The Kashiwabara Museum stores everything from swords, spears and muskets to elaborately decorated armor in Iwakuni, Japan. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
A museum packed with samurai weapons and armor stands near the iconic Kintaikyo Bridge in Iwakuni, a short drive from the Marine Corps air station in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan.
The Kashiwabara Museum, formerly known as Iwakuni Art Museum, stores everything from swords, spears and muskets to elaborately decorated armor.
The collection of artifacts could be props from an Akira Kurosawa film such as “Seven Samurai.” But they’re the genuine articles – weapons that were used by real Japanese samurai.
There’s a sword, made for a shogun, that’s been registered as a Japanese national treasure. It’s kept inside a glass case, but you can heft a replica sword and try on an old helmet. The museum also has a collection of decorated sword guards.
There are all kinds of other old weapons including pistols and a wide range of spears and similar devices designed to kill, or at least seriously injure, an enemy.
The Kashiwabara Museum’s collection includes some impressive, decorated helmets. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
The Kashiwabara Museum near Ikwakuni’s Kintaikyo Bridge has an arsenal of ancient Japanese weapons on display. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
The museum promotes its weapons and armor collection as the “culture of life and death.”
“For samurai, risking their own lives to protect their country, territory, and clan was the very meaning of ‘living,’” the museum states on its website.
Samurai armor and weapons were not only tools to protect their owners but also works of art that evoked their courage and magnified their short, potentially deadly lives, the website states.
Helmets on display have some interesting decorations including antlers, rabbit ears and crab claws.
There’s some elaborate shining ceremonial armor. There’s also armor that was used by ordinary samurai in battle. Some look as though they were damaged by swords or arrows.
The older armor has quite a lot of protection around the midsection — not because the ancient samurai were overweight but because it was needed to protect horsemen from arrows.
Alongside the weapons and armor the museum has a collection of art including glassware, ceramics and antique furniture used by Iwakuni’s feudal lords.
The museum promotes this part of its collection as the “culture of life.”
The samurai lifestyle was glamorous yet profound, the museum states on its website.
“In particular, the everyday items used by women and children reveal the samurai class’s deep and profound love for supreme works of art,” the website states.
When you’ve seen enough ancient samurai artifacts, take a stroll through the park near the museum at the foot of Mount Yokoyama near Iwakuni Castle and the Kintaikyo Bridge.
The pedestrian bridge, at the same site more than 350 years, across the Nishiki River, is a series of five wooden arches.
It’s been destroyed multiple times by floods and rebuilt each time. There’s a small fee to cross, 310 yen for adults and high schoolers, 150 yen for elementary school kids.
On the QT
Directions: You can reach the museum by walking across the Kintaikyo Bridge from Iwakuni, Japan. The museum’s address is 2-10-27 Yokoyama, Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, 741-0081.
Times: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closes at 4 p.m. December to February); closed on Tuesdays. Open on public holidays.
Costs: 800 yen for adults; 500 yen for high school and university students; 200 yen for elementary and middle school students. Discounts for groups of 15 or more.
Food: There are at least two ice cream shops near the Kintaikyo Bridge.
Information: Online: kashiwabara-museum.jp
