Book Review: Kinki no meikō by Nihon Katchū Bugu Kenkyū Hozonkai

Book Review: Kinki no meikō by Nihon Katchū Bugu Kenkyū HozonkaiTitle: Kinki no meikō
Author: Nihon Katchū Bugu Kenkyū Hozonkai
Publisher: Nihon Katchū Bugu Kenkyū Hozon Kai, 1998
Language: Japanese
Illustrations: Color and black and white pictures
Other: 100 pages, 30.5 cm by 21.5 cm, hardcover
Topics: Abumi, Bagu, Bugu, Kabuto, Katchū, Kura, Menpō, Teppō
ID: B0193

Very nice and now rare publication from the Osaka regio branch (Kinki) of the The Armour society. Many pieces you will probably not find in any mainstream publication. Does also include several old akodanari kabuto and haramaki etc. Limited to 300.

Book Review: Armures Japonaises à la XXVIe Biennale des Antiquaires by Jean-Christophe Charbonnier

Book Review: Armures Japonaises à la XXVIe Biennale des Antiquaires by Jean-Christophe CharbonnierTitle: Armures Japonaises à la XXVIe Biennale des Antiquaires
Author: Jean-Christophe Charbonnier
Publisher: ToriiLinks Editions, 2012
ISBN: 2-9520006-6-2
Language: French and English
Illustrations: Color Pictures
Other: 80 pages, 33 cm by 24.5 cm, hardcover
Topics: Bugu, Kabuto, Katchū, Kura, Menpō, Sōmen
ID: B0189

Very nice sales catalog of Jean-Christophe Charbonnier, with armours, kabuto, menpō, sōmen etc. Several pieces have several pictures from different angles, as a good book should have.

Book Review: Armures Japonaises à la XXVe Biennale des Antiquaires by Jean-Christophe Charbonnier

Book Review: Armures Japonaises à la XXVe Biennale des Antiquaires by Jean-Christophe CharbonnierTitle: Armures Japonaises à la XXVe Biennale des Antiquaires
Author: Jean-Christophe Charbonnier
Publisher: ToriiLinks Editions, 2010
ISBN: 2-9520006-5-4
Language: French and English
Illustrations: Color Pictures
Other: 96 pages, 33 cm by 24.5 cm, hardcover
Topics: Bagu, Bugu, Kabuto, Katchū, Kura, Tōsōgu
ID: B0188

Very nice sales catalog of Jean-Christophe Charbonnier, with armours, kabuto, menpō, bugu, bagu etc. Very beautiful photography as usual, with multiple shots of an armour, as it should be.

Book Review: Helmets of the Saotome School by Teruo Orikasa, Luc Taelman, Jo Anseeuw

Book Review: Helmets of the Saotome School by Teruo Orikasa, Luc Taelman, Jo AnseeuwTitle: Helmets of the Saotome School
Author: Jo Anseeuw, Luc Taelman, Teruo Orikasa
Publisher: Luc Taelman, 2010
ISBN: 9789076831008
Language: English and Japanese
Illustrations: Color and black and white pictures
Other: 136 pages, 32 cm by 25 cm, hardcover
Topics: Kabuto
ID: B0182

This book is the follow up to the groundbreaking work of Teruo Orikasa ‘Saotome ha kabuto shashin shū‘ from 1984 (see B0194). Illustrated with helmets from the private collections of Luc Taelman and Aymeric Antien, the book was designed to create a photographic document for those who are eager to find out more about the different Saotome helmet makers. To make sure that the beauty of the helmets itself can be enjoyed, 38 helmets, with over 250 pictures by Jo Anseeuw, were used to illustrate different Saotome smiths. Also included is a scientifically study about the school and a technical analysis of the construction of the helmets, based on the limited amount of facts that are available.

Book Review: Daimyō Seigneurs de la guerre by Chantal Kozyreff (ed.)

Book Review: Daimyō Seigneurs de la guerre by Chantal Kozyreff (ed.)Title: Daimyō Seigneurs de la guerre
Author: Chantal Kozyreff
Publisher: Europalia Japan in Belgium 89, 1989
Language: French
Illustrations: Color pictures
Other: 87 pages, 30 cm by 23 cm, softcover
Topics: Bugu, Kabuto, Katchū, Menpō
ID: B0177

Nice catalog from the big ‘Europalia 89″ exhibition that was held in Belgium. Contains mostly famous kawari kabuto. That exhibition was with full collaboration of the Japanese Armor Society, something they are still very proud of, and rightly so. Several high level members like Mr. Orikasa (Saotome specialist) and Mr. Miura (Armour maker) flew over and stayed for a while in order to set up the exhibition and do demonstrations. Not all items are illustrated in the catalog.

