![\"\"](\"\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/99ffc84dfa184ee468ce308eac7ea0e8-1.jpg\")
First and\nforemost, I believe it is important to explain the name of this museum in order\nto avoid any confusion. Setouchi city is born from the fusion of three towns,\nOku, Osafune and Ushimado, and is located in what was once known as the region\nof Bizen (present-day Okayama Prefecture). The museum is situated in the former\ntown of Osafune, thus its name Bizen-Osafune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Setouchi city, and Osafune in particular, is famous for having been one of the most important historical centers of high-quality sword-making for centuries mostly thanks to its abundance of high quality iron. Its golden age spanned from the late Heian period all the way to the Muromachi period during which generations of highly skilled swordsmiths would work hard towards creating the finest swords for warriors all over the country, as well as further developing their technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This area was home to two of the most famous schools of the Bizen sword making tradition: The Fukuoka Ichimonji School and the Osafune School. They are renowned, amongst other characteristics, for the choji midare, or splendid clove pattern, and the \u2018mistiness\u2019 of their hamon, or temper line. To put it simply, a hamon is a visual effect created on the blade during the hardening process and outlines the hardened zone. It is one of the main artistic value of a Japanese blade. Today, around half of the Japanese swords designated as national treasures have been forged in this small but rich corner of Japan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hamon is\nnot the only feature that differentiates Japanese swords from its overseas\ncounterparts. Indeed, overseas swords mostly consist of hard iron in order to\nobtain an extremely sharp cutting edge. However, hard steel is very brittle\nwhich means that a sword can easily be snapped in two in the midst of a furious\nbattle. In order to avoid that, the Japanese came up with an astonishing\nmetallurgical solution around a thousand years ago: the fusion of soft iron in\nthe inside of the blade with hard iron on the outside. Soft iron ensures that the sword will bend\ninstead of break, and the hard iron will give it the legendary cutting edge\nthat the Japanese sword is famous for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/e72504ec4d814c58c823d631a2886489-4.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/15ec3b38785f33bdbe26f10de81fd47a-3.jpg\")
![](\"\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/64d35eb44f1e460a288ef37a37e73c0d-3.jpg\")
<\/div>\n