Art of Japanese Sword PolishingYoshindo Yoshihara Setsuo TakaiwaLabel: Kodansha America IncDescription: To understand Japanese sword polishing is to understand the Japanese sword. Down through the years the great sword connoisseurs in Japan have been sword polishers. A swordsmith can spend a large amount of time forging a classic sword but refining and bringing out its final shape color and texture so that all the details of the steel and hamon (the temper line) are clearly visible is the responsibility of another craftsman-the sword polisher. An experienced polisher can tell immediately by whom a blade was made so distinctive is each smith's work and so vital is