Token World in Nagoya will showcase works by Kiyomaro, Naotane, and Masahide Nov. 1st - Jan. 18th

[Keichodo]

Visitors to Japan for the Dai Token Ichi who will be around the week following the DTI, should consider a trip to Nagoya to Token World to see the exhibition that opens on November 1st (running until next year January 18th) featuring Kiyomaro, Naotane, and Masahide! This museum is closed on Mondays.

 

Hope to see you in Japan!

Robert Hughes

[Bugyotsuji]

Would it be true Robert to say that most museums are closed on Mondays?

[Soshin]

On 10/21/2025 at 6:56 AM, Bugyotsuji said:

Would it be true Robert to say that most museums are closed on Mondays?

 

 

I am not Robert Hughes, but I would say yes. This is from my own personal experience of having visited many museums in Japan.  

[sabiji]

I was there on November 4. November 3 (Monday) was Bunka no Hi, a holiday honoring art and culture. Museums are usually open on this day, but I was in Seki.

 

I'm not sure what to think of Token World. The concept behind the presentation of the blades raises questions. Ninety-five percent of the labels are in Japanese, sometimes even 100%. The lighting is like Russian roulette. Some blades can be studied well, others not at all. For some, you need to be 1.85 meters tall or taller, while for others, you shouldn't be taller than 1.30 meters.

 

And what the curators are thinking when they exhibit a blade that can't be seen at all because of the cloth covering the sword stand, or when they put a large sign in front of it, is a complete mystery to me.

 

 

[eternal_newbie]

Google Lens translation on a phone works reasonably well for Japanese labels. Some of the literal transitions can sound like gibberish but with commonsense mental replacements (e.g. "nie" for "boiling", "kinsuji" for "gold lines", "Nanbokucho" for "Northern and southern courts") the general gist can be gleaned.

[sabiji]

Google Maps and Google Lens are essential survival tools in Japan. Fortunately, I know a little Japanese and can at least read the hiragana transcriptions quite well if I am unfamiliar with the kanji.

 

However, at some point, one gets tired of holding one's smartphone up to every sign.

 

For smaller museums and exhibitions, this is completely understandable. But for a sword museum of this size and prestige, it's very disappointing, especially since it advertises itself as a new tourist hotspot in Nagoya.

 

But then again, Nagoya isn't really on the list of Western tourists. I only saw Japanese and a few Chinese people at the museum that day. It was pretty empty.

 

 

[Lewis B]

Thats a little sad to hear given the quality of the blades and katchu, the Nagoya Token World has accumulated.

 

I have to say the Samurai Museum in central Berlin was not great either for studying blades. The angles were less than ideal and the lighting failed to illuminate the jihada and hataraki adequately, especially for the blades in the cabinets along the wall. Oddly the central display cabinet was quite good in comparison and it was easy the see the activity and get close to the blade to observe the detail. Given the obvious time and effort put into the general display design for armour, nihonto seemed overlooked. 

[Gakusee]

4 hours ago, Lewis B said:

Thats a little sad to hear given the quality of the blades and katchu, the Nagoya Token World has accumulated.

 

I have to say the Samurai Museum in central Berlin was not great either for studying blades. The angles were less than ideal and the lighting failed to illuminate the jihada and hataraki adequately, especially for the blades in the cabinets along the wall. Oddly the central display cabinet was quite good in comparison and it was easy the see the activity and get close to the blade to observe the detail. Given the obvious time and effort put into the general display design for armour, nihonto seemed overlooked. 

Well that is not surprising re Berlin as Peter is first and foremost an armour collector, who later on diversified into swords and tosogu. He has a great collection and the digital displays for the Rai blades for instance (with the 5?6?m magnification of the blades) are exceptional. One can almost study the micro granules of the metal matrix even… 

[Bugyotsuji]

The history of guns floor at Nagoya Tōken world, however, has made great efforts to provide accurate and readable English signs for almost every display.

The curators for each floor seem to be markedly different, left entirely to their individual devices, with insufficient overall museum policy. The blades are generally good, and plentiful, but the displays could certainly be improved.

[sabiji]

Piers, it was just a well-intentioned criticism on my part. All detailed explanations about blades were exclusively in Japanese. Usually, the name of the blacksmith was written in Latin letters, often along with the era and school. But the next sign could be 100% in Japanese again. This inconsistency annoyed me. I wouldn't write it if it weren't the case.

 

I was very sad that I could hardly study the museum's signed Kinju. The Japanese description rightly pointed out the extreme rarity of signed works by Kinju. But the Tanto/Ko Waki was so poorly positioned and so high up that even with my height of 1.85 m, I could see very little of the blade's characteristics.

 

Of course, the large number of blades on display is impressive. But it is also too large to fight your way through the collection with full concentration and discipline. It is quite exhausting.

Less would be more, and then it would be 100% well presented. In return, there could be more temporary exhibitions.

 

But I am also aware that a lot of work, effort, time, and money goes into it. These are just my thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lonely panet]

Whos got robs personal email?

 

Pm me please.