Kurashiki Sword Arts Museum

The Kurashiki Sword Arts Museum is a private, sword-specialized art museum located in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, and is highly regarded among sword enthusiasts and researchers as one of Japan's foremost permanent sword exhibition facilities. It opened on July 7, 2002, with Touken Sato, a specialist in Japanese sword sales and appraisal, as its operating entity.

The collection totals approximately 1,500 blades, with permanent exhibitions featuring around 100–150 swords. The first floor displays a Koto (classical) sword section centered on Aoe and Bizen-ko (ancient Bizen) blades, while the second floor features Shinto and Shintoshinto sections—organized systematically by era and school. Centered on the Bizen tradition and Aoe school—created by the swordsmiths of Bizen Osafune—a wide range of masterpieces from the five major schools including Soshu, Yamato, and Yamashiro traditions are extensively housed, and a key characteristic is the ability to survey in a single institution the complete historical evolution of Japanese swords from the Koto period through contemporary blades.

The museum maintains a distinctive approach, offering the "Haito Kansho" (hands-on sword appreciation) service, where visitors can hold and examine displayed swords after notifying staff. Unlike typical museum displays behind glass cases, the opportunity to directly experience a sword's weight, balance, jihada (steel grain), and hamon (blade pattern) is well-received by visitors ranging from novices to advanced collectors. The museum also conducts sword acquisition, appraisal, and free evaluation services. Active rotation and renewal of collection pieces ensures visitors encounter different masterpieces with each visit.

Functioning alongside the Bizen Osafune Sword Museum in Setouchi City as a major center for promoting sword culture in Okayama Prefecture, the museum has steadily increased visitor numbers amid growing interest in swords through media like Touken Ranbu. With convenient access within walking distance of JR Chayamachi Station, it has become established as a key destination for experiencing sword culture when visiting Okayama and Kurashiki.