CUTTING TEST KUBIKIRI ASAEMON JAPANESE SWORD BOOK

[blekk]

May be of some use for someone unfortunately I don't have the $$$ at the moment

 

CUTTING TEST KUBIKIRI ASAEMON Japanese SWORD BOOK - ebay link

[takeda81]

I found somewhere the same book at just 500 USD but still a great deal of money.

 

I would be interested in copies maybe for a smaller price , or sharing with somebody ?

 

Also I am interested in any books regarding Kenjutsu / Batto Jutsu / Tameshigiri of Kaga clan ...any details would be appreciated. I understand they had a different approach of nihonto , on a more realistical criteria - different sorts of cutting with shinken , body tests, special tsuka designed for cutting ...Apparently some of this works have been continued later by Nakamura Taisaburo and his students

 

my best regards

 

Cristian

[bridgeofdreams]

Possibly not exactly what you are looking for, but Paragon Books has this:

 

居合剣道：制定形、刀剣の知識、試し斬り

Iai kendo: seitei kata, token no chishiki, tameshigiri

[iai Kendo: Forms, Swords, and Practice]

中村泰三郎

Nakamura, Taizaburo

5.25 x 7.25", 213 pp., profusely illustrated, text in Japanese, cloth, d.j., Tokyo, 1973. (o.p.; light scatter foxing to page edges, some wear to d.j. edges, text vvg)

 

Iai kendo is a type of Japanese fencing,that is characterized by its use of real swords, and its purpose is for self defense. This is a beginner level book on different forms in Iai kendo, swords, and how to practice on soaked, straw target.

 

Price $40.00

 

http://www.paragonbook.com/html/browses ... item=38982

 

Peter Boylan at Mugendo Budogu also carries a book and a couple of DVDs that can be found by entering Nakamura Taisaburo in the search box at:

 

http://www.budogu.com

 

 

-Craig

[Lorenzo]

I've done a brief search this morning typing the title in kanji, and I've found out that the book in the first post belongs to a two volumes set.

[Guido]

I own Fukunaga Suiken's "Kubikiri Asaemon Tôken Oshigata (福永酔剣 - 首斬り浅右衛門刀剣押形) - it consists of *two* volumes, buying just one doesn't really make sense. Half of both volumes are Oshigata, but there are better refernces available for considerably less money. The interesting stuff is in the text, which is Japanese. I therefore recommend these books only to people who have good Japanese reading abilities.

[tom]

If someone have interest, i have a complette Set of these 2 Books to for sale for only 500 euro+ shipping.

In one of these Books are a few Oshigata missing, the Page 153 till 168. But the old owner has coppies from these missing pages by the Book.

If you can live with these and you have interest, so let me know.

 

I send with DHL and Trakingnumber.

 

Thomas

[takeda81]

Thanks everybody for the rich infos.... I already have that Paragon book , Craig , it is a nice one...

 

@Tom - price is still high for me ....maybe one day I will get this books , they seem interesting , but , like Guido pointed - Japanese knowledge must be at more then a medium level. I am still strugling with that

 

This books contain also debates on angle of cutting, ways of making test tsukas , and other practical matter - not just oshigata ?

 

I read somewhere that from Kaga clan, comes a "secret" cut - a Kubi Kiri / cutting the neck of a man hanged by his hands, WHITHOUT cutting his arms .... Also cutting the DO (waist) was somehow involved. Does anyone knows more on this one ?

 

Thanks ,

Cristian

[Guido]

  takeda81 said:

This books contain also debates on angle of cutting, ways of making test tsukas , and other practical matter - not just oshigata ?

Kind of. The books deal mostly with the history of Tameshigiri, individual testers and their lineage (even blurry b/w photos of their grave stones), when and how tests were performed etc. - but not many pictures except old-style Oshigata. The only "DIY" pic I found is the one I scanned (see attachment).

  \ said:

I read somewhere that from Kaga clan' date=' comes a "secret" cut - a Kubi Kiri / cutting the neck of a man hanged by his hands, WHITHOUT cutting his arms ....[/quote']I never tried that, but sounds like a lot of fun.

 

Btw, Koshoyama sells the two volume set for 46,200 Yen = 415.- Euro = 600.- US $ (http://www.koshoyama.com/token.htm).

[Guido]

Two other interesting books on Tameshigiri, Wazamono etc. I have are

Wazamono Nyūmon 日本刀業物入門, published by Mitsugei Shuppan 光芸出版

and

Kokon Kaj Bikō 古今鍛治備考 by Yamada Asaemon Yoshimitsu 山田浅右衛門吉睦 ("the original", so to speak). This one is *really* hard to get.

 

The following is an excerpt from an article that's sitting in an unfinished state on my HD for quite some time now (sorry, Chris, I'm just too lazy to edit the Japanese out):

  Quote

The sword tester (Suemono Kirite 据物斬手) Yamada Asaemon 山田浅右衞門 listed in the Kaihō Kenjaku 懐宝剣尺 (published in 1797 寛政九年, reprinted in 1805 文化二年) swords according to their cutting abilities (Kireaji 斬味), and ranked them as follows:

 

最上大業物 = Saijō Ō-Wazamono, i.e. best - 13 smiths

大業物 = Ō-Wazamono, i.e. excellent - 22 smiths

良業物 = Yoki-Wazamono, i.e. very good - 54 smiths

業物 = Wazamono, i.e. good - 91 smiths

 

He later added a mixed list 混合 of Ō-Wazamono, Yoki-Wazamono and Wazamono, containing 66 more smiths.

 

His descendant Yamada Asaemon Yoshimutsu 山田浅右衞門吉睦 wrote the Kokon Kaji Bikō 古今鍛冶備考 in 1830 (天保元年), in which he revised and amended the ranking in the Kaihō Kenjaku, bringing the number of listed Wazamono smiths to 1,111.

Oh, and I'm aware of the fact that 良業物 is usually read "Ryō-Wazamono", but I discussed this particular reading with some people at the NBTHK a while back, and the consensus was that "Yoki-Wazamono" is indeed the correct pronounciation - I won't budge on that one .

 

Here are some scans from the 7 volume Kokon Kaji Bikō, which is otherwise a listing of sword smiths (kind of an early Taikan) and lots of drawing-style Oshigata:

[Guido]

more scans:

[Guido]

and some more:

[cabowen]

  Guido Schiller said:

The following is an excerpt from an article that's sitting in an unfinished state on my HD for quite some time now (sorry, Chris, I'm just too lazy to edit the Japanese out):

 

Not a problem, we all have our foibles.....

[takeda81]

Thanks Guido , I appreciate the pics and I wait with a lot of interest your article ...

 

thanks all for sharing your knowledge again

 

Cristian

Romania

[Brian]

Awesome info and pics, thanks Guido.

 

Brian

[Clive Sinclaire]

I have a katana by Koyama Munestugu made for Yamada Asaemon Yoshimasa. Just thought I'd mention it.

Clive Sinclaire

[cabowen]

  Clive Sinclaire said:

I have a katana by Koyama Munestugu made for Yamada Asaemon Yoshimasa. Just thought I'd mention it.

Clive Sinclaire

 

 

I have seen a Koyama Munetsugu blade made expressly for tameshigiri- it had something like 12 different cutting test attributions on it!

 

Seems he paid a lot of attention to making swords that were practical...

 

Lucky you!