Title: Shingen Kenshin, soshite densetsu no gunshi - Taiga dorama tokubetsuten fūrin kazanVery nice book related to Shingen Kenshin, published at the occasion of the taiga drama.
In 2014, a magnificent Japanese armour exhibition took place in “Le Château des Ducs de Bretagne” in Nantes. At the occasion of the exhibition, two catalogs were published. The fIrst one, “Samouraï – 1000 ans d’histoire du Japon” by Pierre-François Souyri is now already sold out. More unique however was the big collector’s edition, limited to 94. This edition included the original catalog (bound in the Japanese way), plus a special full color book with pictures of several of the armours and other items, and a limited edition, unique print of one of the 47 ronin, specially made for this occasion by Morii Kusuo. The book got the prestigious “le Prix du Livre d’Art 2015” at the “Nuit du Livre, Paris.”. I have been told by the curator of the exhibition that only a few copies are still available. These can be ordered via the website of the castle museum in Nantes.
Video of the normal catalog
Video of the special edition catalog
Some pictures of the exhibition in Nantes.
This is a short but nice article about Robert Soanes, one of the very view Japanese Armour restorers. His teacher is Fumio Nishioka, vice president of the Japanese Armour Society, and a top restorer in Japan. Link to article.
Thomas Del Mar Ltd holds biannually arms and armour related sales since 2005 entitled “Thomas Del Mar Ltd in association with Sotheby’s“. The next sale will be on June 29th, 2016.
The auction catalog can be viewed online here
Several Japanese items are for sale in the catalog and the kind people of Thomas Del Mar Ltd supplied me with some high resolution pictures for you to enjoy.
Some very nice kura: (link to auction catalog, click on the picture for a high resolution picture)
A nice Saotome Iyechika kabuto (link to auction catalog, click on the picture for a high resolution picture). Note that in the description of the kabuto, reference is made to our book Helmets of the Saotome School.
A new Armour exhibition is underway in the Iyeyasu and Mikawa Bushi Museum in Okazaki, Japan. The exhibition runs from May 20 till July 16, 2016. There will be no catalog.
More info can be found here (Japanese).
Pamphlet (click for larger pictures)
Title: Yanagawa no bijutsu 2 (Yanagawa Bunka Shiryō Shūsei, dai 3 shū 2)Nice catalog about the many art objects from Yanagawa. Some very interesting armour related items are also displayed, among many other items.
The armour society meeting of May 2016 had as theme “Ko Myōchin”, the old Myōchin. Nine Myōchin kabuto from the Tenbun period (1532-1555) where brought by members of the society to look at the Myōchin smiths that were active in that time.
People interested in joining the Japanese Armour society can find more info here, and contact me at katchunobi [at] gmail [dot] com.
Title: A glossary of the construction, decoration and use of arms and armor in all countries and in all times, together with some closely related subjectsA classic work. Fabulous overview of all kinds of arms and armor form all over the world. Originally published in 1934, it remains one of the best overview works written on this topic. This is the version of 1961. Wikipedia entry of George Cameron Stone: entry.
Title: Legend in Japanese art : a description of historical episodes, legendary characters, folk-lore myths, religious symbolism, illustrated in the arts of old JapanA classic work. Originally published in 1908 (see later), this remains one of the monumental works written on Japan, together with the Ko-ji hō-ten by V. F. Weber (B0178) and Dictionnaire D’Histoire Et De Geographie Du Japon by E. Papinot (B0792). Many other topics besides armour.
A separate “Analytical Index” exist (B0799)
Title: Shumi no katchūOne of the many books of Yoshihiko Sasama, richly illustrated with line drawings (and a few B&W pictures).
