“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History

Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition at Osaka Museum of History
This exhibition has recently opened in Osaka. It’s a collaboration between Evangelion and the Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Museum from Okayama. You can learn about the art of sword making, and see real versions of weapons from the series, and also designs inspired by it.

"Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition" at Osaka Museum of History
"Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition" at Osaka Museum of History
Rei, Asuka and Mari welcome you!

"Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition" at Osaka Museum of History
The sword making process is explained in detail in both Japanese and English, and what a process it is – requiring the metal to be folded and shaped numerous times to get create what you see here.

"Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition" at Osaka Museum of History "Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition" at Osaka Museum of History
This device kept a Katana securely inside the glass cabinet, while also allowing people to come lift the blade to get a feel for the weight. A collection of ornate Tsuba(hand guards) were also on display.

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History “Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History
Progressive knife replicas!

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History “Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History
Here are the blades inspired by the Evangelion characters. First is Shinji’s blade, which is coloured subtly with unit 01’s scheme – does this blade qualify as a wakizashi or a tanto? I’m not sure… Second is a dagger inspired by Mari’s plugsuit!

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History “Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History
Askua’s blade was especially impressive, the red and gold colour scheme looked really great and the blade featured a detailed engraving of the lady herself. By comparison, Rei’s weapon is more understated, but the carving of the Spear of Longinus on the blade was fantastic. Speaking of which…

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History
The centerpiece of the exhibition is this gigantic Spear of Longinus! It measures over three metres in length, and weighs around 22kg!

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History
Instead of the smoothing the surface of the spear, it’s been given a really creepy otherworldly texture, very fitting.

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History “Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History
Evangelion-style Kabuto helmet and a comparison of a particularly sinister menpo mask and Eva-01’s berzerk mode.

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History
Counter sword designs.

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History
This thing looks especially brutal.

“Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History “Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition” at Osaka Museum of History
I resisted buying anything in the gift shop, but I liked the look of the Nerv dinner tray 🙂

This exhibition is really cool. It’s running until September 16th, entry for adults is ¥800. There’s an English floor-guide you can pick up as you go in, and some of the exhibit info is in written in English too.

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3 Comments

    • alan caldwel;l
      17/06/2015
      Reply

      Hello,
      You are correct. There are many of us who appreciate the Japanese sword. I have 5 and I treasure them. My wife thinks I am crazy the amount of attention I give them. maybe I was a Samurai in a past life. Who knows.

  1. […] He elaborated more eloquently on that, but I’d hate to put misremembered words in his mouth here. Both he and Mr. Sadanao expressed their hope that they can get more children, women, elderly people, and people from all around the world interested in the art of Japanese swords by presenting them in this fashion, as many usual exhibits are only visited by grown men. Mr. Kinoshita appreciated this chance to work on so many pieces in collaboration with the Evangelion franchise, but he was rather unfamiliar with the work before Kadokawa (which owns Eva) approached the All Japan Swordsmith Association with the idea. His comments mirrored those of many other people involved. “I watched it all right away. Erm… I had trouble understanding the story. But it was still a great project I’m really excited to be a part of!” Some other articles with nicer photos (because it seems everyone knew about this exhibit except for me): Osaka Museum of History Anime News Network Otaku Mode Tubby Gaijin […]

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