lamdha books -
Catalogue of books on Japanese martial arts and weapons

Click on the small images at right to see a larger picture

207389 Gleason, William The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido Destiny Books, Rochester NY, 1995. Quarto; paperback; 203pp., with monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; rubbed covers with slight wear to edges; creasing at corners; a few small marks to the text block edges. Very good. Click here to order $17

93698 Haskel, Peter Sword of Zen Master Takuan and his Writings on Immovable Wisdom and the Sword Taie University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu HI, 2013. Octavo; paperback; 182pp. Remainder. New. Click here to order $17

207317 Hoban, Jack (Foreword by Stephen K. Hayes) Ninja Warrior Bojutsu Defense Techniques Contemporary Books Inc., Chicago IL, 1987. Octavo; paperback; 111pp., with many monochrome illustrations. Minor wear. Near fine. Click here to order $14

207404 Kenrick, Doug The Book of Sumo Sport, Spectacle, and Ritual James Weatherhill Inc., New York NY, 1969. Octavo; hardcover, with silver-gilt upper board and spine titling and decorated endpapers; 171pp., with many monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; lightly toned and faintly spotted text block edges; one or two scattered spots to the early pages. Dustwrapper with tiny tears, chipping and scrapes along upper edge; now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $35

207768 Kokubo, Kenichi [The Equipment of a Japanese Sword Encyclopedia Illustrated] Kogeisha Publishing, Tokyo Japan, 1971. Royal octavo; hardcover, full cloth with silver-gilt spine titles; 136pp. (Japanese text), with many full-colour and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear. Dustwrapper now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Near fine. Click here to order $40

207561 Lewis, Peter The Art of the Ninja Ward Lock Ltd., London, 1988. Quarto; hardcover, with illustrated boards; 128pp., with many full-colour and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear; boards a bit rubbed. Dustwrapper rubbed and edgeworn; now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Near fine. Click here to order $24

97571 Lowry, Dave The Karate Way Discovering the Spirit of Practice Shambhala, Boston, 2009. Octavo paperback; 183pp. Mild wear to cover edges and corners. Very good. Click here to order $15

207324 Lowry, Dave Sword and Brush The Spirit of the Martial Arts Shambhala Publications Inc., Boston MA, 1995. Octavo; paperback; 119pp. Minor wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn with some light creasing. Very good. Click here to order $15

207756 Munroe, Alexandra (ed.) Spectacular Helmets of Japan 16th-19th Century Japan Society/Kodansha International, New York NY, 1985. Quarto; hardcover, full cloth with gilt spine titles; 193pp., with many full-colour illustrations. Minor wear. Dustwrapper now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Near fine. Laid in: a page of Japanese calligraphy. A masterpiece of fantastic and fantastical helmets of the Samurai Lords. Click here to order $50

212149 Natori-Ryu (trans. Antony Cummins & Yoshie Minami) The Book of Samurai: Fundamental Samurai Teachings The Collected Scrolls of Natori-Ryu Watkins Media, London, 2015. Octavo hardcover; 414pp. Dustwrapper. Remainder. New. Click here to order $25

71059 Perrin, Noel Giving Up the Gun Japan's Reversion to the Sword 1543-1879 David Godine, Jaffrey NH, 1979. Octavo; paperback, with illustrated wrappers; 122pp., with many monochrome illustrations. Remainder. New. Whilst few would contend that it is impossible to return the djinni to the bottle, or the toothpaste to the tube, this is exactly what the Japanese did in relation to their switching from the sword to the gun. Incredibly, having mastered gunpowder and firearms, the samurai Shogunates eschewed the gun for the more "gentlemanly" art of the sword. In this fascinating overview, Noel Perrin examines the emergence and relinquishment of ballistic weaponry by the Japanese over the period 1543 to 1879, when the isolationist policies of their country began to break down. Populated by Dutch traders, Jesuit missionaries, Portuguese ambassadors and British bully-boys intent on colonial machinations, readers of Japanese history will take delight in this insightful exposition. Click here to order $13

