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Interesting Pdf Articles And Links


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These were all recently posted here on the NMB by various members, but for those of you who missed them, or didn't notice them, I thought it would be good to post a list of links to valuable articles and info found on the net.

We can add to this list as we find them. If you reply with a new link, I will add it to the list. Some of these are excellent books that are out of print and usually expensive. Please keep it to articles and .pdf's directly relating to Japan and Nihonto, and those that are without copyright or have permission to be posted.

Title: Legend in Japanese art; a description of historical episodes, legendary characters, folk-lore myths, religious symbolism by Henri Joly
Link: http://www.archive.o... ... 00jolyuoft

Title: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Japanese swords guards by Okabe-Kakuya
Link: http://www.archive.o... ... 00okabrich

Title: The Yoshihara Tradition (Article) by Paul Martin from the NMB archives
Link: http://www.militaria.co.za/articles/Yoshihara_Tradition.pdf
 

Title: Japanese chronological tables, showing the date, according to the Julian or Gregorian calendar, of the first day of each Japanese month : from Tai-kwa 1st year to Mei-ji 6th year (645 A.D. to 1873 A.D.) : with an introductory essay On Japanese chronology and calendars by William Bransen
Link: http://www.archive.o... ... 00bramuoft

Title: Tales of the Samurai; stories illustrating bushido, the moral principles of the Japanese knighthood. With 8 coloured illus. by a Japanese artist - Miyamori, Asataro, 1869-1952
Link: http://www.archive.o... ... 00miyauoft

Title: 6000 Chinese characters with Japanese pronunciation and Japanese and English renderings - J. Ira Jones
Link: http://www.archive.o... ... 00joneuoft

Title: Ono Yoshimitsu's World of Juka-Choji - Pursuing Koto Bizen/The Ayumi Chronology (Translation, Paul Martin)
Link: http://www.hayashiba... ... ndex3.html

Title: Technology for Digitalizing Pictorial Data of Japanese Swords - Various researchers,
Link: http://csdl.computer... ... 80102c.pdf

Title: Jūnishi, The Zodiac Animals - Article about Japanese Zodiac symbols and their use in Japanese art and dating cycles. - Guido Schiller
Link (A4 Format): http://www.nihontome...cles/zodiac.pdf
Link (Letter Format): http://www.nihontome... ... letter.pdf

Title: Suriage - From Token Sugita, written by Nobuo Nakahara. Translation by Paul Martin
Link: http://www.nihontome...les/Suriage.pdf

Title: The Japanese sword and its decoration by Helen Gunsaulus
Link: http://www.archive.o... ... 20guns.pdf

Title: Japanese sword-mounts in the collections of Field Museum by Helen Gunsaulus
Link: http://www.archive.o... ... 16guns.pdf

Title: A Muramasa Blade: A Story of Feudalism in Old Japan by Louis Wertheimber
Link: http://www.militaria...ramasablade.pdf

Title: Japanese names and how to read them : a manual for art-collectors and students
Link: http://www.archive.o... ... 00koopuoft

Title: Narrative of the expedition of an American squadron to the China Seas and Japan....
Link: http://www.archive.o...veofexped03perr

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Title: Tsuba, and Japanese sword fittings in the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum
Link: http://www.archive.o...seswo00coop.pdf

 

Title: Index of Signatures on Japanese Sword Mounts
Link: http://issuu.com/tom...on-sword-mounts

 

Title : Japanische Stichblätter und Schwertzieraten
Link : http://openlibrary.o... ... rtzieraten

 

Title : Japanese sword
Link : http://openlibrary.o... ... ese_swords

 

Title : Die Meister der japanischen Schwertzierathen
Link : http://ia700401.us.a... ... ragoog.pdf

 

Title: The Namban Group of Japanese Sword Guards: a Reappraisal
Link: http://etheses.dur.a...1/4129_1648.pdf

 

Title: A Study of the Works of Gassan Sadakazu in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Link: http://resources.metmuseum.org/resources/metpublications/pdf/A_Study_of_the_Works_of_Gassan_Sadakazu_The_Metropolitan_Museum_Journal_v_5_1972.pdf

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Brian,

 

The third link redirects me to: "Oops....there seems to be a temporary glitch and you don't have access to perform this action. Please try again in a few minutes, or notify the admin and we will do our best to rectify the issue. We are currently working on this problem and hope to have a solution soon. Apologies to all. Admin"

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Mumford book is interesting. There are a lot of transcription errors (Osafune becomes Nagafune, Oei becomes Aei, and others like this) so you need to keep your brain in gear while reading it. I'm about half through, this passage caught my interest...

 

(Edit: the board deleted everything I wrote under the quote during posting for some reason and I don't have the time to replace it now... will get to it "later" ...)

 

 


When Rai Kuniyuki was young he inscribed himself as 'Kunitoshi,' but after the birth of his son Magotaro, he gave this name to the latter, and signed himself Kuniyuki. In fear

 Vol. xxvi.] The Japanese Book of the Ancient Sword. 353
lest his blades should be confounded with those of his father, Magotaro inscribed his name as Rai Kunitoshi after his thirty- eighth year, calling himself Rai Minamoto Kunitoshi from his sixty-second to his one hundred and fifth year. Notwithstand- ing this, there are two varieties of blade bearing the name of Kunitoshi, one being the early work of Kuniyuki, and the other the younger productions of Rai Kunitoshi. The secret details of this matter can be transmitted only orally.
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Will throw down another interesting snippet:

 

 


The price of the new sword increases as it becomes old; for instance, the works of Morimitsu and Yasumitsu which, a few years ago, were worth 30 ryo, are now selling at 50 ryo, and those of Sanemasa and Sukehiro have increased in value from 1 or 2, to 5 or 7 ryo.

 

Morimitsu and Yasumitsu are the Oei Bizen smiths no doubt. Interesting that they're "just becoming old" ... "Sanemasa" is a transliteration error (or change in custom since the time of the book), this is surely Inoue Shinkai. The process definitely continued because a Shinkai katana will in most cases cost you more than one from Morimitsu and Yasumitsu now. 

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Huge thanks to Timothy J. Evans, I have just uploaded a great article that he wrote on late Muromachi through Edo period sword mounts.
Check it out at the bottom of the articles section in the Izakaya.
A lot of decent info, well researched. Thanks Tim!

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And yet another excellent article submitted by Paul Bowman and uploaded in the articles section.
This one is on Kantei, and using it as a learning tool. It is a very good read, and we will be linking to it often when it comes to topics that relate.

Thanks as always Paul.

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Today we have 2 great submissions to our articles section. One by Peter Bleed on Japanese swords in the style of European Smallswords, and the other by Ian Bottomley on reading Japanese signatures.
Both available in the articles section accessible to members. Thanks again for the submissions gents.

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a few links to books on oshigata

 

Kajihei shingi Oshigata   - http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1144559
 
Tsuchiya Oshigata         - http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1266644
 
Umetada Meikan            - http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1183661
 
 
Ôsekishô                  - http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/2483063
 
Imamura Oshikata. Volume 2 -http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1186827
 
Imamura Oshikata. Volume 1 - http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1186820
 
 
 Motoya Kotoku Dokkan      - http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1190999
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