The Ultimate Netsuke Bibliography is a comprehensive bibliography of more than 4,400 bibliographic print and non-print entries covering all aspects of Japanese netsuke, the miniature carvings which Japanese men used to suspend various items from the sash belt that fastened their kimono. It is organized into 15 major and 5 minor categories. Each category is further divided into 11 subcategories. Additional features include four indices (Author, Journal, Place, and Subject), and a variety of appendices. It contains 2,196 books, 1,861 journal articles (457 from the Netsuke Kenkyukai Study Journal), 367 from the Journal of the International Netsuke Collectors Society 1,494 auction catalogs, 431 items in French, 254 items in Japanese, 60 items prior to 1900, including 9 auction catalogs. Includes most materials published through the end of 1998. A section of Late Arrivals, including last minute submissions and items in early 1999, is listed as well. This volume is a necessity for every netsuke collector, bibliophile, art library and museum.

This book is a catalogue of a special exhibition (1907-1908) of Japanese sword guards, or tsuba, has been prepared by Mr. Okabe-Kakuya. To our knowledge it is the first attempt to treat the history of the tsuba and tsuba makers apart from the other branches of metal work which enter into the ornamentation of the Japanese sword. Of the three sections into which the book is divided, the first gives a brief general history of the art, specifying the different periods in which the artists worked, the various circumstances and influences which from time to time caused new developments of form and material, and the results due to these changes. The illustrations in this section are reproductions of drawings by Mr. Okabe from woodcuts in the Japanese books at the Museum. The second section consists of an alphabetical list of the more important schools of tsuba makers. The list of names given is strictly confined to those of men who actually made tsuba, and does not include artists who worked only in other forms of metal work. The third section serves as a guide to the present exhibition. It is accompanied with half-tone plates giving typical illustrations of various schools and artists. In instances where the execution, design, or material is of particular interest, special notes have been added.