{"product_id":"the-craft-of-the-japanese-sword","title":"The Craft of the Japanese Sword","description":"Well over a thousand years old  the tradition of swordmaking in Japan is one of the most highly regarded metal crafts in the world. When all sword manufacture was prohibited in Japan for seven years after World War II  the age-old techniques were in danger of being lost forever. Today  in the hands of a new generation of practitioners  the craft is making a startling comeback. Connoisseurs say that the swords being produced now are the equal of anything made in Japan in the past few hundred years.  This book takes the reader into the workshops of four of Japans leading sword craftsmen. Each craftsman has a different role in the manufacture of a blade. Yoshindo Yoshihara  the swordsmith  begins with raw steel made in a traditional charcoal-fueled smelter and refines it by folding and forging  gradually shaping it into a sword with a hardened edge. Okisato Fujishiro then sharpens and polishes the sword with fine stones to reveal the color and texture of the steel. Metalworker Hiroshi Miyajima makes the small copper-and-gold habaki collar that fits between the blade and the scabbard. Finally  Kazuyuki Takayama carves the hilt and the scabbard out of a single piece of wood. Black-and-white photographs show every stage of the manufacture  while important information on history  metallurgy  and modern-day appraisal is presented in an extensive introduction.  The swords made in Japan today are not  of course  intended for actual use. But their design  the quality of their steel  and the techniques used to create them still derive from the swords historical function as a lethal hand-held weapon. A sword must be razor sharp  light  well balanced  and strong  but not so brittle it will break. In the perfect resolution of these qualities lie the beauty of the blade and the challenge of the craft.  This book demonstrates how brilliantly Japans sword craftsmen today have met this technological challenge. The impulse of the craft now is to preserve the utilitarian object and yet create an enduring art for the modern age. While many fine books on sword appreciation exist  these deal primarily with older blades or problems of appraisal. The Craft of the Japanese Sword is the first book in English devoted entirely to contemporary sword manufacture  and will thus be of enormous value to metal artists everywhere  as well as to collectors and students of weaponry.","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44878361460789,"sku":"ByrdShop_087011798X","price":24.64,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/ByrdShop_087011798X_cd0fdc49-4525-404b-addb-3df835fb423d.jpg?v=1766485801","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-craft-of-the-japanese-sword","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}