The Bowers is quite a treasure of a museum, and quite worth making a trip all the way to Santa Ana. I remember an exhibit on Samurai swords: who owned them, how they were used, decorated, and how they were made. There was a video on a loop featuring a modern day artisan sword-smith, smelting and tempering the steel blade dozens of times to attain the desired shape, sharpness and strength. It was reported that back in the day a warrior might test the quality of his sword by seeing how many peasants he could slice through in one fell sweep, not such a pretty thought. I wonder if there is powerful lobby in Japan (the NSA) advocating the right to possess a concealed sword, with a permit of course.
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