Swords and Accouterments Exhibition Masterpieces Since Muromachi

Some 20 masterpieces of Japanese sword since Muromachi Era in the possession of the members of the Japanese Sword Museum are displayed in an exhibition at Takamatsu's Kounan Museum of History and Folklore, open till December 6.

The exhibition traces the history of Japanese swords and the skills of swordsmiths with the passing of time from Muromachi Era till today.

Legendary "Sanshu Jumitsunaga" is accompanied by a document describing the circumstances of its making at Takamatsu Castle in mid-Edo Era.

Among the exhibits are "Bizennokuni Fukuoka Ichimonji", a masterpiece in Kamakura Era; "Shumei Bizennokuni Shigemasa" in the era of the Northern and Southern Courts; "Kazukanosuke Fujiwara Kaneshige" in early Edo Era, etc. All these are masterpieces in respective eras.

Also on display is a replica of the national treasure "Kogarasumaru" known to have been made in the middle of Heian Era when straight swords were gradually giving way to curved swords.

The museum advises visitors to appreciate the beauty of blades and blade patterns and respective eras when they were made.

Our readers may be somewhat baffled by rather long names of these blades referred to in the episode. A few extra lines might help you  follow the story.

These names are either "given names" or inscriptions. Given names are mostly described in documents or containers. The inscriptions, called "mei",  are chiseled directly on the tang and indicate the province, the smith and words meaning "made by" or "respectfully". The "meis" were frequently forged over centuries and it takes high professional skills to identify genuineness.

Legendary swords often have meaningful names given them like the above "Kogarasumaru" or "Little Crow" currently in the Japanese Imperial Collection.

Incidentally, Karasumaru lives today in the world of manga "Log Horizon" where the sword is the name of a divine sword used by Sojiro Seta.