Bibliography of Modern Edged Weapons, 1868-1945

[Kiipu]

Below is a chronological listing of books about modern Japanese edged weapons from 1868 to 1945.   Any comments, corrections, or criticism welcomed. 

 

大日本刀剣商工名鑑 Japanese Sword Business Directory. 東京: 日本刀剣新聞社, 1942. [Japanese language only]

 

Gregory, R. Japanese Military Swords. 1971.

 

Gregory, R., and R. Fuller. A Guide to Showa Swordsmiths: With 106 Oshigatas. 1978.

 

Fuller, Richard, and Ron Gregory. Swordsmiths of Japan, 1926–1945. 1983.

 

Fuller, Richard, and Ron Gregory. Military Swords of Japan, 1868–1945. London, GB: Arms and Armour, 1986.

 

Johnson, Larry. Japanese Bayonets: The Definitive Work on Japanese Bayonets, 1870 to the Present. Broken Arrow, Okla.: Cedar Ridge Publications, 1988.

 

Imai Akio 今井昭夫 and Ikemori Masato 池森正人. 日本の軍用刀剣1868-1945年 [Japanese Military Used Swords, 1868–1945]. Army edition 陸軍編. 2 volumes. 全日本軍装研究会, 1990.

 

Dawson, Jim. Swords of Imperial Japan, 1868–1945. Newnan, Ga.: Stenger-Scott Publishing, 1996.

 

Fuller, Richard, and Ron Gregory. Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks. Charlottesville, Va.: Howell Press, 1997.

 

Wallinga, Herman A. Gendaito Made at the Minatogawa Shrine. 2000.

 

Slough, John S. [Livio W. Cilio]. An Oshigata Book of Modern Japanese Swordsmiths, 1868–1945. Rivanna River Company, 2001.

 

Fimio, Frederick A. Swords and Swordsmiths of the Gendaito Period: 1868 to 1989. Japanese Sword Society of Canada, 2002.

 

Kapp, Leon, Hiroko Kapp, and Yoshindo Yoshihara. Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths: From 1868 to the Present. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2002.

 

Kishida, Tom. The Yasukuni Swords: Rare Weapons of Japan, 1933–1945. Translated by Kenji Mishina. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2004.

 

Dawson, Jim. Swords of Imperial Japan, 1868–1945. Cyclopedia ed. Newnan, Ga.: Stenger-Scott Publishing, 2007.

 

LaBar, Raymond C. Bayonets of Japan: A Comprehensive Reference on Japanese Bayonets. Tunnel Hill, GA: RAYMAR, 2008.

 

Kapp, Leon, Hiroko Kapp, and Leo Monson. Modern Japanese Swords: The Beginning of the Gendaito Era. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.

[Bruce Pennington]

A very useful list, especially for those looking to get started. We often get questions about recommended books. Now we have a link to give them. Thanks Thomas!

[Kiipu]

Here are two more for the bibliography.  I had to use this glossary http://pages.suddenlink.net/afuresearch/afu/glossary1.htm to figure out what meikan 銘鑑 meant. I opted out with just encyclopedia though!

 

Ōno Tadashi 大野正. Gendai tōkō meikan 現代刀工銘鑑 [Encyclopedia of Modern Swordsmiths]. 東京: 光芸出版, 1971.

 

Gendaitō meisaku zukan 現代刀名作図鑑 [An Illustrated Book of Modern Sword Masterpieces]. 佐藤寒山 監修. 東京: 刀剣春秋新聞社, 1977.

 

[Kiipu]

[Miyazaki, Masa.] Imperial Japanese Daggers, 1883–1945. During the 1980s, Masa handed this booklet out to show what dirks he was interested in acquiring.  At some point in time, others reprinted it and sold it! I would not consider it a book per se but one will run into the reprints from time to time.  Some copies have his name on the cover while others do not. Page count will also vary between the reprints as well.

[k morita]

Hi,

 

This book is also interesting.(Japanese language).

日本刀を二度蘇らせた男  [Kurihara Hikosaburo Akihide whole record,The man who raised the Japnese swords twice] pub,2000

[Kiipu]

I have located indexes for three of the Japanese books and the links can be found below.

 

Dai Nihon tōken shōkō meikan 大日本刀剣商工名鑑 [Japanese Sword Business Directory]. 東京: 日本刀剣新聞社, 1942.

 http://www.jp-sword.com/files/temp/shokomeikan.htm

 

Ōno Tadashi 大野･正. Gendai tōkō meikan 現代刀工銘鑑 [Encyclopedia of Modern Swordsmiths]. 東京: 光芸出版, 1971.

https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/gtmindex.htm

 

Gendaitō meisaku zukan 現代刀名作図鑑 [An Illustrated Book of Modern Sword Masterpieces]. 佐藤寒山 監修. 東京: 刀剣春秋新聞社, 1977.

https://www.japaneseswordindex.com/gmzindex.htm

[Kiipu]

The volume below contains the Naval Dress Regulations (海軍服制 Kaigun fukusei) and has many illustrations of the different naval swords, tassels, belts, and buckles.  This information can be found in: Chapter 12 Dress Regulations Flag Insignia (第十二篇 服制　旗章).

