Japanese Sword

Essential for anyone interested in Japanese culture, this unsurpassed masterwork opens an intriguing window on Japan. The World War II-era study by the cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict paints an illuminating contrast between the people of Japan and those of the United States. The Chrysanthemum and the Sword is a revealing look at how and why our societies differ, making it the perfect introduction to Japanese history and customs.

Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prange's best-selling Miracle at Midway, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement. Shattered Sword makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchida's Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle.

What did the samurai in Japan do? How did they begin? And what was so typical or different about them? These and many other questions will be answered in this quick guide that will cover all the basics of the famous samurai warriors in ancient Japan. You will learn about shoguns, bushido, the Meiji time period, Ronin warriors, the Genpei war in 1180, the Kamakura period, the infamous suicide methods for honor (hara-kiri), and much, much more.

If the Way of the warrior is the soul of Japan, their magnificent swords were the tools utilized to form the nation and forge their spirit. You’ll find an abundance of information in this special two-part digital anthology in support of this thesis. Kimberly Taylor wrote four chapters, the first being an interview with 7th dan Matsuo Haruna. Haruna offers great advice for practitioners based on his firsthand experience. Taylor’s two highly researched chapters give overviews of two major iaido schools. Excellent photos and descriptions of katas accompany the text. Taylor’s finale is a ...

If you want to forge Damascus swords and Japanese blades, without going through the pain of breaking them during heat treatment, then listen to find out more. The number of ideas you can realize for your creations is directly related to your understanding of various bladesmithing techniques and the characteristics of different materials. Every day that you delay is another day that you stagnate in your growth as a bladesmith.

Two years into Kirito and Eugeo's quest to reach the Central Cathedral, the pair have finally become elite disciples at the North Centoria Imperial Swordcraft Academy. Now all that's left to do is train for the next tournament, build their relationships with their trainee pages, and do so without violating the Taboo Index. But just because this peaceful world is governed by law and order doesn't mean evil can't fester below the surface...and when it comes time to choose between the rules and what's right, Kirito and Eugeo discover the darker secrets of the Underworld.

"Ryōma!" tells the life story of Sakamoto Ryōma, one of the great figures in the turmoil that engulfed Japan in the years before the 1868 Meiji Restoration. The novel is a masterwork by the prolific historical novelist Shiba Ryōtarō and has sold more than 24 million copies in Japan since publication in 1966—and still counting! The novel has everything: a winning main character, an action-packed plot, swordfights, and romance, but it is also a fascinating, easy-to-digest history lesson about Japan’s response to the shocking arrival of United States Commodore Matthew Perry’s “...

If the Way of the warrior is the soul of Japan, their magnificent swords were the tools utilized to form the nation and forge their spirit. You’ll find an abundance of information in this special two-volume ebook anthology in support of this thesis. Kimberly Taylor wrote four chapters, the first being an interview with 7th-dan Matsuo Haruna. Haruna offers great advice for practitioners based on his first-hand experience. Taylor’s two highly researched chapters give overviews of two major iaido schools. Excellent photos and descriptions of katas accompany the text. Taylor’s finale is a...

Introduction The katana is more than a weapon—it’s a legacy etched in steel, sharpened by centuries of discipline and spiritual resolve. For many, it is a breathtaking display piece, admired from behind glass and revered as a relic of a bygone age. But to truly understand the katana is to realize it was never meant to simply sit still. It was designed to move—to cut, to defend, to honor. In the hands of a samurai, it embodied character, code, and courage. This book is a journey through time, metallurgy, philosophy, and technique. We’ll explore how the katana came to be, how it was ...

From his deathbed, Hero-King Inglis, the divine knight and master of all he surveys, gazes down on the empire he built with his mighty hand. Having devoted his life to statecraft and his subjects' well-being, his one unfulfilled wish is to live again, for himself this time: a warrior's life he'd devoted himself to before his rise to power. His patron goddess, Alistia, hears his plea and smiles upon him, flinging his soul into the far future.

