VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF JAPANESE ARMS AND ARMOUR – JUNE 2003
ISBN
Anderson, L J
Japanese Armour; London, Arms and
Armour Press, 1968
Compton, W A
Nippon-tō, Art Swords of Japan; New
York, Japan Society gallery, 1976
(contributions by Junji Homma, Kanzan
Sato and Morihiro Ogawa)
Blomberg, C
The Heart of the Warrior, origins and
religious background of the Samurai
system in feudal Japan
Japan Library, 1994
Fujishiro, Y & M
Nihon Kotō Jiten/Nihon Shintō 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
1-57427-062-1
Harris, V (coauthored with
Ogasawara, N)
Swords of the Samurai, London, British
Museum Press, 1990 (exhibition
catalogue,
0946009228
Hawley, W M
Japanese Swordsmiths, 1966
Iimura, Yoshiaki
Shin-shintō Taikan; Tokyo, Tōken Bijutsu
Kōgei-sha, 1966
Ishii, M (ed.)
Nippon-tō Meikan; Tokyo, Yūzankaku,
1976
Irvine, Gregory
The Japanese Sword, the Soul of the
Samurai; V&A Publications, 2000
Joly, H (trans.)
The Sword book in Honchō-Gunkikō:
The Armour Book in Honchō Gunkikō,
(orig. Arai Hakuseki); various reprints
Kaneda-Chappelear,
K
Japanese Armour Makers for the
Samurai; Tokyo, Miyoshi Printing
Company, 1987
106744178
0913304050
1-85177-314-2
1
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)
Ogasawara, N
Nihontō 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
Sasama, Y
Dictionary of Japanese Arms and Armour;
Kashiwa Shobo, 1981
Sato, K
The Japanese Sword; Tokyo, Kodansha
International, 1983
Sinclaire, Clive
Samurai, the weapons and spirit of the
Japanese warrior, Salamander Books,
2001
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).
0540011711
Varley, Paul
Warriors of Japan as portrayed in the War
Tales
University of Hawaii Press, 1994
0824816013
106744178
1-84065-233-0
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JAPANESE SWORD WEB SITES:
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 misinformation or poorly researched material on the Web.
Nihontō – Japanese Sword (by Alan Quinn):
http://www.meiboku.demon.co.uk/
Richard Stein’s Japanese Sword Index:
http://japanesesword.homestead.com/
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/
106744178
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