Book Review: Samurai Swords, A Collector's Guide to Japanese Swords

I mentioned a long while back that I was growing interested in Nihontou (Nee-hon-toh) 日本刀, or "Japanese swords", and possibly collecting them as I do kimono.

However (you sword collectors out there can stop laughing! ;) ), my naive enthusiasm was squashed as I soon learned actual antique katana, etc. prices make kimono look cheap!

I knew I wanted to learn more anyway, but haven't had a chance until I recently ran across the 2009 book Samurai Swords: A Collector's Guide to Japanese Swordsat my local Barnes and Noble ($14.99).

Written by Clive Sinclaire, a collector of 40 years, kendo instructor, and a Chairman of the To-ken (Sword) Society of Great Britain, this book is a densely-packed introduction to the world of the Japanese sword. He covers history, construction, preservation, sword etiquette (did you know you are supposed to bow to a sword you're about to examine?), and a variety of interesting facts.

For those of you interested in kimono, I would compare this book with Liza Dalby's seminal work Kimono. It's a ton of information written in a half-casual, half-scholarly style that gives you the basics but also allows you to delve much deeper.

One of the most interesting parts for me wasn't in the text: it was the flipped mirror image photographs of the bare blades (no guards or wrapping) of various antique swords. Beyond making me laugh at my $50 knock-off I take with me to kimono-dressing panels, the swords are gorgeous and intriguing in their simple, deadly beauty. It reminded me of looking at prototypes of cars: all curves, metal and sheen.

Despite this beauty, however, Sinclaire is quick to point out exactly what they were meant for and keeps a fairly neutral, even-handed tone throughout the book, giving more facts than opinion and not sinking into the "Mystical Magical Japan" fluff some Western authors fall prey to.

An unusual example from the history section: To test a newly made Japanese sword several hundred years ago, an official tester used it on either living convicts or the bodies of convicts who had been given the death penalty. The results of the test (for example, how many bodies the sword made it through) were inscribed on the blade as a ranking system of sorts.

On a less gruesome note: if you've ever wondered, like I have after seeing the terms tossed around, what the difference between a katana and a tachi is, that's here too. Generally speaking, a tachi is a longer, lighter sword meant to be worn and used one-handed on horseback, slung with the cutting edge down, and a katana is worn as part of a man's clothing, worn with the scabbard pushed through the side of the obi with the cutting edge uppermost.

(As a note, my copy says "A Collector's Guide" while the ones I'm finding online are "Practical Guide", but the ISBN numbers are the same: ISBN 10 0-7858-2563-0, so I'm guessing it's just different cover runs.)

Culture: The Samurai Ritual of Seppuku

Traditional samurai culture is famous for its many rituals, code, and formal view of life, but one of the most well-known is the tradition of "seppuku". Seppuku 切腹 is another, more formal way of saying "hara kiri" 腹切り (pronounced hah-rah-kee-ree, the first one is usually written and the second one spoken), which is ritual suicide through cutting one's stomach open.

Seppuku was originally done by the samurai class and at times required permission. Sometimes the samurai chose it himself, upon the death of his lord, defeat in battle, or to protest a superior's decision. Sometimes he was ordered to by his lord or a conquering enemy, for various reasons.

Battlefield seppuku was much less ritualized, but the other form that grew alongside it and eventually became a part of the judicial system in its own right had a basic series of steps, which could vary but generally went like this:

The samurai would be bathed, dressed in white robes and would eat his favorite meal. Once finished, a special knife (tanto) would be placed in front of him, and he would then write a "death poem" reflecting on the moment, his impending death, or his life, ideally in a serene, impassive way.

In a sign of how much writing and art were valued in old Japan, a great warrior leaving behind a death poem with poor handwriting, cliched sentiments, or one that just wasn't very good would knock a dent in his legacy.

After the poem he would take up the knife and cut himself horizontally across the stomach. To prevent undue suffering, a second man (usually a friend, comrade, or sympathetic enemy) would stand behind him with sword drawn, and cut his head off once the horizontal cut had been made. All of this occurred in front of spectators.

In a grotesque bit of etiquette, the decapitating slice done perfectly would stop short enough to leave a flap of skin connecting the head to the body, so the head would flop over rather than go bouncing across the floor.

Seppuku went the way of the samurai and is no longer used or seen in modern Japan, minus the unique case of accomplished writer Yukio Mishima in 1970, who committed seppuku after leading a failed coup attempt at a military base.

Pop Culture Samurai: Sengoku Basara

The Sengoku (literally "warring states" 戦国) period was a time of chaos in Japan, when just about everybody and his brother was fighting over their corner of the country and their neighbors' as well.

Sengoku Basara is a testorone-laden, over-the-top pop culture spin on that time, featuring real-life historical characters and some poetic license on the history involved. You can check it out in video game, anime or manga format.

I've recently seen a few episodes of the 2009 anime series, thanks to Funimation (Season 2 is this summer). It both surprised me and made me laugh: as a former resident and big fan of the city of Sendai, it was fun watching its ancient and revered founder, the "one-eyed dragon" Date Masamune, appear on-screen as a trash-talking punk wielding six swords and riding a horse with motorcycle handlebars strapped to it.