 

Kaigun daijin kanbō 海軍大臣官房 [Naval Minister’s Secretariat]. Kaigun seido enkaku 海軍制度沿革 [History of Naval Organization]. Maki 7 巻7 [Volume 7]. 1940.

http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1886712

[Kiipu]

  On 9/6/2019 at 12:40 AM, k morita said:

This book is also interesting.(Japanese language).

日本刀を二度蘇らせた男  [Kurihara Hikosaburo Akihide whole record,The man who raised the Japnese swords twice] pub,2000

 

Kurihara Hikosaburō Akihide zenkiroku: Nihontō o nido yomigaeraseta otoko 栗原彦三郎昭秀全記録: 日本刀を二度蘇らせた男 [A Complete Record of Kurihara Hikosaburō Akihide: The Man Who Twice Saved the Japanese Sword]. Kurihara Hikosaburō denki kankō-kai 栗原彦三郎伝記刊行会, 2000. Japanese language.

 

An English language summary can be found at http://www.japaneseswordbooksandtsuba.com/store/books/b721-kurihara-hikosaburo-akihide-zen-kiroku.

[Kiipu]

Koop, Albert J., and Hogitarō Inada. Japanese Names and How to Read Them: A Manual for Art-Collectors and Students. London: 1923.

https://archive.org/details/japanesenameshow00koopuoft

[Kiipu]

I thought it would be a good idea to post some links to other Japanese sword related bibliographies.  Feel free to chime in with others.

 

http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/books.htm

https://nihontoclub.com/biblio

http://ohmura-study.net/501.html

http://kendo-wollongong.com/biblio.htm (Annotated)

http://www.hizento.net/biblio.htm

http://www.meiboku.info/guide/books/

[Kiipu]

There appear to be three versions of Slough's oshigata book out and about. I am missing the publication details for two of them. Any help with the last two appreciated.

The original edition is listed below.

• Slough, John Scott. An Oshigata Book of Modern Japanese Swordsmiths, 1868–1945. Rivanna River Company, 2001.

There is a second softcover version with a red cover with the name Livio W. Cillo on the cover and title page. This may have been the distributor or publisher of the book?

• Cillo, Livio W. An Oshigata Book of Modern Japanese Swordsmiths, 1868–1945. Publication details unknown, 2001?

The third one is a second printing with a deluxe blue hardcover that is dated 2004.

• Slough, John Scott. An Oshigata Book of Modern Japanese Swordsmiths, 1868–1945. Publication details unknown, 2004.

Edit: Found a post that Chuck Cillo may have co-authored the book?

 

  On 4/21/2009 at 5:50 AM, YukouYukimura said:

I always thought samurai were fascinating.. then going to an antique show in Brimfield Mass, a buddy of my dads is/was a sword dealer named Chuck Cillo (great guy)! I found out he co-authored a book, "Modern Japanese Swordsmiths 1868-1945" So I bought a copy from him and kindly asked him to autograph it for me and he did!

[k morita]

Hi,

There was a lot of mistranslation(Japanese to English) on the Slough's book,so I posted correction pictures to NMB in the past.
But I can't looking for the thread on NMB.

[Kiipu]

  On 9/12/2019 at 3:27 AM, k morita said:

There was a lot of mistranslation (Japanese to English) on the Slough's book, so I posted correction pictures to NMB in the past.

But I can't looking for the thread on NMB.

 

Mr. Slough's Oshigata book

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/8417-mrsloughs-oshigata-book/?hl=%2Bmorita+%2Bslough&do=findComment&comment=84612

[k morita]

Hi,

 

Oh,Thank you very much. This is it.

Someone should publish enlarged and revised edition of Slough's book. 

[Kiipu]

United States. Watertown Arsenal. "The Metallurgical Examination of a Japanese Samurai Sword." By J. I. Bluhm. Memorandum Report No. WAL 739/87. 1946-09-25.

This is a direct link to a PDF file.

https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b962712.pdf

[Kiipu]

Bowen, Chris. The Kato Smiths of Meguro, Tokyo: Taisho to the Present – Excellence in Obscurity. 2017.

Gendaito Reference Fs: Kato Smiths Of Meguro, Tokyo

 

 

Edited September 19, 2019 by Kiipu

[Kiipu]

Koizumi Chikaharu 小泉･親治. Guntō 軍刀 [Military Sword]. Tōkyō Suikōsha 東京水交社 [Tōkyō Naval Club], 1938.

