Press Release

Ladies and Gentlemen, here is a soon to be distributed press release, but I
thought you all should get it first.

The Japanese Sword�The Yoshihara Tradition of Swordmaking
Pacific Asian Museum, Pasadena March 19, 2005-June 19, 2005

Press preview-

The Pacific Asia Museum is proud to present Tosho--The Yoshihara tradition
of swordmaking. The exhibition, the first of its kind in Los Angeles for
over 30 years, features the work of twelve award winning swordsmiths, four
of whom have been awarded the rank of mukansa by the Agency of Cultural
Affairs of Japan. The exhibition highlights the idea that Japanese swords
are not merely weapons, but also spiritual objects of great artistic value.
The swords will be exhibited in same manner that they are displayed in
Japanese museums and shrines, far removed from their practical use,
illustrating the different styles of workmanship and expression of the
individual artist. The swords will be borrowed from collections on the West
coast of the United States, from collectors in Japan and from many of the
swordsmiths themselves.

The Japanese sword is the most efficient, intrinsically beautiful,
meticulously handcrafted blade in the world. They are produced by methods of
manufacture that have remained relatively unchanged for a thousand years.
Once forged, they undergo a rigorous polishing procedure that involves as
many as 20 different grades of stones and copious amounts of water. This
polishing process enhances the wood grain like quality of the steel and the
hamon: a complex crystalline structure, created by the quenching process,
that traverses the blade�s edge. The hamon provides the blade with a tough
resilient edge that remains sharp even with heavy use.

The sword has always been highly revered within Japanese society. It is one
of the three objects of the Japanese imperial regalia, along with the mirror
and the jewel. According to Japanese mythology, a sacred sword found in the
tail of a dragon was brought down from heaven with the ancient gods to begin
the imperial line of Japan. Swords are often dedicated to shrines and
temples as gifts for the residing kami (gods) or as vessels for them to
reside in. The changes in shape and manufacture of Japanese blades reflect
the periods in which they were produced, and in many cases, it was the sword
that wrote Japanese history. Later, during the peaceful Edo period
(1603-1868), the sword was viewed as an instrument of direction for the
warrior seeking enlightenment, guiding the samurai on ethics of conduct and
self-improvement.

With the restoration of power from the Shogun (military commander) to the
Emperor Meiji in the latter part of the 19th century, the samurai became a
relic of Japan�s ancient past. The Japanese people craved modernisation and
industrialisation equal to that of the western powers. This caused a decline
in the call for swords and the art of swordmaking was almost lost. In 1933,
Kurihara Hikosaburo, a keen sword enthusiast and a member of the National
diet, in an effort to save the craft, began a project to recruit and train
swordsmiths from all over Japan. The first member to sign up for this
project was Yoshihara Katsukichi, a toolmaker. Katsukichi would later to use
the art name Yoshihara Kuniie and become one of the most famous swordsmiths
of the Showa period (1926-1989). Swordmaking was once again threatened by
the allied occupation of Japan following WWII. All swordmaking and related
activities were banned during this time. Kurihara again spearheaded a
revival of the craft, but this time many of the smiths did not to return to
swordmaking, including Kuniie�s brother and son. Kuniie however, became one
of the pioneers of the post-war rebirth of Japanese swordmaking, leaving us
several prominent smiths as his legacy.

Kuniie�s descendants continue to this day to produce Japanese swords in the
traditional manner. The exhibition displays examples of several generations
of his family and their former apprentices. The current head of the
Yoshihara school Kuniie�s grandson Yoshihara Yoshindo, (recently appointed
an Intangible Cultural Property of Tokyo) will be coming from Japan to open
the exhibition and give a talk on the opening day. Yoshindo�s younger
brother Shoji (Kuniie III), is the current deputy chairman of The All Japan
Swordsmiths Association and in 2004 had a cameo role in the Warner Brothers
movie The Last Samurai. Yoshihara Yoshikazu is Yoshindo�s son and the fourth
generation of Yoshihara smiths. In 2003 he became the youngest smith ever to
be elevated to the rank of mukansa (above competition level).

The guest curator for the exhibition is Paul Martin, a former member of the
Japanese department of the British Museum in London - where he studied and
cared for the arms and armour collections. The former All England Karate
Champion currently lives in Japan where practices kendo and is furthering
his study of Japanese swords at national museums, shrines and at the
workshops of many of Japan�s top swordsmiths and sword polishers.