白賁押形集 | Hakuhi Oshigatashū – With English Translation and Commentary
 
Oshigata by: Akiyama Kyūsaku
Annotations by: Sasano Masayuki and Horii Rai
Produced by: Mitsuru Ito
Translated by: Mark Radburn & Rei Itoh
Publisher: gallery 陽々 youyou
Publication Date: November 1, 2026
 
Price: JPY 17,500 → JPY 16,000 (To celebrate the publication of Hakuhi Oshigatashū, we are offering a special introductory price of JPY 16,000 until December 31, 2026. The regular price of JPY 17,500 will apply from January 1, 2027.)
 
Format: A4, softcover, 347 pages, special two-color printing for text and illustrations
 
Limited Edition: 500 copies
 
The book is printed on carefully selected paper ideally suited for fine art reproduction, allowing readers to appreciate the oshigata taken by Akiyama Kyūsaku ō, as well as the handwritten annotations left by Akiyama himself, Horii Rai, and Sasano Masayuki sensei, with exceptional clarity.
 
A Message from the Producer:
 
Hakuhi was the art name of Akiyama Kyūsaku ō, who was the first to establish the classifications of sukashi tsuba, including the terms still used today, such as Tōshō, Katchūshi, Kyō, Shōami, and Owari.
 
The Hakuhi Oshigatashū is a collection of oshigata taken from tsuba that Akiyama encountered during the course of his research, as a means of recording and classifying them. According to “the Showa 11 (1936) memorial issue of Tsuba, dedicated to Akiyama Kyūsaku ō”, the collection consisted of 22 volumes, which were presented to the Yamanouchi family. However, not all 22 volumes were presented. Eight of them were entrusted by Akiyama to his disciple, Horii Rai of Nagoya, for further research, and were subsequently passed on to Sasano Masayuki sensei.
 
These eight volumes are titled Tōshō, Katchūshi and Kamakura Tsuba; Owari, Kanayama and Yagyū Tsuba; Owari Tsuba - uncertain attribution (Kuni Fumei-mono); Akasaka and Edo Tsuba; Shōami, Umetada, Higo and Kinai Tsuba; Various Provincial Tsuba Maker (Shokoku Tsubakō); Supplementary to Various Tsuba Makers (Sho Tsubakō Hoi); and one untitled volume. In total these eight volumes contain illustrations of 654 oshigata.
 
These eight volumes include many tsuba whose schools even Akiyama Kyūsaku ō was unable to determine, suggesting that he intended to leave them for future research. Some of his classifications may seem difficult to accept from today's perspective. Nevertheless, he was undertaking a task that no one before him had accomplished, and these volumes are invaluable records that reveal his process of trial and error.
 
I had the privilege of designing three of Sasano sensei's books, beginning with The Origins of Tosogu. From the time I first met him in 1976 until his passing in 1993, I received his guidance and teachings on sword fittings.
 
These eight volumes of oshigata were entrusted to me by Sasano sensei just a week before his passing. I feel that the baton passed from Akiyama Kyūsaku ō to Horii Rai, and then to Sasano sensei, should now be passed on to as many people as possible, including researchers and enthusiasts overseas. With this in mind, I have decided to publish these volumes and entrust them to those devoted to the appreciation and study of sukashi tsuba.