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Famous Swords from Kyoto's Temples and Shrines January 2 (Monday) to February 12 (Sunday), 2006 The Collections Hall, Galleries 15-16 OFFERING SWORDS AND DAGGERS to pray to and supplicate the gods and buddhas has been an ancient custom in Japan. Such practices came from ideas that swords possess divine qualities or symbolize esoteric Buddhist deities, such as the fierce-looking Fudo Myou (Skt., Acala). Swords also have various religious meanings such as representing divine tools, which are offered as sacred ancient treasures, hence, from early times, many swords and daggers have been offered to and preserved at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Kyoto. This exhibition celebrating the New Year highlights several historically renowned swords and daggers, which are now housed at the Kyoto National Museum. Among these, the oldest example is a long sword with black-lacquered scabbard that was said to have belonged to the early Heian-period warrior Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (n.d.). Other famous swords include a tachi (slung sword) that has historical connections to the warrior Genji clan (Important Cultural Property, Daikaku-ji), the katana (sword) that the warlord Oda Nobunaga (1534-82) took from the warrior Imagawa Yoshimoto (1519-60) in the Battle of Okehazama (Important Cultural Property, Kenkun Shrine), a tachi with black-lacquered scabbard named Sasamaru that is said to have been offered by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-98) (Important Cultural Property, Atago Shrine), and a tachi (Important Cultural Property) and jeweled dagger from Yasaka Shrine offered to the three deities of this shrine. Also, on exhibit will be a kris, a jeweled Indonesian dagger, recently discovered during a survey of the treasures at Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine in southern Kyoto.
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