Kashiwabara Art Museum

The Kashiwabara Art Museum is a private museum located in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, specializing in Japanese swords (katana) and period costumes. Since its establishment in Showa 38 (1963, with its predecessor being the Iwakuni Historical Art Museum), it has built a unique position as a private museum specialized in Japanese swords. As a Japanese sword specialist museum in the Kansai region, it is also known for its collaboration with the Osaka Sword Market (Osaka Sword Collectors' Society).

The core of the collection comprises Japanese swords from various periods and schools spanning from the Heian period to the late Edo period. In particular, from Kamakura-period antique swords (tachi) through Muromachi and Sengoku-era katana, wakizashi, and tanto, it houses exceptional works valued for both practical use and aesthetic appreciation. It comprehensively houses works from major schools including the Bizen, Soshu, Yamashiro, and Mino traditions, providing an enriched viewing environment for sword enthusiasts wishing to survey the Five Great Sword-Making Schools.

The collection of sword fittings (tsuba, menuki, kozuka, kogai, daisho-matched sets, etc.) is also extensive, including exquisite metalwork by renowned Edo-period artisans (Gotoh family, Yokoya Somin, Nara school, etc.). From the viewpoint of evaluating Japanese swords not merely as blades but as comprehensive works of art in their entirety of koshirae, the collection of sword fittings is particularly important.

The Tanba region, since the medieval period, has been a crucial transportation hub connecting Yamashiro and Tajima provinces and served as a contested area among feudal lords, and was also an important stage in Sengoku history such as Akechi Mitsuhide's conquest of Tanba (Tensho era). The Kashiwabara Art Museum, as a regional sword museum positioned within the context of Tanba's samurai culture, is a rare existence providing an intersection of regional history and sword culture.