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Sign for the new Japanese Sword Museum, Ryogoku, TokyoThe Japanese have been renowned blade makers for centuries, with these products having been exported by Japan to Korea and China since the Middle Ages.

The Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords (Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai ????????????????) was founded in 1948, partly in response to the Allied Occupation administration's confiscation of weapons, including swords, with the aim of preserving this aspect of Japanese culture.

State of completion of new Japanese Sword Museum, Sumida ward, in August 2017
The Japanese Sword Museum was then founded in 1978 to share this heritage with the general public. Among its numerous exhibits was the sword used by Japan's legendary "God of War," the 16th century daimyo, Uesugi Kenshin.
The museum closed in March 2017 for the purpose of moving from its old premises in Yoyogi, Shinjuku ward, to new, much bigger premises, in the Yokoami district of Sumida ward, just north of Ryogoku, which is famous as the heart of sumo wrestling in Japan. The new site is part of the Kyu-Yasuda Teien Garden.

Construction work on the new Japanese Sword Museum, Yokoami, Sumida, Tokyo
The new Japanese Sword Museum is designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki, who also designed the National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto and the  4 World Trade Center, New York, which opened in 2013.

The new Japanese Sword Museum is due to open in January 2018. The striking, 3...