Japan is a wonderland of the beautiful, the mystical, the serene, the playful and the historical. Especially with the latter, if you count years using this imperial era system, this year (2022 on the Western calendar) would be 2681 in Japan. Not many countries can claim that. If we use the standard references for age (ie: BCE) Japan is 660 BCE, China is 221 BCE, San Marino is 301 CE. France, San Marino, Hungary, Egypt and Greece are not far away.
But, as well as age, this post is about Japan and its ancient wonders, one of which is the Samurai – they of legend and bad cinema – (Kirosawa, Ozu, Mizoguchi and so many others excepted.) In our millennia, we are so fortunate to be able to explore ancient history in such detail, with so much supporting information, and the ability to get “up close and personal” with history’s real things.
To be specific, if you’re an aficionado, or even a casual amateur historian, you enjoy the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. The Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords was founded in 1948 to prevent the art of Japanese bladesmithing from going extinct. Initially housed in the Tokyo National Museum, the society’s headquarters was moved to the Yoyogi district in the 1960s. It established a museum to showcase its extensive collection of swords spanning centuries.
Read more here courtesy of the always fascinating AtlasObscura.com.
The museum, itself, is evocative of Japanese style and design. Japan is a treasure.
Japanese Traditional Yakatabune Dinner Cruise. Enjoy a delicious dinner surrounded by stunning views of Tokyo Skytree and Tokyo Bay as you cruise down the Sumida River toward the bay. Click here.
Baolau have travel options all over asia. Click here.