The Connoisseurs Book of Japanese Swords

The book was well received as a present for our Professor. The book was also delivered as promised, on time and in the condition promised. Great buy.

A great book. Very informative and technical, clearly explained with good illustrations. Don't buy a sword without first reading this.

I bought this book for some time ago now and it is THE best book that I have bought about nihontos. I can recommend this to all collectors and beginners about nihonto.

Il manuale esamina le varie parti della spada e per ognuna fa una disamina tecnica molto approfondita con l aiuto di foto o tavole tutte in B/N. Tenta inoltre di insegnare a datare una spada e anche di attribuirla ad una determinata scuola o spadaio...cercando di risalire a questo partendo dalle caratteristiche della spada. Elenca vari nomi degli artigiani divisi tra regioni, epoche scuole. Tra i libri tecnici è molto completo anche se mancano le foto a colori

le livre a avoir dans sa bibliothèque pour les amateurs voir plus des sabres japonais

Upon first opening this book and flipping through the pages, I said to myself "Wow, this is a lot of information". From an exhaustive history of the different schools of smiths and their names, to the illustrated pages of different Hamon and Boshi patterns, I feel that this is a most complete workup on the Japanese katana. The information that is in this book is enormous. I knew quite a bit about Japanese swords, but after reading this book, I feel fully equipped to have a conversation with even the most knowledgable. Although I am unable to memorize all of the information in this book, I have found this to be a great reference material that I am constantly using. This is definately a book that should be in your collection if you are involved with katanas on any level and would like to know more.

This is just a new edition of a well known reference book. Among the many books concerning the Japanese swords Nagayama's book holds arguably the top position, being the reference based on what all the other books are judged. This edition is faithful to the original one and it is definitely a must have for every serious Japanese swords enthusiast. Opposed to some other oppinions, I consider this book equally suitable for the beginner as it is well and clearly written, thus accessible to all who want to elevate their knowledge about the Japanese swords.

Dans un domaine complexe, un ouvrage de qualité pour compléter le puzzle ; sa sobriété le rend toutefois un peu indigeste ...