Geisha Cameos in History: Princess Pig

Geisha have, through their connections with government officials and samurai, played quiet roles in history, both large and small, and so every now and then I'll toss up a post about one of them. Today's cameo is a very small one but I like it as it shows geisha don't always have to be tiny to be considered beautiful and interesting. :)

Awhile back I reviewed a biography of Saigo Takamori, an important 19th century samurai who you can see faint echoes of in Ken Watanabe's Katsumoto character in The Last Samurai. Long story short, he led the failed Satsuma Rebellion against the new, modern Meiji government (which he helped get into power, ironically enough) and was a folk hero by the time of his death, considered by the general populace to be a samurai's samurai and eventually pardoned by the same government that killed him.

While he had a wife, Saigo showed her little love and was apparently far more fond of a Kyoto geisha (geiko) he took as his mistress. I haven't been able to find her real name, but apparently she was a much larger girl compared to the other geiko and had the nickname "Buta-hime", 豚姫 or "Princess Pig." They were said to be quite passionate and ardent for each other, and he openly declared his love for her though this didn't have any legal effect on his marriage with his wife.

Considering that Saigo was a bull-necked, beefy guy just under 6' tall in a country and time where men barely cleared 5', the biography suggests part of Saigo's attraction to her might have been her relative size compared to him. That seems pretty simplistic and almost insulting to me, but I think their story would be an interesting one to learn more about.

Comicpalooza Fun

I'm a member of the Fan Force, a casual fan group for the Star Wars series. As a joint venture with the 501st (the Storm Troopers you see at charity events) and the Rebel Legion (same with Jedi and such), we're doing a booth at Houston's Comicpalooza this weekend.

After helping out with the booth (stop on by tomorrow if you're in town! We're doing fun green-screen photos with a Death Star hallway background and costumed characters for charity :) ), I changed into my newly complete formal men's outfit for a pseudo-samurai get-up.

Again, my kitsuke needs a lot of work but I had fun with it, and, as a costume, it's one of the only times I get to wear men's clothing (which is much easier to put on and more comfortable... lucky guys!).

I've got on an underkimono, kimono, haori jacket, hakama pants, tabi socks and geta sandals. If you want to play "what's missing" I should technically have big white poofball ties on the haori coat and zori instead of geta, but I don't have either of those yet. Maybe next time!

Samurai Loyalty: Honor and the "Get Out of Death Free" Card

I'm currently reading my way through an interesting samurai biography (The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori, review to come once I'm done), and part of the beginning touches on their famous loyalty to their lords, which included both "individual" and "institutional" aspects.

In the first way, samurai loyalty could be shown in the medieval idea of "junshi", 殉死 the act of committing suicide upon your lord's death rather than going on to serve another lord.

Junshi required the lord's prior approval, and was technically outlawed in 1663, but "remained a model for individual loyalty". This showed a samurai's connection to his lord as an individual man, rather than just the title of lord itself.

However, if your lord was being a jackass, you had an out. ;) Samurai were also called upon to guard the "state" of the lord, the good of his holdings and kingdom and the future of his heirs. This was institutional loyalty, and gave samurai the right to directly disobey their lords if they felt their lords were making poor decisions (gambling away the estate, marching into a battle for the wrong reasons, etc.), or opt out of junshi if they felt they could better serve the state by living.

"Snow, Wave, Pine" Book Review: A Thing of Beauty

Bamboo leaves, piled high with snow, drifting across a green silk kimono. A sword guard made to look like a ring of delicate, open fans.

If you're looking for interesting, unique art or just artistic inspiration, Motoji Niwa and Sadao Hibi's Snow, Wave, Pine: Traditional Patterns in Japanese Design, a 196-page book published in 2001, is full of these sorts of luscious examples of Japanese design, with everything from wave-patterned geta (sandal) straps to a snowflake-adorned box for smokers.

The book walks the reader through 75 of the most common motifs, from peonies to lobsters, giving a page or two-page spread to each one. A paragraph of text gives a basic description, with the majority of the page devoted to several clear, vivid examples for each motif taken from a range of design: kimono, hair combs, musical instruments, dishes, fans, sword guards and more.

This book's blessing and curse comes from its minimal text and explanations. If you're a casual reader or someone who doesn't know much about Japan, you'll appreciate its very brief copy and lack of many Japanese-only words.

If you have more than a passing interest in the topics, however, it can prove annoying at times. For example, the back half of the book shows over 1,000 family crests (家紋 kamon), but in most cases only gives the English name of the pattern used, like "encircled intersecting arrows", not the family it usually belonged to or even what the pattern itself would be called in Japanese. (Finding out the kimono you own has a "paper dolls and paulownia" crest doesn't do much for learning more about it.)

That said, the book is, overall, a gorgeous introduction into the world of Japanese design. I'd recommend it for anyone with an interest in Japan, artists or designers looking for inspiration outside of the West, or just about anyone who enjoys beautiful things.