Customer Reviews

Japanese Military Sake Cups 1894-1945: (Schiffer Military History Book)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Easy to understand for amateurs. Enough material to interest the experts. Clear and concise explanations matched with fantastic photography make this the definitive reference for military sake cups. Highly recommended for both miltaria collectors and Japanese history buffs.

Thanks for your interest in my book. It took me years to assemble all of the cups and several thousand $ to have them all professionally photographed by Lynne McCready. As a result of this book there is now an ebay community dedicated to sharing information on the subject called "OSAKE". When I first started collecting these cups back in Japan in 1989 there was no information available and little interest. That sure has changed! - Dan

I just received a copy of Dan King's review and pictorial collection of Japanese WWII Military Sake Cups. This book is simply beautiful. It is loaded with crystal clear photographs of hundreds of WWII Japanese sake cups. Author Dan King has a wealth of experience in the area of Japan, the Japanese language, and the history of WWII Japan. He has visited many of the actual battle grounds on the Japanese islands -some of them restricted and quite difficult to gain access to. His expertise with the Japanese language is most helpful; Dan has included a Kanji (Japanese character)guide to aid in translating the writing on the sake cups. This makes the whole adventure that much more exciting. I highly recommend this book to the novice or experienced collector. Also visit Dan King's web page. He is a consultant (Last Samurai and Letters from Iwo Jima) and voice over actor in many of the Japanese WWII movies that we all enjoy.

In closing let me add that I lived and worked in Japan from 1987-89. I wish at that time I would have known more about these little treasures; I would have started my collection then.

Enjoy.

LaMonte Heflick
www.rempub.com
author Pup Fiction books

Appears to be the definitive work on this rather esoteric subject. Now I can identify and evaluate the several hundred cups I bought while living in Japan. Beautiful color photos.

Most people have never heard of Japanese military sake cups; most of those who are aware of them probably don't collect them. If you're interested in Dan King's book, then you must either be a collector or must want to know more about how and why these sake cups were made, who used them, and what types are available for collecting. Although the book is only 144 pages, it's in a large format suitable for display on a coffee table or book shelf. Inside many sake cups are pictured in full color, and enough historical background information (plus black and white photographs) is given to give a new collector a great resource. For most of us, the chapter on Japanese Kanji is terrific.

Since collecting these cups really is a VERY specialized hobby, a more comprehensive book would be more expensive and have an even smaller target audience. However, a lot of information now is available on the internet at several web sites. The valuations listed in the book may or may not be accurate, and as your interest grows in this hobby you should follow the eBay sales and auctions to get a better idea of sake cups and bottles that are more common, less common, and rare. For example, although about 50 sake bottles are pictured in Dan King's book, there's only one of the highly-prized "artillery shell" variety, and it doesn't have it's matching sake cup that forms the tip of the artillery shell.

If you do develop an interest in Japanese military sake cups, you'll want to know more about the actual battles and events that they commemorate. Find some books on Japanese history from 1894 until Pearl Harbor, or rent some recent DVDs like "The Children of Huang Shi", "Empire of the Sun" and "Nanking" to get a view from the non-Japanese perspective..