Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156–1868

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Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156–1868

Ogawa, Morihiro, ed., with contributions by Kazutoshi Harada, Hiroshi Ikeda, Tetsuo Ito, Ayako Kobayashi, Masato Misumi, Takamasa Saito, and Taeko Watanabe (2009)

This title is in print.

Description

Samurai arms and equipment are widely recognized as masterpieces in steel, silk, and lacquer. This extensively illustrated volume includes the finest examples of swords, sword mountings and fittings, armor and helmets, saddles, banners, and paintings from Japanese collections. Dating from the fifth to the nineteenth century, these majestic objects offer a complete picture of samurai culture and its unique blend of the martial and the refined.

Table of contents

Director's Foreword
Thomas P. Campbell

Commissioner's Statement
Hideo Tamai

Acknowledgments
Lenders to the Exhibition
Chronology
Contributors
Note to the Reader

Spirit of the Samurai
Morihiro Ogawa

Japanese Arms and Armor: An Overview
Miroshi Ikeda
Catalogue numbers 1–49

History of the Japanese Sword
Kazutoshi Harada
Catalogue numbers 50–109

Sword Mountings and Fittings
Morihiro Ogawa
Catalogue numbers 110–114

Appendices A–E
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Index

Press reviews

Midwest Book Review

"... a must for any collection strong in Japanese arts."

Art Museum Journal

"... provides a fitting accompaniment to the museum's exhibition. The books editor and contributing essayists. ... have intended that the volume present the definitive treatment of Japanese arms and armor ever published in English. ... the text stands not merely as a companion piece to the show, but also as a separate work of scholarly study."

San Francisco Chronicle

"... a fine introduction to the feats of metal craft that Japanese swords embody."

Choice Reviews Online

"Extraordinary ... this book will set the standard for many generations."

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Asian Art, Japan

Titles by author (12)

Kazutoshi Harada

Hiroshi Ikeda

Tetsuo Ito

Ayako Kobayashi

Masato Misumi

Morihiro Ogawa

Takamasa Saito

Masako Watanabe

Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156–1868

This is the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the arts of the samurai. Arms and armor is the principal focus, bringing together the finest examples of armor, swords and sword mountings, archery equipment and firearms, equestrian equipment, banners, surcoats, and related accessories of rank such as fans and batons. Drawn entirely from public and private collections in Japan, the majority of objects date from the rise of the samurai in the late Heian period, ca. 1156, through the early modern Edo period, ending in 1868, when samurai culture was abolished. The martial skills and daily life of the samurai, their governing lords, the daimyo, and the ruling shoguns will also be evoked through the presence of painted scrolls and screens depicting battles and martial sports, castles, and portraits of individual warriors. The exhibition concludes with a related exhibition documenting the recent restoration in Japan of a selection of arms and armor from the Metropolitan Museums permanent collection. This is the first exhibition ever devoted to the subject of Japanese arms and armor conservation.