Review

Author(s): H. Russell Robinson

Review by: H. Russell Robinson
Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Winter, 1973), p. 518
Published by: Sophia University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2383578
Accessed: 13-02-2016 06:23 UTC

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 518 Monumenta XXVIII, 4
N'ipponica,
EarlyJapanese
Sword Guards:Sukashi
Tsuba.ByMasayukiSasano.Translatedby
RichardL. Gage.JapanPublications,Inc., Tokyo& San Francisco,1972.
284 pages;illustrated.
$15.00.
THIS IS A VERY SPECIALISED STUDY of a single aspect of the tsubamakers' art. It deals only
with the pierced iron guards ofkatanaand wakizashiwhich were firstused by the samurai
in the Muromachi period when they began to dismount forcombat and found the com-
mon footman's sword more suitable than the horseman's tachi.
Though sukashi-tsuba are the earliest artisticallydecorated guards, the book covers the
work of masters who lived in the Muromachi and subsequent periods up to 1867.
The secondary title is thereforethe more appropriate one.
This is a book forthe specialist, student or collector of tsuba.Part One is divided into
three sections, commencing with a shortdiscussion entitled 'Beauty and Form', wherein
the author endeavours to provide the background and the reasons for the creation of
these simple, and at times exquisitely beautiful, iron discs which served to guard a
samurai's hand in violent and bloody action.
Sukashi-tsubawere made for use and are thereforefar removed from the jewel-like
guards and sword furnitureworn in Edo times to enhance the richness of a warrior's
attire. They are here presented as little masterpieces, removed from the hilt of the
world's most deadly and beautiful weapon, where they may be appreciated for them-
selves alone.
Section II is a brief 'Historical Development', and Section III provides a historyof
the Major Schools.
Part Two, which occupies nine-tenthsof the book, provides 216 full-sizephotographs
of individual guards, one per page with description, measurements, etc. Many of these
are repeated in double-page colour groups against sympathetic backgrounds which
enhance the pierced designs and the rich brown colour of the iron.
This is an ideal presentation of an obscure but fascinating subject and we can only
hope that similar studies of other schools may soon appear by the same author or others
equally devoted and knowledgeable as Mr Sasano.
H. Russell Robinson
The Armouries
H.M. Tower of London

The IllustratedBooks of the INfanga,

Maruyama,Shijo and OtherRelatedSchoolsof
Japan: A Biobibliography. By C. H. Mitchell,withthe assistanceofOsamu Ueda.
Dawson's Book Shop, Los Angeles, 1972. 623 pages, including 15 pages of
illustrations.$18.00.

THIS IS PROBABLY the mostimportantbook to have appeared abroad in the fieldof

pre-modern Japanesebibliography.Indeed, no equivalentexistseven in theJapanese
language.
C. H. Mitchellis a Tokyobusinessmanand collectoroflongstandingand experience.
In effect,thisvolumeis primarilya recordof the pertinentbooksin the author'scol-
lection,supplementedby references to worksdescribedin the scatteredsourcespub-

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions