Closed | Mondays |
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Hours | 10 am to 5 pm(Entrance closes 30 min. before closing) |
General admission | Adult 1300 yen, Student 1000 yen |
Gallery | 1and 2 |
The soft-metal fittings affixed to Japanese sword mountings became increasingly more detailed and decorative from the Edo period onwards with flamboyant works that in some cases is hard to believe they are even metal. Mitsumura Toshimo (1877 - 1955), a businessman in the Meiji period, built a large collection of sword fittings and published them in a monumental tome entitled, Tagane no Hana (Flowers of the Chisel). Concerned that sword fittings were becoming deemed unnecessary and that the fittings making techniques could be lost, Mitsumura brought attention to the plight of the craftsmen by paying tribute to the beauty of sword fittings through a wide range of activities. In doing so, he not only imparted a deeper understanding of sword fittings, but also preserved the craft.
Currently, the Nezu Museum has approximately 1200 pieces from the Mitsumura Collection. Centered on the museum's collections, this exhibition introduces the metallic beauty that fascinated Mitsumura Toshimo, with around 130 sword fittings, as well as a selected number of swords and paintings.