Samurai swords always draw a crowd, but the current exhibition at the Suntory Museum of Art is taking that attraction to another level.
The museum in Minato Ward, Tokyo, has been drawing attention for its collaboration with popular online video game "Touken Ranbu -ONLINE-" for the exhibition "The Sword: The Soul of the Warrior." The Yomiuri Shimbun and the museum organized the exhibit, which is on view through Oct. 31.
The object of the video game is for players to collect and develop Touken Danshi, who are famous historical swords symbolized by warriors. These warriors try to protect history from changing by battling enemies scheming to change its course.
Four famous swords symbolized in the game are on view in the exhibit, so the collaboration was launched to commemorate the display of these important cultural properties.
The long swords Hizamaru, Honebami Toshiro and Yoshimoto (Soza) Samonji are on view throughout the exhibit, while the dagger Akita Toshiro is exhibited from Oct. 6 through 31.
Visitors will be able to see life-size panels of the four Touken Danshi at the museum, where original collaborative products featuring illustrations of the characters are on sale, including metal button badges and notepads.
The audio guide for the exhibition features the voice of Yuto Suzuki, who voices Honebami Toshiro in the video game.
Many of the swords on display in the exhibit were donated to temples and shrines in the Kansai region, mainly Kyoto.
For more information, visit www.suntory.com/sma/exhibition/2021_3/
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