JAPANESE SWORDS AND ARMOR

Paul Martin, a world-renowned scholar of Japanese swords, takes us on a journey of discovery of samurai culture through an examination of valuable weapons and armor belonging to thirty of Japan's most celebrated warriors.

Get a close-up look at scores of magnificent blades, fittings and armor which belonged to thirty of the most famous warriors and leaders in Japanese history including:

A wooden sword commissioned and owned by Miyamoto Musashi — Japan's greatest swordsman; an exact replica of the sword he wielded at the legendary duel on Ganryu-jima Island
The tachi blade worn by Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the powerful unifier of Japan—which was later presented to the Meiji Emperor
The katchu (armor) belonging to Minamoto no Yoshitsune, hero of the Genpei Wars and later gifted as a votive offering to the Kasuga Shrine in Nara
The naginata (halberd) said to be the favored weapon of Tomoe Gozen, Japan's famous female Samurai, that was immortalized in the classic book Tale of the Heike