Book Review: Samurai Opere della Collezione Koelliker e delle Raccolte Extraeuropee del Castello Sforzesco by Giuseppe Piva

Book Review: Samurai Opere della Collezione Koelliker e delle Raccolte Extraeuropee del Castello Sforzesco by Giuseppe PivaTitle: Samurai Opere della Collezione Koelliker e delle Raccolte Extraeuropee del Castello Sforzesco
Author: Giuseppe Piva
Publisher: Mazzotta, 2009
ISBN: 978-88-202-1921-5
Language: Italian
Illustrations: Color Pictures
Other: 143 pages, 30 cm by 24 cm, softcover
Topics: Abumi, Bagu, Bugu, Kabuto, Katchū, Kura, Menpō, Nihontō, Tōsōgu
ID: B0176

Very beautiful exhibition catalog round the Koelliker collection. The exhibition was curated by Giuseppe Piva and contains also articles from Francesco Civita and others. Impressive.

Book Review: Samurai by Chantal Kozyreff (ed.)

Book Review: Samurai by Chantal Kozyreff (ed.)Title: Samurai
Author: Chantal Kozyreff
Publisher: Gemeentekrediet van België, 1984
Language: Dutch
Illustrations: Color pictures and black and white pictures
Other: 181 pages, 30 cm by 21 cm, softcover
Topics: Abumi, Bagu, Bugu, Kabuto, Katchū, Kura, Menpō, Nihontō, Sōmen, Teppō, Tōsōgu
ID: B0175

Very nice exhibition catalog from 1984 with many pieces in European collections (private – mainly L.J. Anderson and Bernard Le Dauphin – and public) in 1984, and two top pieces from Yasukuni Jinja in Japan. The black and white pictures are often on the dark side, the color ones are much better. Also a French edition exist.

Book Review: Kunst in Japan tijdens de Edo-periode 1603-1868 by Chantal Kozyreff

Book Review: Kunst in Japan tijdens de Edo-periode 1603-1868 by Chantal KozyreffTitle: Kunst in Japan tijdens de Edo-periode 1603-1868
Author: Chantal Kozyreff
Publisher: La Renaissance du Livre, 2003
ISBN: 2-8046-734-8
Language: Dutch
Illustrations: Color Pictures
Other: 189 pages, 28.5 cm by 21 cm, softcover
Topics: Abumi, Inrō, Kabuto, Katchū, Kura, Menpō, Netsuke, Nihontō, Paintings, Tōsōgu
ID: B0173

Nice exhibition catalog about the collection of the Musée du Cinquantenaire – Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Bruxelles, with besides armour also tōsōgu, paintings, netsuke, inrō, ukiyō-e,…

The catalog does also exist in French.

Book Review: Samurai – Japanse wapens and wapenrustingen by To-ken Club België v.z.w.

Book Review: Samurai – Japanse wapens and wapenrustingen by To-ken Club België v.z.w.Title: Samurai: Japanse wapens and wapenrustingen
Author: To-ken Club België v.z.w.
Publisher: To-ken Club België v.z.w., 1994
Language: Dutch and French
Illustrations: Black and white pictures
Other: 211 pages, 30 cm by 21 cm, softcover
Topics: Abumi, Kabuto, Katchū, Menpō, Tōsōgu
ID: B0172

Exhibition catalog from an exhibition held by the the Belgian To-ken Club, where I was a member many years ago. It was my first ‘organized exposure’ to armour, swords, tsuba etc.

It is a painful coincidence is that this review comes online almost exactly two weeks after the then ‘voorzitter’ from the society, Willem Dolphyn passed away. So Willem, thank you for my first baby armour steps!

Book Review: Arts of Asia May-June 1977 by W.H. Tilley

Book Review: Arts of Asia May-June 1977 by W.H. TilleyTitle: Arts of Asia May-June 1977
Author: W. H. Tilley
Publisher: Tuyet Nguyet, 1977
Language: English
Illustrations: Color and black and white pictures
Other: 104 pages, 30 cm by 23 cm, softcover
Topics: Inrō, Kabuto, Menpō, Netsuke, Sōmen, Tōsōgu
ID: B0171

This number of Arts of Asia contains an article on the history of Japanese armour, nothing ground breaking but nicely illustrated. The issue contains also interesting articles on inro, netsuke ukiyo-e and costumes of the noh theatre.