 

Tsutsumi Akira 堤･章. Guntō kumiai shimatsu: Rikugun jumei tōshō no shūhen 軍刀組合始末: 陸軍受命刀匠の周辺. Aizu bunkazai chōsa kenkyūkai 会津文化財調査研究会, 1994.

Further Information on Jumei Tosho

Edited September 19, 2019 by Kiipu

[Kiipu]

Nōshū Nihontō tanrensho 濃州日本刀鍛錬所. Nōshū Seki den: Nihontō ni tsuite 濃州関伝: 日本刀に就て. Kabushiki kaisha nōshū Nihontō tanrensho 株式會社濃州日本刀鍛錬所, 1939.

http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1097527

Edited October 14, 2019 by Thomas

[Mark C]

Excellent,

 

For those who didn't know of the Fuller and Gregory books, Here's a pic.

 

 

I can't see the pink Oshigata book listed above: R. Fuller & R. Gregory 1985 ( I believe these were a limited edition)

 

Regards

[Kiipu]

  On 10/14/2019 at 3:42 PM, Mark C said:

Excellent,

 

For those who didn't know of the Fuller and Gregory books, Here's a pic.

 

I can't see the pink Oshigata book listed above: R. Fuller & R. Gregory 1985 ( I believe these were a limited edition)

 

Thanks for the comment.  Nice collection of F&G books!  Those four books starting from the right are uncommon in the United States.  The last two were widely distributed over here.  Sorry to say the 1985 book, The Oshigata Book, did not make the list as it fell outside the 1868 to 1945 time frame.

[Kiipu]

Additions to original post.

Ōno Tadashi 大野･正. Gendai tōkō･kinkō･shokkata sōran 現代刀工･金工･職方総覧. [A General Survey of Modern Swordsmiths, Metalworkers, and Artisans]. Seiun shoin 青雲書院, 1977.

 

Murakami Kōsuke 村上･孝介. Shōwa tōken meibutsu chō 昭和刀剣名物帳 [Catalogue of Noted Japanese Swords of the Shōwa Period] Tōkyō 東京: Yūzankaku shuppan 雄山閣出版, 1979.

 

Kishida, Tom トム･岸田. Yasukuni tōshō 靖国刀匠 [Yasukuni Swordsmiths]. Tōkyō 東京: 1994.

 

Banks, Ken. Japanese Pattern Dirks: The Banks Collection. Zor’s Military Antiques, 2011.

 

Fuller, Richard. Japanese Sword Surrender Tags, 103 Fully Translated: Plus Retention Certificates & Surrender Letters. Dreadnought Publishing Co., 2014.

 

 

[Kiipu]

Two more additions to the original post.

Kaigun gijutsu kenkyūjo 海軍技術研究所 [Naval Technical Laboratory]. Bujin-tō no tairyō seisan ni kansuru kenkyū 武人刀の大量生産に関する研究 [Research on Mass Production of Warrior Swords]. 昭和十四年十月 [October 1939].

https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/das/image/F0000000000000218509

 

Watanabe Kunio 渡辺国雄. Guntō 軍刀 [Military Sword]. Yūseidō shuppanbu 有精堂出版部, 1944.

[Kiipu]

Rikugun Toyama gakkō 陸軍戸山学校 [Army Toyama Physical Training School]. Guntō no sōhō oyobi tameshigiri 軍刀の操法及試斬 [Military Sword Handling Techniques and Test Cuttings].  March 1944.

https://ndlonline.ndl.go.jp/#!/detail/R300000001-I000000675993-00

 

The manual above is a compilation and revision of two previous Toyama manuals: 軍刀の操法及試斬 (1940-11) and 短期速成教育軍刀（一撃必殺）訓練要領 (1942-01).

Edited January 9, 2020 by Kiipu

[Kiipu]

With the help of BangBangSan, a Chinese book can be added to the bibliography.

 

Wang Hui 王･辉. Ri Ben Leng Re 日本冷刃 [Japanese Cold Steel]. Shan Dong Mei Shu Chu Ban She 山东美术出版社, 2016. Chinese language.

[BANGBANGSAN]

  On 9/6/2019 at 12:40 AM, k morita said:

Hi,

 

This book is also interesting.(Japanese language).

日本刀を二度蘇らせた男  [Kurihara Hikosaburo Akihide whole record,The man who raised the Japnese swords twice] pub,2000

Expand  

I want to buy one of this book

[PNSSHOGUN]

I would also like to source a copy, even without a translation. 

[Stephen]

I missed the org post list.

The Fimio book total waist of money if your new and looking for books IMHO you'd do well in passing on it.

[Jean]

Stephen, +1

[Kiipu]

I have updated the bibliography and it can be found at the link below.

Bibliography of Japanese Modern Edged Weapons, 1868-1945