Arthur Hart-Synnot, a third-generation British officer, was sent to Japan in 1904 to learn the language of Britain's newest ally. Masa Suzuki, a beautiful Japanese woman scorned because of an early divorce, worked at the Tokyo Officers' Club. The two fell immediately in love and conceived a son before Arthur was whisked away by the military during World War I. Though Arthur would only see Masa little, he supported his Japanese family and kept alive the hope that he and Masa could live together blissfully.

In 1868, Japan is a nation tearing itself apart. The age of the samurai is ending. The Emperor's modern, rifle-wielding army marches to erase 700 years of warrior tradition, and their final target is the fiercely loyal Aizu clan, the last bastion of the old world. Based on the extraordinary true story of the Boshin War, this novel brings to life one of history's most remarkable and little-known figures: Nakano Takeko. A woman trained from birth in the martial arts, her skill with the naginata is legendary, but she is barred from the official battle lines by her gender. As the Imperial army ...

The famed samurai sword (nihonto) represents the pinnacle of bladed weaponry in the Japanese warrior’s arsenal. This book addresses the sword’s intrinsic historic, monetary, military, and artistic values.The seven chapters for this particular anthology were selected from materials published in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts. Tharp’s chapter details aspects of the nihonto that make it unique in the world as a valued objet d’art, protected by law codes specifically written to preserve these cultural relics even when made by contemporary master smiths. DiCristofano writes on sword ...

"Ryōma!" tells the life story of Sakamoto Ryōma, one of the great figures in the turmoil that engulfed Japan in the years before the 1868 Meiji Restoration. The novel is a masterwork by the prolific historical novelist Shiba Ryōtarō and has sold more than 24 million copies in Japan since publication in 1966—and still counting! The novel has everything: a winning main character, an action-packed plot, swordfights, and romance, but it is also a fascinating, easy-to-digest history lesson about Japan’s response to the shocking arrival of United States Commodore Matthew Perry’s “...

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After a brief respite, Kirito and Eugeo set off again to climb Central Cathedral--but the powerful Integrity Knights are not about to let them reach the top. Meanwhile, Kirito has learned the dark history of the Underworld and the true stakes of the battle they're fighting, and every step toward Alice brings him closer to an impossible decision...

Heroes, Like Swords, Are Forged In Blood! From the steaming jungles of Southeast Asia, to the neon-lit streets of Miami, SUPER NINJA is a saga fifty years in the making, yet, its roots reach back billions of years. This first volume, THE SWORD OF HEAVEN, fuses the lives of two young boys with boundless imaginations, a heroic Vietnam vet lost in his pain, a beautiful thief searching for meaning with her skills, and the quest for a mystical sword forged from the stars that binds them all. A race against time unfolds in a bloody tapestry woven with a master ninja assassin; a genius billionaire...

After returning from the battle at the Rust Mountains, what awaited Will was not a fairytale ending or another terrifying threat, but the commonplace events of his everyday life. His friendship and a fierce battle with his dependable ally, the swordsman Reystov. An adventure in a snow-filled forest with the troubadour Bee. A battle with an ancient indomitable giant. And prayers and conversation with the god of the flame.

On a rain-lashed night Matajuro Yagyu loses the duel that should have proved his worth and is banished from his father’s estate. Desperate to reclaim his honor, he sets off to find Banzo, the reclusive sword saint rumored to cut steel with silence itself. What Matajuro discovers is not the clash of blades but years of hauling water, splitting logs, and fending off his master’s sudden wooden-sword ambushes. Each bruise strips away pride, each chore hones awareness, until the young samurai’s spirit becomes keener than any forged edge. When Matajuro finally draws his katana he learns the...

Even adventurers want a change of pace every now and then. Priestess stays behind for once, Cow Girl visits town without any work, Guild Girl takes a rare day off, and High Elf Archer reminisces about old adventures instead of looking for a new one. But evil doesn't take vacations. Goblin Slayer, Spearman, and Heavy Warrior are teaming up, but is this irregular party good enough to battle demons?!