An updated book on Tsuba, the artistic and genius hand guard to the Japanese Samurai's edged weapons. This new edition sports the welcome and controversial valuations of Tsuba, elusive to most Tsuba publications. Additional Tsuba have been added, along with accompanying information for these newly included pieces. Theme explanations, descriptions and collection notes also follow a brief backdrop into the beginnings of how the collection came to be. With the continuation from the book, "Tsuba - in the hands of a collector (vol 1.5)" this book is the effort to show a small, but growing, portion of Tsuba to a larger audience as the pieces rightly deserve. Collected through the Western eye, in appreciation to the Eastern Art.

"This extensively illustrated catalogue is published in conjunction with the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the arts of the samurai, including the finest examples of swords - the spirit of the samurai - as well as sword mountings and fittings, armor and helmets, saddles, textiles, and paintings. The works in the catalogue, drawn from public and private collections in Japan, include 34 officially designated National Treasures and 64 Important Cultural Properties, the largest number ever to be shown together at one time. Dating from the 5th to the early 20th century, these majestic objects offer a complete picture of samurai culture and its unique blend of the martial and the refined." "Many of the greatest Japanese swordsmiths are represented in this volume, from early masters such as Yasuie (12th century) and Tomomitsu (14th century) to the Edo-period smiths Nagasone Kotetsu and Kiyomaro. The blades by these and other masters, cherished as much for their beauty as for their cutting efficiency, were equipped with elaborate hilts and scabbards prized for their exquisite craftsmanship and fine materials such as silk, rayskin, gold, lacquer, and certain alloys unique to Japan. Japanese armor is also fully surveyed, from the rarest iron armor of the Kofun period (5th century) to the inventive ceremonial helmets made toward the end of the age of the samurai." --Book Jacket.