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From the Publisher:
"For students of Japanese history, culture
and art, the study of these ancient manuscripts expands
the appreciation of the sword in traditional Japanese
society. For the student of the samurai, these manuscripts
give a window into the icons that they treasured and
helped shape their values. In this work Dr. Buck presents
81 digitally restored early to mid-nineteenth century
manuscripts that cataloged both drawings and measurements
of historically significant Japanese swords from the
Ancient Period (before 794) to mid-Edo Period (until
the 1780s). Beginning with an overview of of the evolution
of Japanese samurai swords, this work also contains
translations, descriptions and information about the
then current locations of the listed swords and their
previous owners. The book ends with a comprehensive
glossary of sword terms and definitions."
From the Author:
 "This book contains a collection of 81 digitally restored black-and-white hand-drawn illustrations, dating from 1810 to 1849, of famous ancient Japanese swords and fittings. These originals were heavily damaged through a combination of age, neglect, regular wear and tear, and bookworms. The preservation and restoration of these manuscripts was done in a two step process, first the original was stabilized to avoid any further wear, then it was digitized, cleaned, and restored. During this procedure, when possible, I took the titles and text from the manuscripts and translated them into English. Although the text on the manuscripts includes measurements of the items displayed, my translations focus primarily on the sword descriptions and the names of their then current owners and/or locations. To read the measurements and other text not translated, I included a quick reference guide, measurement translation instructions, a listing of the most commonly used characters, and a conversion table with both Japanese Shaku, Metric and English measurement systems."
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