Paul Martin

Paul, a Masters Graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, joined The British Museum in London in 1993, joining the Department of Japanese Antiquities in 1998. There he cared for and studied the Japanese sword and armor collections. Paul has presented swords on the BBC and BBC Radio 4, Discovery Channel (Weapons Masters and Some Assembly Required.), The History Channel, Los Anglese JATV, Japanese Television and has been featured in interviews by Tokyo Metropolis Magazine, The Daily Yomiuri and The Asahi Weekly. He has studied swords at many shrines, museums, and the workshops of eminent swordsmiths and polishers.. Paul left the British Museum in 2003, then in 2005 curated an exhibition of modern Japanese swords (hailed by the Los Angeles Japanese Consulate General "as the first exhibition of its kind in America.") at The Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena. Paul has provided translations for the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo (Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai), the All Japan Swordsmiths Association, The Oku-Izumo Tatara and Sword Museum and the All Japan Sword Traders Association. He has also produced several leading books and DVDs.

Paul travels between London, San Francisco and Tokyo where he continues to study the Japanese sword as well as Kendo, Iaido, kenjutsu.

Specialties: All aspects of Japanese swords. Appraisal and conservation services. Exhibitions, lectures, sword literature translations. Fixer and translation service for swordsmiths and martial artists in Japan.