Nagoya Sword Museum Meehaku (Touken World Foundation)

The Nagoya Sword Museum (commonly known as Meehaku) is Japan's largest privately operated specialized sword museum, run by the Touken World Foundation. The Touken World Foundation possesses one of Japan's most prominent collections of Japanese swords and sword fittings, and Meehaku, located in the downtown area of Nagoya, opened as its flagship facility in 2024.

The museum's defining feature is its comprehensive exhibition approach, which presents Japanese sword culture as an integrated whole—from the blade itself (the sword body) to sword fittings (koshirae, tsuba, menuki, kozuka, and kôgai)—through permanent exhibitions and special displays. The foundation's collection encompasses masterpieces from all periods and schools spanning the Heian period through the Bakumatsu (end of Edo period), with high-quality examples of ko-to (old swords), shinto (new swords), and shinshin-to (newer swords) alike.

The exhibition's most distinctive feature is the 'integrated display of swords and sword fittings,' allowing visitors to appreciate not only the blade but also the artistic beauty of the koshirae (mounting) and individual components simultaneously. The lavish mountings passed down through daimyo families of the Edo period, as well as the refined tsuba and menuki crafted by master artisans of the late Edo period, are all masterpieces highly valued as artworks in their own right.

The museum's urban location in Sakae, Naka Ward, Nagoya, is also one of its strengths. As a facility easily accessible not only for sword enthusiasts but also for art and crafts lovers and visiting foreign tourists, it attracts consistently high visitor numbers. The foundation also conducts exhibitions and educational activities at multiple locations including Tokyo and Kyoto, serving as a vital private-sector hub for the promotion of Japanese sword culture.