some of the smiths I'm interested in were forging both before and after WWII and also the 70's and 80's.

 

On the other hand, if anyone knows a bit about Kobayashi Sadayoshi and Kobayashi Yasuhiro (both post WWII, and I have a Yasuhiro Wak) or knows where I could find more info, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks again all, I'll start saving my pennies for some good books. If only we had a proper Nihonto club here in Oz!

 

Cheers,

 

Craig (real first name, Goldy is a bastardised version of my surname...)

[Wim V]

Hi again,

 

I have taken a look in the books I have on gendai smiths regarding the two smiths you mentioned. Gendai Toko Meikan lists three Sadayoshi but I don't know if one of these is the one you are looking for. Further on I didn't find anything on Kobayashi Sadayoshi.

 

The second one, Kobayashi Yasuhiro, is listed on page 55 of the Gendai Toko Meikan. However, as my knowledge of Japanese is very limited it is very difficult for me to translate the page. If I look up all the kanji I should be able to retrieve the relevant information (I did this before for one of the smiths in this book because I have a sword made by him) but this is very time consuming, and I don't have the time now to engage me on this task, I'm sorry.

 

However, I found something more on Kobayashi Yasuhiro in a little book with the title "Naked Blade - a manual of samurai swordsmanship" by Toshishiro Obata. Obata is a rather well known practitioner of Toyama Ryu Batto Jutsu, a school best known for their test cutting on straw and bamboo. According to the book it seems that Obata-san acted as a tester for the swords of Yasuhiro, and so on pages 19-20 there is a little paragraph devoted to this smith. This is wat it says:

 

Yasuhiro Kobayashi was born in the third year of the reign of the emperor Taisho (1914) in Yamanashi-Ken, Japan. His early business career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served, first as an intelligence field operative in China, then after returning to Japan and re-enlisting, as a member of the Imperial Army in China.

 

Returning in 1946 to a Tokyo devastated by bombing and fire, he started a refrigeration business, that rapidly prospered until it employed fifty workers, and boasted of clients as illustrious as the U.S. Army. In 1960 he began his study of the swordsmith's art under the To-sho Akimoto, to whom he was both student and sponsor. In 1969 he qualified, receiving his licence one year later, and left his thriving business to return to Yamanashi-Ken in order to establish his forge.

 

His swords are known for their extreme strength and sharpness, and their closeness in style and quality to the finest swords of the Koto period. For To-sho Kobayashi, an ounce of fine steel is rarer and more precious than an ounce of gold."

 

The paragraph closes with a footnote:

 

The sword used by the author throughout the production of this book, was made for him by To-sho Kobayashi. It has completed more than three hundred demonstrations of cutting bamboo, straw and wood without suffering any damage to its edge.

 

That's all I have. For more info I think you should go for the Gendai Toko Meikan.

 

Best regards,

 

Wim

[Goldy]

Thanks Wim for your much appreciated help. I think I will follow your advice and go for the Gendai Toko Meikan. Even though it will be a slow process, it will be educational and worth it in the long run.

 

Thanks for the quote from "Naked Blade", how did you get this book? It seems pretty rare itself these days.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

Regards,

 

Craig

[Wim V]

I bought the "Naked blade" book some 10 years ago from my Iaido-sensei. Nowadays it seems to be out of print but I think you can still find it second hand (for example on amazon marketplace).

 

If you like I have a copy of Gendai Toko Meikan for sale. It's the hardcover first edition from 1971. I would like to be honest and mention that due to its age it is of course not in mint condition. The dust jacket is missing and the cover shows some slight signs of wear. The pages are however clean and intact and the binding is still tight. An english index is also included. I would say the overall condition is fine if you don't bother too much about the dust jacket. I would ask US$ 140 for it. No obligation of course, but if you're interested feel free to send me a PM.

 

Regards,

 

Wim

 

PS: it's interesting you have a sword by Yasuhiro Kobayashi as he seemed to be a decent smith. Perhaps you could post some pictures of your blade?

[Goldy]

Thanks again for your help Wim, please check for a PM from me.

 

I was originally after the reference books so that I could verify that the wakizashi was indeed by Kobayashi Yasuhiro.

 

I have included some pics for everyone. My translation of the mei is below and most likely needs correcting:

 

康 YASU

宏 HIRO

 

 

昭 SHO

和WA

已 YI (FINISHED/COMPLETED)

羊 HITSUJI (SHEEP?)

年 NEN (YEAR) 1979?

 

 

六 ROKU (6)

月 GATSU (MONTH)

 

Hopefully the pics show enough detail for examination and someone may be able improve on my first go.

 

Thanks to all for your help - please chack out the pics.

 

Craig

 

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5838/meiyr4.jpg

 

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1742/mei2ap4.jpg

[Wim V]

Hi,

 

I think you gave an almost correct interpretation to the mei. The only thing I can remark is that I would read 已羊 as "Tsuchinoto Hitsuji", which is the 56th year in the 60-year zodiac cycle (for an explanation see the Nihonto Kanji Pages under Nenki, and then Kanshi - the zodiac system). In the Showa era the Tsuchinoto Hitsuji year indeed corresponds to 1979, as you already found yourself.

 

Concerning the pictures of the mei, as far as I can judge (but I am no expert) I think the mei looks good compared with the example given in the Gendai Toko Meikan. Then again I would not expect a gendaito to be gimei (fake signature) unless it is one of the top names like Gassan or Sumitani, so I would not worry about this in your case.

 

Do you have some pictures of the blade itself? It would be nice to see the sugata, hada, hamon, ....

 

Regards,

 

Wim