207336 Robinson, B.W. Arms & Armour of Old Japan Victoria & Albert Museum Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1963. Reprint: octavo; paperback; 18pp., with 26pp. of monochrome plates. Minor wear; covers lightly rubbed. Very good. Click here to order $15

207523 Robinson, B.W. The Arts of the Japanese Sword Faber and Faber Ltd., London, 1970. Reprint: octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine titles on a black label; 110pp., with 8 colour plates, 104pp. of monochrome plates and many other monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; spine heel softened; some minor spotting to the text block edges; previous owner's name in ink to the flyleaf. Price-clipped dustwrapper is lightly rubbed and edgeworn; now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. This book contains detailed information about the making of blades, and also about guards and other sword furniture; there is a highly technical chapter on how to judge a blade, another on the chief schools of Japanese swordsmiths and lists of swordsmiths with their names in Japanese characters, and the schools to which they belonged, along with a thousand other items of information about, for instance, care and cleaning, evolution of styles, year periods, nomenclature of parts and places of manufacture. Indispensable for the collector. Click here to order $60

207439 Sasamori, Junzo & Gordon Warner This is Kendo Charles E. Tuttle Co., Rutland VT, 1972. Octavo; hardcover, with metallic red spine titling; 159pp., with many monochrome plates and illustrations. Mild wear; offsetting to pastedowns and endpapers; faint spotting to text block edges. Illustrated dustwrapper with chipping and wear to edges; tiny tear on lower front edge; now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Click here to order $25

203734 Shioda, Gozo (Jacques Payet and Christopher Johnston, trans.) Aikido My Spiritual Journey Kodansha International, Tokyo Japan, 2013. Octavo; hardcover; 205pp. Dustwrapper. Remainder. New. Click here to order $24

207385 Stevens, John Abundant Peace The Biography of Morihei Ueshiba - Founder of Aikido Shambhala, Boston MA, 1987. Quarto; paperback; 129pp., with monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn; remainder mark on text block top edge; faint spotting to text block edges. Very good. Click here to order $18

203785 Tanaka, Fumon Sword Techniques of Musashi and the Other Samurai Masters Kodansha International, New York NY, 2013. Quarto; hardcover; 233pp., monochrome illustrations. Dustwrapper. Remainder. New. Click here to order $25

51613 Turnbull, Stephen The Samurai and the Sacred Osprey, Oxford, 2006. Hardcover, small quarto, 224pp., colour plates. Dustwrapper. New, remainder. Most works on the samurai of Japan focus on the martial aspects of the culture; in this work, however, Stephen Turnbull - a world-renowned expert on the subject - chooses instead to expand upon the spiritual roots of the warrior caste. The samurai trod a narrow path between military function and the Buddhist constraints imposed by society; the blending of these philosophies - and also of such ideologies as Confucianism and even Christianity - led to some extraordinary intellectual and spiritual athleticism. Turnbull discusses the various individuals, texts, sects and cults that have shaken the Japanese swordsmen across the ages. Click here to order $25

212384 Turnbull, Stephen The Samurai Swordsman Master of War Tuttle Publishing, North Clarendon VT, 2008. Quarto; paperback; 208pp., with many colour and monochrome illustrations. Remainder. New. This Samurai history, filled with dozens of woodblock prints and photographs, is an authoritative text on Japan's most fearsome warriors. Through fascinating stories and full-color historical images that show the samurai in mesmerizing detail, military historian Stephen Turnbull provides an invaluable guide to an enduring legacy. The earliest samurai warriors were actually aristocratic mounted archers, not swordsmen. Only as the archer gave way to the mounted spearman did swordsmanship come into play. Turnbull details how the history and the legacy of the samurai developed over centuries into a multifaceted, richly elaborate tapestry of martial and societal traditions. From the first recorded use of the word samurai in the eighth century to the final wars waged in resistance to the Meiji government in the late nineteenth century, this Japanese history book recounts the complex history of these warriors and demonstrates why the samurai continue to fascinate the world today. Click here to order $24