Magnificent blade engraving
The Nagoya Sword Museum “Nagoya Touken World” will hold the special exhibition “Magnificent Blade Engravings” from Thursday, October 1, 2026, to Sunday, January 17, 2027.
This special exhibition commemorates the receipt of the highest award, the “Kunzan Prize,” in the “Blade Engraving Division” of the 2025 Contemporary Swordsmith Exhibition by blade engraver Soju Yanagimura, who carved the Kurikara dragon on the museum’s collection piece, “Large Spear, inscribed ‘Made by Tsunehira, resident of Hasedo, May 5, Reiwa 6, for Soju’” (a reproduction of Nihongo).
Focusing on the richly detailed expression of the Kurikara dragon carved on this work, the exhibition will introduce the history of blade engraving and the evolution of its designs.
Please enjoy to your heart’s content the techniques and sentiments that have been embodied in blade engravings, which have brilliantly adorned Japanese swords.
Main Exhibits
Nagoya Touken World Sword Museum
- Hommachi-dori Street in the Sakae area was constructed as a means to commute between Nagoya Castle and Atsuta Jingu Shrine just as the castle was being built at the beginning of the Edo period. More than 400 years later and the metropolis of Nagoya as we now know it owes much of its culture to this road. Nagoya Touken World—or the Nagoya Sword World—came to be in this very area in the Nagoya Touken Museum as a homage to the rich local history.
Nagoya Touken World displays numerous ancient swords, armor, and other wartime memorabilia as well as important cultural properties in the present day as proud pieces of Japanese culture. Transcend time and space in the world of Japanese weaponry at Nagoya Sword Museum along Hommachi-dori Street in Nagoya's bustling Sakae area—host to both a rich history and the future to come.
Details
| Schedule | Thursday, October 1, 2026 – Sunday, January 17, 2027 |
|---|---|
| Regular Holiday | Mondays (or the next weekday if Monday is a public holiday) Exhibition changeover period (11/16–17), year-end and New Year holidays (12/28–1/4) |
| Time | 10:00–17:00 (Note: Last admission until 16:30) ・First term: Thursday, October 1 – Sunday, November 15 ・Second term: Wednesday, November 18 – Sunday, January 17 |
| Venue | Nagoya Sword Museum “Nagoya Touken World” |
| Cost | • General: ¥1,200 • University students / High school students: ¥500 • Junior high school students / Elementary school students: ¥300 *Free for preschool children • Seniors (65 and over): ¥1,000 • Groups (20 or more): ¥300 off general admission / ¥100 off all other admission categories |
| Price Details | Persons with disabilities (including 1 accompanying person): Free *Please present your disability certificate. |
| Contact | Nagoya Sword Museum “Nagoya Touken World” zaidan@token.co.jp |
| TEL | 052-262-6000 |
| Home Page | https://www.meihaku.jp/event-sword-sculpture/ |
| Access | 10-minute walk from Yabachō Station on the Nagoya Municipal Subway Meijō Line 9-minute walk from Ōsu Kannon Station on the Nagoya Municipal Subway Tsurumai Line 12-minute walk from Fushimi Station on the Nagoya Municipal Subway Higashiyama Line |
