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更新日：2025年7月26日更新
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Special Exhibition｜Blade Aid: The Funasshi Sword Exhibition - Part I
Funasshi
Created as an unofficial mascot of Funabashi City in Chiba Prefecture in 2011, he exploded in popularity thanks to his hyperactive style, music, and regular appearances on TV, and is credited with supercharging the popularity of ‘yurukyara’ (local mascot characters) in Japan.
According to himself a ‘pear fairy’ born 1887 years ago to a regular pear tree, Funasshi is known for his wit, wordplay, and for always ending his sentences with ‘nashi’ (pear). In fact, even the name ‘Funasshi’ is a play on words, a combination of ‘Funa’ from ‘Funabashi’ and ‘nashi’, or ‘pear’, a local specialty.
Opening
Welcome to the Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Museum - thanks for coming.
I can’t believe it’s finally happened: a special collaborative Funasshi exhibition.
Everyone who helped! Thank you for your cooperation.
By the way, we chose the sub-title ‘Blade Aid’for this exhibition as we will be giving 10 percent of all ticket sales to charity to support those who experienced hardship after last year’s Noto earthquake.
Though initially they were just weapons, since long ago swords have been important as amulets of health and prosperity, and were often given to shrines in a prayer for peace.
Esteemed across the world for their superlative craftsmanship, Japanese blades, as well as their scabbards and fittings, are highly prized works of art without compare, and represent a huge proportion of Japan’s National Treasures.
If my swords are able to help people in any way, I am sure their makers would think it was absolutely super.
The swords appearing in the exhibition
This time, as well as 60 blades from my collection, also check out the 3 swords that I asked swordsmith Ando san to prepare for me.
Though there’s no chance I could ever have a renowned legendary blade or National Treasure, every single sword on display is one I purchased, loved, and periodically looked after.
They might not be much perhaps, but when you look at them, please remember that “these are Funasshi’s favourite kinds of swords”.
Funasshi’s First Fateful Find
The spark that lit my fascination with swords was a Youtube video about the swordsmith Muramasa.
When I searched to find out more, I stumbled upon an online auction for an unsigned Muramasa blade and, despite a lack of knowledge, I managed to place the winning bid.
Though when I got it appraised it turned out to actually be by a smith of the Ganmaku school, that didn’t stop me from being absolutely captivated by the sword’s beauty.
Before I knew it, my room was full to bursting with swords.
Why the obsession?
When I think about why I got so fascinated by swords, I always remember how, from the first time I encountered one, I experienced in it an inherent beauty of the same sort I see in everyday things like flowers and the moon.
To my mind, when we view a work at a museum, it is the beauty of all creation, imbued in it by its maker, that springs forth to penetrate our souls and move us in such a deeply emotional way.
From the stars at night, to the rivers and mountains, and the wind and birds that whisper in the trees, I now see swords as works of art - a representation of nature in steel.
Perceiving the world around me, I have come to believe that everything, whether the night sky, swords, or even the moment in which we now live, is deeply connected.
Transmitted from pear-son to pear-son across the centuries, these blades have given rise to countless stories; you might even say they are Japanese history itself.
I feel that, for these blades to travel here and there to then end up in front of this particular pear fairy, can only be called fate.
When I think about the journey each has taken, I don’t consider a sword to be a product you buy, but instead something that you are the custodian of, looking after it for a short period so that it may be passed down to the next generation.
As a country which places great importance on respect for its ancestors, I hope that all of you will help me to protect this part of Japan’s renowned traditional culture so that it can prosper into the future.
Thank you for persevering and reading all the way to the very end of the last long caption.
ヾ(。゜▽゜)ノFunasshi
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