A Museum a Cut Above the Rest

On the 19th I decided to get some light travelling in. I called up my friends, thanks to my new handy dandy keitai, but sadly no one was available. Fortunately I didn't mind going out alone and that's exactly what I did. On that day I went a Sword Museum. One would think that this museum would be somewhere in a metropolitan area with an absurd amount of tourists in attendence. Fortunately for me, it was not. I had to get off in a suburban area, Sangubashi Station, and wander the backstreets for awhile to find the actual museum. The museum itself is quite small. In fact it consists of a first floor with seats and a small pictorial display and explanation on how Japanese swords are forged. The second floor houses the museum proper, and is only one small room with glass cases housing, you guessed it, swords. These swords were from various times in Japan's history, some from Hein, some from Kamakura etc. All of them were beautiful. There was an interesting poster about the evolution of the Japanese sword overtime. We all know the Japanese sword for its distinctive curved appearance. But, what is not known is that in the earliest times of Japanese history, the sword started out as a straight blade. I know that most will overlook this post as there are no jokes or anything of the like. But, the Japanese sword was said (by most) to be the soul of the samurai. Even if that fact has been embellished over time, since Bushido and ceremony came in vogue, when the Hagakure was written, the Japanese sword, and indeed any true weapon from any culture, MUST be treated with the most respect. After all, at its most basic (as in without any of the extra spiritual meaning given to tools of war over time) a weapon is something with the power to take life and protect life. I've heard that officers in the U.S. Military don't refer to their sidearm as a "gun", it is this same kind of honor, care and seriousness which should be given to any weapon. Sorry to digress. But for you sword aficionados out there, I highly recommend seeing this museum.

Gambatte

-DPN