the United States—the land of his birth and sympathy. Notwithstanding, Executive Order 9066 compelled Japanese-Americans to be gathered and interned and eventually to be moved from coastal areas. Tanforan Race Track in San Bruno, California, became “home” for him and his new wife Vickie.
On June 30, 1942, he was visited by an Officer of Naval Intelligence and abruptly sent off alone to Boulder, Colorado. Vickie was eventually allowed to join him there where he had become part of a newly established Japanese Language project. He had been recruited because of his innate skills as a teacher and his unique experiences as a teacher of the Japanese language and customs to Naval officers. Initially, his job was to train Americans in how to interrogate Japanese prisoners.
As the language program expanded, he and Vickie were moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma where their first child Kathleen was born. Eventually, with the consolidation of the language program after the war, they were moved to Fort Ord in Monterey, California, where son Ted was born and where Yumoto Sensei continued teaching at the Navy Post-Graduate Language School.
His love of Japanese swords only increased at the end of the war. Returning servicemen brought swords home by the thousands. Almost all were unaware of their importance. He was sought out for his ability to identify and educate and his main goal was always preservation of the sword. He always stated that these swords were treasures—works of art made many years ago. He stressed they were great personal weapons of a bygone era and no more could be made. They were sturdy, yet fragile in many ways and could be destroyed by neglect, misuse, or clumsy attempts at removing signs of damage. Trying to improve them by removing rust with American methods horrified him. This book was intended to educate Americans as to the significance of their treasures. This involved classification as to type, value, etc., but mostly so that the swords would be preserved as long as possible for future generations to enjoy. He was always glad to see them dispersed widely in the hands of people who would value them and carefully preserve them. If flood, fire, earthquake, and wars, in some cases, harmed them, there would be others still safe. He was glad to see them exchanged for money. If an individual paid for them they were more likely to take good care of them.
He was instrumental in founding clubs devoted to study and appreciation. Most of our sword clubs today owe their initial foundry to his influence.
He attended sword club meetings regularly and many American collectors were instructed by him. He attended sword club “buy and sell” shows not for commerce but to give teaching lectures and he always sat at a table and invited collectors to bring their treasures to him for identification. There was never a charge for this, only a jar for donations, which were given to the club presenting the show.
He led study groups to Japan to spend time visiting museums, individual collections, and conventions of the major sword clubs of Japan, the NBTHK (Nihon Bijustu Hozon Kyokai) and NBTHK (Nihon Token Hozon Kai) groups. He was honored by a special award and recognized for his teaching of Americans by the NBTHK.
Study this book well. It remains the primary instruction work in English for many collectors. Before it was written, the literature was sparse in any language but Japanese. There were brief writings by those who visited and purchased souvenirs in Japan in the late 1800s and early 1900s; but all were woefully short and unenlightened. They dealt mainly with the shape and function of the sword. I personally found only two brief manuscripts or lectures by someone at the University of Pennsylvania and a booklet by Dupree on the function of a curved sword.
When the swords came home with returning servicemen, few knew of their value. A magazine article about fortunes in Japanese swords piqued monetary interest, but no knowledge. After the Japanese surrender, General McArthur ordered all swords in Japan to be surrendered to the Occupation forces and destroyed. One American officer, with help from two Japanese sword scholars, managed in the nick of time to convince him to save the swords identified by the experts as art swords. Thus was born the NBTHK, the largest art sword group in Japan.
Swords as works of art, what do we mean by that? Is not the sword of Japan just a great personal weapon or a symbol of military spirit and a badge of office of the Samurai class? No, many have said that the Japanese sword is the greatest work of art ever in steel.
These ancient artisans, country blacksmiths though they were, created masterpieces we admire today not just for their efficiency as a personal defensive weapon, but for their beauty as well. Modern engineers who study the metallurgy of steel are amazed at the skill with which these swords were made and especially their heat treatment and the way they were fabricated of several different steels, so arranged that the sword would not bend or break in use. The file hard edge is protected and supported by a backing of elastic softer steels. They are then “polished” by an intricate process. The grain of the steel is revealed in patterns and clusters of visible particles, and clouds of different colors of the metals. The process is intricate and fascinating. The swords are capable of being studied, admired, and identified as to the locale of the manufacturer.
As these swords arrived back with returning war veterans, those of a certain mindset among them began to wonder at the swords complexity and beauty, and longed for greater knowledge. Those that had any experience with them were sought after and the blind led the blind.
John Yumoto changed much of that. The first effect was Americans learning to identify the “hand forged” swords from those turned out by wartime sword factories. We learned from the pictures which swords belonged to which branch of the Japanese military. We learned that the writing on the tang could be “read” by using the writing samples in this book. The light began to dawn and sword collecting really began in earnest among those who were exposed to them. Thanks to John Yumoto we learned to respect, identify, and care for them.
Yumoto Sensei was a unique individul: endowed with a near-genius intelligence and a driving work ethic.
He had the ability to be a superior teacher in many fields. His love of the Japanese sword and his desire to see it preserved forever is evident. Enjoy his work in this volume. May you be intrigued and instructed, as have so many, to learn to enjoy these masterpieces in steel art.
—Dr. Carroll Ford
Former editor of Japanese Sword Society of the United States’ newsletter and an elected board member of JSSUS for 20 years. Dr. Ford was a student of Yumoto-sensei for 14 years.
FOREWORD
THE PURPOSE of this brief handbook is to furnish samurai-sword owners and collectors with information about their swords, to relate some of the intriguing history and legends surrounding them, and to emphasize their artistic value.
Because of the value of such swords, information about their proper care and maintenance is contained herein. It is hoped that some far-sighted individual will one day initiate a foundation whose sole purpose shall be to collect samurai swords and preserve their beauty for posterity as objets d’art.
Through the mist and fog of great antiquity, there remain the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, which are still held in reverence by the people: the Sacred Mirror, the Comma-Shaped Beads, and the Sword—the three most highly prized national treasures in Japan. The fact that the Sword is listed among them is significant in that it indicates that the Japanese do not regard the sword as being merely a weapon. Some people collect these valuable and rare masterpieces as avidly as some seek old pistols and stamps.
In ancient times it was well established that anything suitable as an offering to the gods had to possess three elements: purity, rarity, and value. The sword was believed to have all of these characteristics, and it was a not uncommon practice to give one as a votive offering. According to records, the first such offering was made to the gods in 3 B.C. Later, the sword became the symbol of the samurai code and acquired further spiritual qualities.
The
