Art of the Japanese Sword

A steller documentary!
The Art Of The Japanese Sword I found both informative and completely memorizing. And quite frankly blew the doors off of the documentary I have seen produced by National Geographic. I found the commentary from the artisans and guildsmen very detailed and informational that was explained in layman's terms that every artist can relate to. I also found these men extremely humble. A honorable trait by far.
For anyone that appreciates culture, history and tradition as well as a western society glimpse into an otherwise previously veiled world this is a MUST see!

One of the best....
I like and enjoy many things Japanese. I was a missionary there as my last job. Any free time I had I went out looking for specific Japanese crafts/craftsmen(women). I found a couple of hands full. Unfortunately, I never found a sword-maker or any of their lot. I did find a knife and carving tool maker who was most interesting to watch and ask questions of.

Now comes this DVD.... horribly expensive for my poor wallet....but never-the-less... I'm very happy with it.

It is NOT a Japanese product...there you must watch the craft-person's face for 1/2 of the video. Next, you get to see maybe 10 min. of actual hand/tool work....and the rest is preparing some food for everyone involved.)

So with that relief...I tell you that I got to see much of all that is involved in making all facets of the trade.
(Face and food viewing was minimal or non-existant.) The various parts of construction were great...but WAY to short for my likes. I like and want...

Excellent Overview
I really enjoyed Art of the Japanese Sword. Definitely the best of the western documentaries that I've seen on the subject. It presents a very good overview, especially if you're a newcomer to the world of Japanese sword making.

As good as it is, I couldn't help but feel that,for the price, it should have been a little longer and more in depth. I could listen to the sword makers talk about their art all day. Like most attempts at covering this subject, the blade gets the bulk of the coverage here with the furniture, polishing, and saya getting short shrift at the end. Again, I can understand this perspective but the documentary is under 90 minutes in length. There was obviously room for more.

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