Masters of the Japanese Sword: The Interviews (Masters of Martial Arts) Paperback – January 29, 2026

Interviews with Japan’s leading swordsmiths and craftsmen who combine to create the samurai sword, a work of art unique to Japan. The Japanese sword has endured for a thousand years as the pinnacle of samurai culture. It is a world rarely seen by outsiders. To experience the true story of the Japanese sword, we visit not only Japan’s best swordsmiths who forge the blade, but the artisans who toil away to create this rare work of art, including blade polishers, engravers, handle makers and scabbard makers and makers of the metal fittings. Our interviews are published here for the first time in uncut format that separate the myth from the fact, and reveal the technique, precision and mastery that is required by each skilled craftsman of the Japanese sword.Our journey begins with one of Japan’s grandmasters of the Japanese sword, swordsmith Kawachi Kunihira, followed by Manabe Sumihara, who seeks to replicate swords from the samurai era, by smelting his own steel with an ancient recipe. We meet swordsmiths who have spent their life in the forge, searching for an excellence in sword making that will equal swords forged in the Kamakura period of the 13th and 14th century, that produced the greatest swords in history, found today only in museums and treasured private collections.For the traditional martial art or budo enthusiast, we reproduce in this book our in-depth interview with sword master Otake Risuke sensei at the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu – the oldest sword school in Japan, where traditional fighting techniques of the samurai are still practiced.The interviews are presented with additional notes and commentary by the author, that give a frank yet humor filled behind the scenes look into our visits with the swordsmiths and craftsmen.Our guide for this journey is Paul Martin, a Japanese sword expert and former curator in the Japanese section at the British Museum in London. Paul is also a a trustee for the Nihonto Bunka Shinko Kyokai Public Foundation in Japan. Paul Martin can be found at thejapanesesword.com.Masters of the Japanese Sword is a book that will sit beside classic texts on Japan’s unique warrior class, the samurai and their swords that are cherished not just for their incredible beauty but for their deadly cutting ability. Read more