J ● T| Japanese Traditions and culture

Japanese swords—nihonto—have recently become explosively popular among young female otaku.
Do you still think of them as “a hobby for middle‑aged history buffs,” or something related to “samurai?” “ninjas?”
In reality, we’re now in an era where young women gaze at Japanese swords with sparkling eyes!

The boom began with the online game Touken Ranbu (nicknamed Torabu), in which real historical swords are personified as handsome warriors, and players raise and lead their squads.
In short, it’s a game that anthropomorphizes Japanese swords.
Thanks to this game, more and more women have started visiting museums and exhibitions that house these swords.

Japanese swords, traditional weapons that have existed since ancient times, are admired not only for their effectiveness as weapons but above all for their beauty—the kind of beauty anyone can recognize at a glance.
The gentle, exquisite curve… the faintly shimmering hamon pattern… the unique appearance each blade possesses.
Even if you’re not an otaku girl, don’t you find them simply beautiful?
People in ancient Japan felt the same way.
Beyond their role as weapons, they valued the beauty of these swords as works of art, passing them down as family treasures.
Many of these masterpieces survive today and are even designated as national treasures.
Another charm of the Japanese sword lies in its perfection as a weapon.
To put it simply: “It doesn’t break, it doesn’t bend, and it cuts extremely well.”

The raw material is iron.
But achieving both “unbreakable” and “unbendable” with iron is incredibly difficult.
The subtle adjustments made through multiple layers of steel, and the meticulous processes repeated over and over—these are techniques only Japanese craftsmen could achieve.

It’s said that no sword in the world matches the Japanese sword in its balance of durability and sharpness.

You might even enjoy watching experiments like “How well does it really cut?” or “Which is stronger, a Japanese sword or ___?”
In fact, during the Muromachi period, the superior performance of Japanese swords became widely known, leading to tens of thousands being exported to China and Korea.

Foreign merchants even traveled to Japan to purchase these blades as valuable works of art.
Japan has many cultural elements that attract global attention, but few have been as renowned worldwide for as long as the Japanese sword.
The more you learn, the deeper the fascination becomes.
Even today, people continue to fall in love with these swords because they are the ultimate masterpieces—perfect both as weapons and as works of art.

“I want to see the sword from my favorite anime!”
“I want to see the real blade used by that historical figure!”
“I want to see a big, cool Japanese sword!”
If that’s your starting point, getting completely absorbed in the beauty of Japanese swords doesn’t sound so bad, does it。