Abstract

The "toumon(blade pattern" and "jigane(metal)" are the two most important features when viewing Japanese swords. This book provides a thorough understanding of the blade patterns and metal, not only the various types of blade patterns, but also the subtle "utsuri" (reflection), "nie" (boiling), and "nioi" (smell) of the blade, through the use of many precise photographs of actual swords.

Author’s Information

Hironosuke Matsumoto has been interested in Japanese swords as artefacts since his high school days, and after moving to Tokyo he became a member of the Association for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords. After becoming a photographer, he participated in the association's activities as a member of its Tokyo branch. After much trial and error, he established techniques for photographing Japanese swords in high detail. He has taken many photographs for art museum and exhibition catalogues.