Historic Japanese Swords and Fittings: A Collection of Restored and Translated 19th Century Manuscripts - Softcover

For students of Japanese history, culture and art, the study of these ancient manuscripts expands the appreciation of the sword in traditional Japanese society. For the student of the samurai, these manuscripts give a window into the icons that they treasured and helped shape their values. In this work Dr. Buck presents 81 digitally restored early to mid-nineteenth century manuscripts that cataloged both drawings and measurements of historically significant Japanese swords from the Ancient Period (before 794) to mid-Edo Period (until the 1780s). Beginning with an overview of of the evolution of Japanese samurai swords, this work also contains translations, descriptions and information about the then current locations of the listed swords and their previous owners. The book ends with a comprehensive glossary of sword terms and definitions.

Dr. Thomas Buck has been collecting and studying the Japanese Art Sword for over thirty years, acquiring his first Samurai Sword in October, 1975. In 1987, with the guidance of Dr. W. Y. Takahashi, Sensei, he began a three year intensive study/apprenticeship of the restoration and preservation techniques of John Grimmitt and Takahiro Ichinose, concentrating his research on Tsukamaki and Japanese Lacquer-ware. Since 1988, he has been performing restoration and research work on tsuka for various institutions, private collectors, and dealers.