Connoisseur's Book Japanese Swords is a Kodansha International publication.

"This index contains a comprehensive listing of more than 20,000 Japanese swordsmiths, from the early days right down to modern times, i.e. from kotô to shinsakutô. It is not simply a list of names, it also provides biographical information according to the extent of a smith's fame. Aim is to give the reader a coherent picture of a certain smith, that means his civilian name, how did he sign, in which style did he work, and who was his master or his school environment. Thereby, the most common theories on a smith are included and discrepancies in the transmissions are pointed out. This work is a revised and completely new recorded list of smiths by incorporating all relevant Japanese and non-Japanese sources. Incorrect entries and double listings were deleted and readings corrected. The smiths are listed in alphabetical order and sorted according to their used characters. A list of all characters used in the names of the smiths in this index is available, sorted by stroke order, so that the search of a smith with an unknown reading is also possible."--Back cover.

"A reference/historical guide to the ""collectable"" market of Japanese military swords. Subjects covered include rebellion swords, Army, Air Force and home-defence emergency-issue swords, civil officials' swords, detail on blades, swordsmiths and markings, and collecting."

My aim with this publication is to make the major genealogies of Japanese swordsmiths and their schools from the kotô to the shintô and shinshintô periods easily accessible to the Western reader, namely in that they are complete and have been revised for the first time, in a single book. The publication begins with a brief introduction to the history of Japanese sword literature. Ziel dieser Publikation ist es, dem westlichen Leser die Stammbäume japanischer Schmiede und deren Schulen von der kotô- über die shintô- bis zur shinshintô-Periode erstmals gesammelt und revidiert zugänglich zu machen. Diese Publikation beinhaltet zudem eine kurze Einführung in die Geschichte der japanischen Schwertliteratur.