Permanent display
Closing soon
Samurai Splendor: Sword Fittings from Edo Japan
21 Mar 2022 — 1 May 2024 at Metropolitan Museum of Art
· New York City
Samurai Splendor: Sword Fittings from Edo Japan brings together a remarkable selection of decorative sword fittings — tsuba, kozuka, menuki, and more — crafted during the Edo period (1615–1868). These small yet extraordinarily refined objects served not only as functional components of the samurai's sword but as canvases for some of Japan's most skilled metalworkers.
Displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the exhibition highlights how the long peace of the Edo era transformed the sword from a battlefield weapon into a symbol of rank, taste, and artistic patronage. Intricate designs drawn from nature, mythology, and literature were rendered in gold, silver, copper alloys, and shakudo, demonstrating a virtuosity that rivaled any decorative art of the period.
The show offers visitors a rare opportunity to examine these miniature masterpieces up close, tracing the evolution of style and technique across two and a half centuries of Japanese craftsmanship.
Displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the exhibition highlights how the long peace of the Edo era transformed the sword from a battlefield weapon into a symbol of rank, taste, and artistic patronage. Intricate designs drawn from nature, mythology, and literature were rendered in gold, silver, copper alloys, and shakudo, demonstrating a virtuosity that rivaled any decorative art of the period.
The show offers visitors a rare opportunity to examine these miniature masterpieces up close, tracing the evolution of style and technique across two and a half centuries of Japanese craftsmanship.
About the venue
Metropolitan Museum of Art
· New York City
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the fourth-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5,727,258 visitors in fiscal year 2025, it was the most-visited museum in…
