Japanese Sword: Soul Of The Samurai (Far Eastern Series / Victoria and Albert Museum)
Gregory Irvine is curator in the Far Eastern Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum, responsible for the collections of Japanese metalwork, particularly arms and armor. Formerly a curator in the Department of Japanese Antiquities of the British Museum, he joined the V&A; in 1990 and began work on a database of the museum's extensive sword collection, collected since 1865. As well as extended periods of research into collections of swords and armor in Japan itself, his other research areas include the philosophies and social context behind the use of weaponry in Japan's historical context.