Invasion of the samurai

Invasion of the samurai
Japanese warriors bring an authentic touch to Armouries' latest
exhibition
By Howard Williamson
SAMURAI warriors brought to life the history behind a major new
exhibition at the Royal Armouries.
Until August 30 the arms museum is staging "Shogun: the life of Lord
Tokugawa Ieyasu," a tribute to the great warrior statesman who
united Japan 400 years ago.
And, in order to see the exhibition, a party of Japanese martial
arts experts and politicians brought forward a planned visit to
Britain by one year.
The experts will demonstrate their skills at the Armouries three
times a day until Wednesday and will then take their show to the
Tower of London.
They use a variety of weapons and demonstrate the art of drawing a
sword and killing an opponent.
The experts were "guarded" by members of the Ashikita Matchlock Gun
Society, wearing full samurai armour and carrying muskets.
They recently competed in a gun festival in Japan where they won the
top prize.
The sight of Japanese men and women brandishing guns is in itself a
rare occurrence for gun control is very strict in that country.
Graeme Rimer, the Armouries academic director, said: "Holders of
firearms, even antique ones, are visited every few weeks by police.
That makes our gun control seem almost lax!"
Spectators who hoped to see a puff of smoke from the muskets were
disappointed, however. The visiting party was too late to acquire
the necessary firearms and blue powder certificates to allow this to
happen.
Sacred
The visitors were entertained at a reception in the Armouries before
inspecting the exhibition of objects connected to Lord Tokugawa.
The Mayor of Ashikita, Kazunari Takezaki, said through an
interpreter: "We do not have this sort of brilliant museum in Japan."
He is due to meet the Lord Mayor of Leeds at a reception next
Tuesday.
Ashikita is a small town of 22,000 people surrounded by mountains
and is noted for its oranges.
Graeme Rimer said the musket was introduced to Japan by Portuguese
traders in 1543 and its importance was recognised by Tokugawa.
But after he brought peace to his country for 200 years its use fell
away in favour of traditional weapons.
The Armouries exhibition is the result of cooperation with its twin,
the Nikko Toshogu Shrine north of Tokyo.
It is the first time many of the artefacts have been allowed into
the west. So precious and sacred are certain works of art that a
Shinto priest from the shrine is present throughout the exhibition.
A war fan belonging to a 16th century general has been loaned by the
Osaka Castle Museum. It has been compared to Nelson's telescope in
its iconic significance.
30 July 2005