Japanese arms & armour reading list

Anderson, L J, Japanese Armour;  London, Arms and Armour Press, 1968

Blomberg, C, The Heart of the Warrior; Origins and Religious Background of the Samurai System in Feudal Japan, Routledge Curzon, 1994. ISBN. 1-87341-013-1

Carey, Jacqui, Samurai Undressed; The Devonshire Press Ltd. Torquay, 1995 ISBN. 0-95232-55-1 X

Compton, W A, Nippon-to, Art Swords of Japan;  New York, Japan Society gallery, 1976 (contributions by Junji Homma, Kanzan Sato and Morihiro Ogawa). ISBN. 0-91330-405-0

Joe Earle, The Japanese Sword., Tokyo, Kodansha International, 1983

Earle, Joe  Japanese Sword-Fittings .  Orientations, Vol.17, No.12, December, 1986, pp.28-31

Fujishiro, Y & M, Nihon Koto Jiten/Nihon Shinto Jiten;  Tokyo, 1969

Fuller, R & Gregory, R, Swordsmiths of Japan, 1926-1945;  privately published

Fuller, R & Gregory, R  Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks; Howell Press, 1996. ISBN. 1-57427-062-1

Harris, V, (co-authored with Ogasawara, N)  Swords of the Samurai, London, British Museum Press, 1990 (exhibition catalogue). ISBN. 0-94600-922-8

Hawley, W M, Japanese Swordsmiths, 1966

Iimura, Yoshiaki Shin-shinto Taikan;  Tokyo, Token Bijutsu Kogei-sha, 1966

Ishii, M (ed.), Nippon-to Meikan;  Tokyo, Yuzankaku, 1976

Irvine, Gregory, The Japanese Sword, the Soul of the Samurai; V&A Publications, 2000. ISBN. 1-85177-314-2

Irvine, Gregory  Sensation Diplomacy! Sir Harry Parkes and Japan: 1865-71.  Royal Armouries Yearbook, 1997

Irvine, Gregory  The Japanese Sword, the Soul of the Samurai.  V&A Publications, London, 2000, 1-8517-7314-2

Irvine, Gregory  The Japanese Sword; The Soul of the Samurai.  Orientations, November 2001

Irvine, Gregory Le Sabre Japonais; Ame du Samourai. Desiris, Paris. 2-90765-388-1

Irvine, Gregory  Collecting Japanese Arms and Armour: A European Perspective with an Emphasis on the Collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum . Oriental Art, Vol. LV No.1, (2005) pp.37-46
    
Joly, H (trans.), The Sword book in Honcho-Gunkiko: The Armour Book in Honcho Gunkiko, (orig. Arai Hakuseki); various reprints

Kaneda-Chappelear, K, Japanese Armour Makers for the Samurai;  Tokyo, Miyoshi Printing Company, 1987

Kapp, L, The Craft of the Japanese Sword;  Tokyo/New York, Kodansha International, 1987

Knutsen, R M, Japanese Polearms;  London, The Holland Press, 1963 (includes section on arrows)  
    
Knutsen, R M, Japanese Spears: An Historical Survey of Naginata and Yari from Earliest Times to the End of the Edo Period. ISBN. 1-90190-356-7

Lidin, Olof G, Tanegashima: The Arrival of Europe in Japan: NIAS Press, 2002. ISBN. 0-70071-675-0

Munroe, Alexandra ed.  Spectacular Helmets from Japan 16th-19th Century: Japan House Gallery & Japan Society, New York, 1985  
    
Ogasawara, N, Nihonto no Kansho Kiso Chishiki (Basic knowledge for appreciation and study of the Japanese sword);  Tokyo, Shibundo, 1989 (reprint 1994)

Ogasawara, N (main editor), The Japanese Sword: Iron Craftsmanship and the Warrior Spirit; Tokyo National Museum catalogue, 1997

Robinson, H R, Oriental Armour;  London, Herbert Jenkins, 1967

Robinson, B W, The Arts of the Japanese Sword;  London, Faber & Faber, 1961/1970

Robinson, B W  Arms and armour of Old Japan.  HMSO, London, 1951

Robinson, B W  The Arts of the Japanese Sword. Faber & Faber, London, 1961/1970

Sasama, Y, Dictionary of Japanese Arms and Armour; Kashiwa Shobo, 1981

Sato, K (Trans. Joe Earle), The Japanese Sword; Tokyo, Kodansha International, 1983  
    
Sinclaire, Clive, Samurai, The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior, Salamander Books, 2001. ISBN. 1-84065-233-0

Stone, G C   A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armour in All Countries and in All Times (Together with Some Closely Related Subjects);  Southwork Press, 1934, (reprinted New York, Jack Brussel 1961

Tokyo National Museum, Nihon no Buki Bugu;  Tokyo 1976 (exhibition catalogue with English captions)

Turnbull, S, The Samurai, a Military History;  London, George Philip, 1977 (reprinted in paperback, Curzon Press 1996). ISBN. 0-54001-171-1

Varley, Paul  Warriors of Japan as Portrayed in the War Tales, University of Hawaii Press, 1994. ISBN. 0-82481-601-3

Japanese sword links

At the time of writing, the URLs below are correct and the pages have provided good, sound information. But, as with much Web-based information, the URLs may be subject to change. A word search on 'Japanese swords' on the Web will produce thousands of hits, but many of these pages should be treated cautiously as there is much mis-information or poorly researched material on the Web.

Tsuba, art of the Japanese Sword (by Jim Gilbert):
http://home.earthlink.net/~jggilbert/tsuba.htm

Kim Allen's Glossary of tsuba terms (with other links):
http://ils.unc.edu/~allen/tmain.html

Japanese Sword Society of the UK
http://www.to-ken.com/