Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)

Morihiro Ogawa

"This extensively illustrated catalogue is published in conjunction with the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the arts of the samurai, including the finest examples of swords - the spirit of the samurai - as well as sword mountings and fittings, armor and helmets, saddles, textiles, and paintings. The works in the catalogue, drawn from public and private collections in Japan, include 34 officially designated National Treasures and 64 Important Cultural Properties, the largest number ever to be shown together at one time. Dating from the 5th to the early 20th century, these majestic objects offer a complete picture of samurai culture and its unique blend of the martial and the refined." "Many of the greatest Japanese swordsmiths are represented in this volume, from early masters such as Yasuie (12th century) and Tomomitsu (14th century) to the Edo-period smiths Nagasone Kotetsu and Kiyomaro. The blades by these and other masters, cherished as much for their beauty as for their cutting efficiency, were equipped with elaborate hilts and scabbards prized for their exquisite craftsmanship and fine materials such as silk, rayskin, gold, lacquer, and certain alloys unique to Japan. Japanese armor is also fully surveyed, from the rarest iron armor of the Kofun period (5th century) to the inventive ceremonial helmets made toward the end of the age of the samurai." --Book Jacket.

Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868

Art of the Samurai

Kazutoshi Harada

Overzicht van de wapens en wapenuitrustingen van de Samoerai.

Stuart W. Pyhrr

Donald J. LaRocca

This publication chronicles more than a decade of collecting by the Department of Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan Museum. The refurbished galleries in The Pierpont Morgan Wing opened in 1991 with a new presentation of about eleven hundred of the finest pieces from the Museum's encyclopedic collection, and since that time the department's holdings have continued to grow, with more than one hundred and fifty items added by purchase, gift, or bequest. This volume includes fifty-eight of the most notable acquisitions. Many are remarkable for their diversity and extraordinary quality, condition, and beauty, and some for their artistic or historic importance, while others fill gaps or serve as documents, adding to the knowledge of this field of study. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

Morihiro Ogawa

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