Lethal Elegance: The Art of Samurai Sword Fittings

The item arrived very well package and timely. I could not be more pleased and highly recommend them.

Great quality color images, interesting text. Wish that there were 1:1 scale images rather than slightly oversized, but am not complaining.

The weapons and armor in this book are stunning. I've only looked at the pictures so far, but those alone are worth the purchase.

Very interesting book but I don't have the skill to make these items.

This review is a joint effort with Laerte E. OttaianoThe book is very good . It has a few annoying errors. I give example of two of them: On page 171 there is a tsuba described as "Design of Egret and Crab" . However the Crab is not there . It is on the back of the Tsuba and is relatively ugly in our opinion . On page 193 there is a tsuba described as "Design of deer and the moon". Again the moon can not be seem. It is on the back of the tsuba and is very,very, beautifull. You can check what we told in the book by Ogawa Morihiro on the Boston Collection. The great thing of this book is that it presents a new way to way to apreciate Tsubas.Kinko( as oposed to steel , sukashi tsubas) were underrated in the USA and Canada. Only steel tsubas were considered old and of true use by Samurai.As this book teaches us this is not so. Kinko Tsubas were used by Samurai and Sukashi Steel ( or Iron ) Tsubas are not usualy so old . This came as a great relief for us . We always thought that Kinko tsubas were works of art. It is a grest relieve to find this in this book

This is a gorgeous desk reference and coffee table book. It covers the museum's collection of late Edo era koshira(mostly tsuba). The examples are beautifully photographed, with signatures details and stories about the subjects and craftsmen. It makes anyone appreciate the craftsmanship and cultural appreciation of these items. You will not regret getting this book.

Outstanding book, completely illustrated with fabulous masterpieces of the japanese art of swordcraft. Five stars, this is a MUST HAVE book for all those interested in japanese swordcraft history as a visual and storical guide. I would recomend this book as a inestimable art and history guide for designers and artists of all kinds.

Such a great book. Beautiful pictures. A must for those who can't afford to buy the real deal

Great book

The great thing about this book is the photographs, which show the detailed craftmanship achieved by Japanese metalworkers. It also includes close up photos of the signatures on all the pieces (except the one I was particularly interested in, Ikedo Minkoku). The author obviously has access to a great deal of background information on the artists and snippets are included. However, I feel that the author has missed a golden oportunity in writing a great reference work by not including geneology charts showing where the artists fitted into the Japanese metalworkers world and has opted for a coffee table book. Overall, the book is a step up from most museum or auction catalogues. The worst thing about it is the title. There is nothing 'Lethal' about any of the objects, except maybe a kogai (hairpin)and many of the fittings were never made for 'samurai' but were bought by American collectors in the 19th century directly from the artists. But, I guess you have to include buzz words in the title to sell the book.

Hab lange auf das Buch gewartet aber das warten hat sich mehr als gelohnt. Wie gesagt, es ist wirklich eines der besten Bücher über Tsuba. Eine derart reiche Sammlung an Vielseitkigeit, Details und Kreativitat habe ich in keinem andrem Buch bisjetzt gefungen. Viele wunderschöne Illustrationen, die staunen lassen.

Een mooi boek met prachtige foto's, mag niet in de naslagcollectie m.b.t. tsuba's ontbreken.

Très beau livre sur les montures deSabres ,dommage qu'il soit écrit enAnglais seulement ,les photos sont superbes,les détails précis,et les mises en pages très bien réalisée