Shamelessly cut and pasted from the Pasadena Pacific Asia Museum website. The following is at: http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/calendar/jsword.htm

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The Japanese Sword: The Yoshihara Tradition of Swordmakers

March 19 to June 19, 2005

Swords
Three swords.
Made by Yoshindo Yoshihara
Photograph courtesy of Leon Kapp and Aram Compeau.

The Japanese sword is the most efficient, intrinsically beautiful, meticulously hand-crafted icon in the world. Their method of manufacture has remained relatively unchanged for over a thousand years. Once forged, a sword undergoes a rigorous polishing procedure which brings out the qualities of the blade – a wood grain type pattern in the steel – and the crystalline structure
(hamon) along the blade’s edge. Hamon gives the blade a tough resilient edge that remains sharp even with heavy use.

The sword has always been highly revered within Japanese society. In Japanese mythology the first sword was found in the tail of a dragon and was
brought down from heaven with the ancient gods to begin the imperial line
of Japan. Swords are often dedicated to shrines and temples as gifts for the
residing kami (gods) or as vessels in which they reside. In many cases, it was the sword that wrote Japanese history. Later, during the peaceful Edo period (1603-1868), swords were viewed as instruments of guidance for warriors seeking enlightenment, steering the samurai on ethics of conduct and self-improvement.

With the restoration of power from the Shogun (military commander) to the
Emperor Meiji in the latter part of the 19th century, the samurai became a
relic of Japan’s ancient past. As Japan modernized, the call for swords
declined and the art of swordmaking was almost lost. In 1933, in an effort to
save the craft, Kurihara Hikosaburo, a sword enthusiast and a member of the
National Diet, began a project to recruit and train swordsmiths from all over
Japan. The first member to sign up for this project was a toolmaker, Yoshihara Katsukichi. Katsukichi was later to use the art name Yoshihara Kuniie and become one of the most famous swordsmiths of the Shôwa period (1926-1989).

To this day, Kuniie’s descendants continue to produce Japanese swords in the traditional manner. The exhibition displays examples of several generations of his family and their former apprentices. The current head of the Yoshihara school is Yoshihara Yoshindo who has recently been appointed an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Tokyo. The exhibition includes work by twelve award-winning swordsmiths, four of whom have been elevated to the rank of mukansa (above competition level) by the Agency of Cultural Affairs of Japan. The swords will be exhibited to emphasize their spiritual and artistic qualities and illustrate the different styles of workmanship and the expression of the individual artist.

* March 19th, 2005,1pm to 2pm
The Life of a Master Swordmaker
Yoshihara Yoshindo, a third generation swordsmith of the Yoshihara lineage, will talk about his craft and give visitors a glimpse into his life as a Mukansa level smith who has been named Prefectural Living Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government. Free with museum admission. In case of rain, this program will be postponed to Sunday, March 20, 2005, 11:30am to 12:30pm.

* March 20th, 2005,1:30pm to 2:30pm
The Art of the Japanese Sword:Beauty and Spirituality
Exhibition curator Paul Martin will give an informative tour of The Art
of the Japanese Sword as he guides visitors on an exploration of the religious and social symbolism of this beautiful art from. Free with museum admission.

* April 16th, 2005, 1:30pm to 2:30pm
Lecture
Swordplay: Making and Breaking the Japanese Sword
This lecture, with Professor Bruce Coats of Scripps College, Claremont, will examine the fabrication of Japanese swords and the Shinto rituals involved in their production. This program is part of the April Teacher Program and is sponsored by the Freeman Foundation. Free with museum admission.


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I'll be there Saturday for the opening. Yoshihara Yoshindo is quite open and accessible. For those interested in Modern Japanese swordsmiths, there ya go, some of the best will be on display in Pasadena for a couple months. If all you've seen in production swords, go see what Japanese swords are supposed to look like... A few minutes just looking is worth years reading books, websites, etc. When Yoshihara Yoshindo visits California he usually is accompanied by the Kapp's (co-authors of the books that are quite famous). Leon and Hiroko Kapp are very nice people as well.

Wow, that sounds fantastic, Keith! Too bad I'm on the other side of the country, or I'd jump at the chance to go to this.

Fortunately it is almost literally right down the street from me. Okay, a few miles down a long street, but down the street... :)

Yoshihara Yoshindo has a lot of friends on the west coast and he is very much into California stuff in general. He is also seriously into boats and boating. Which is a good thing to be into if you're in any of the coastal areas of California. So we get blessed with lots of visits. And one fella who is a serious collector of his work also lives locally.

And fwiw, there are a couple Yoshihara swords up on Ted Tenold's legacyswords.com site. Luckily I was able to have them in-house for about 2 months as I took photos and studied them. I could never in my lifetime afford one of his blades (few can), but to have them for a good long time to study was fantastic. Just fwiw, let me link my favorite 2 images I took of the blades. Which show the craft of the maker as well as what is bloody near a perfect polish.

[ Linked Image ]

[ Linked Image ]

By the way, that's one good thing about studying swords up at that level of quality. *Every* aspect of the sword is done top notch. No cheap habaki, no sloppy polish, no corners cut. Truly a meeting of an old tradition realized today. And for me, looking at this level of work is seriously humbling. I joked with Ted that studying those blades alternately made me want to toss my stones in the trash or get out and polish more. Inspiring and depressing at the same time. ;)

Just got back from the exhibit. Probably more than 50 blades with virtually all of them in very good polish. Amazing. And one very cool thing is that they didn't limit it to the Yoshihara family but also included work by a number of smiths who have worked with them over the years. That meant one of my favorites -- Ono Yoshimitsu -- was included with a few blades including a tachi with an amazing juka choji hamon.

The swords are in plexiglass display cases (for obvious reasons) but the lighting was actually quite good. The exhibition is open for a few months. If you're local, go see it. Museum admission is something silly like $7. Free parking in their own (small) lot. They even had a few Yoshindo Yoshihara kogatana for sale in the gift shop.

Man O Man you post some of the best eye candy. Thank you.

Gorgeous piece ..... nice shot, Keith !

Everytime I get stopped for taking photo's I always feel obligated to give them my reverse lecture about these things belonging to history, and us all, despite who's paid for them ! ( regardless of the deaf ears it falls on ;-)
I'd be happy to pay a fee for the right to snap, figuring it would go towards their conservation, etc., but I tend to get very grumbly when I get the "Sorry, no photography" line !

Mac

Yeah, I'm with ya on that one. But... I also understand that sometimes the owners of the pieces on display don't want them photographed.

They had a decent book to go along with the exhibit (not really a catalog, but some of the swords are pictured). So I might need to scan a few pages for educational purposes and show them... Just to explain what they show. Educational, ya know...

Cool! The exhibit is on until June 19, and we visit Socal on the 13--- wonder if I'll be dejetlagged enough to get up there...

--ElJay

I just stumbled on a site with pics of the winning blades from all Japan sword competition 2004.

http://www015.upp.so-net.ne.jp/toshokai/Engli...swords.htm

I Hadn't seen these before so I thought I'd share the link. Surprise, surprise, there are some stunning pieces! (Including a katana by Yoshindo Yoshihara too)