A
Review of
Facts
and Fundamentals of
JAPANESE
SWORDS
A Collector’s Guide
Written by Nobuo Nakahara, translated by Paul Martin
The
title of this book might lead you to think that it is another of those lists of
swordsmiths and drawings of oshigata, more of a lecture than an interesting read
and so on. Well you would be in for
something of a surprise if this was your assumption. Written by Nobuo Nakahara
and translated by our member Paul Martin, some of the contents are unexpected to
say the least and the format, with each section prefixed by an explanation of
the Japanese terminology about to be encountered and certainly the Question and
Answer sections, are both innovative and informing., I think that we in the West
tend to take everything we are told by Japanese teachers as the Gospel Truth and
that “Sensei should never be doubted”. This is definitely not the case with
the refreshingly open approach employed by Nakahara, who seems unafraid of
attacking the establishment, whilst at the same time, providing a wealth of
knowledgeable detail on all aspects of the Japanese sword.
Expressing
his view of certain polishers who leave marks from their foundation work on the
finished article, Nakahara says and I quote: “Polishers
should not be allowed to earn a living by destroying swords” followed by “These
people have no shame and are only polishing for the money” – pretty
heavy stuff, I think you will agree. He also understandably castigates those
that use acid to enhance their polishes. He states that “dealers
are not trading on the quality of blades, but on NBTHK papers”, and
in a Q&A section, when asked “Did
Masamune really exist?” Nakahara replies, “It
doesn’t really matter if he existed or not” – well certainly not
afraid of speaking his mind then! His opinion on the very existence of mumei
blades is very thought provoking and radical, but I
would, however, not want you to think that the basic, fundamental and
serious study of Japanese swords took second place to the above frank opinions
in this book, which is divided into three main sections.
PART
1: An Overview of the Japanese Sword – its development, constituent parts,
length, zori, historical changes etc,
PART
2: Fundamental Elements of the Japanese Sword – The forged Sword, hamon,
jihada, utsuri etc.
PART
3: Sword Appreciation: Meetings, establishment of Goka-den, Buying a sword,
Kantei-sho.
Followed
by detailed appendices of types of hamon, nakago etc. there is even advice on
how to buy a sword. Personally, I found the “Establishment of the Goka-den”
by the Honami and “Honami Origami” sections particularly interesting. I am
sure that whatever level of expertise you may have, from raw beginner upwards,
you will find Nakahara’s words and Paul Martin’s additional translator’s
notes, of great interest. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to you
all.
Reviewed
by Clive Sinclaire
London,
England – July 2010
Published
by: KODANSHA INTERNATIONAL www.kodansha.eu
August
2010 pp 192, 140 detailed drawings; 160 b/w photos; hardcover
Available
Kodansha Europe rrp £27; e-mail info@kodansha.eu