Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
You've probably seen Japanese swords on YouTube before - but have you seen a millennium's worth of Japanese swords in one video? We didn't think so. Join Project Curator Joe Nickols, as they take you through from some of the earliest curved bladed designs, right up until swords used in the Pacific Theatre in World War Two. There's even some non-sword bonus objects...
The Samurai exhibition runs from 3 February until 4 May. Tickets are available here: britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/samurai?utm_source=yt&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=samurai
CONTENT WARNING:
Contains discussions and depictions of warfare and combat.
Some disclaimers are needed for this video:
The swords used in this video have been carefully selected to illustrate certain periods of Japanese history, and are authentic in style to the periods described. However, many of the actual swords shown may have been produced at other periods of time. We'd have loved to explain this, but it would have made this video far too long.
At 12:15 When Joe refers to the kogai, he means the kazuka. The kogai (comb) and the kozuka (knife) are a set of small tools that are contained on either side of the scabbard.
Finally, the timeline is for illustrative purposes only, and should not be taken to be a perfectly accurate representation of time periods or production dates.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:36 Kamakura blade
02:50 Naginata
03:51 Tachi mount number one
05:00 Tachi mount number two
07:00 Daisho pair with katana
09:38 Sword Accessories
11:51 Snakes on a blade
12:44 Sabre style mount
13:44 World War Two sword
15:34 Touken Ranbu figurine
Content credits in order of appearance:
Chokuto Sword - Suiryu ken: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 4.0
Inu ou mono (mounted archer with dagger): Toyohara Chikanobu
Bushido (cover): Inazō Nitobe – HoughtonLibrary
Surrendering swords WW2 (IWM IND4851) Imperial War Museum
Mikazuki Munechika sword - ColBase: 国立博物館所蔵品統合検索システム (Integrated Collections Database of the National Museums, Japan)
Ashikaga Yoshiteru (cropped): Tosa Mitsuyoshi – National Museum of Japanese History
You've probably seen Japanese swords on YouTube before - but have you seen a millennium's worth of Japanese swords in one video? We didn't think so. Join Project Curator Joe Nickols, as they take you through from some of the earliest curved bladed designs, right up until swords used in the Pacific Theatre in World War Two. There's even some non-sword bonus objects...
The Samurai exhibition runs from 3 February until 4 May. Tickets are available here: britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/samurai?utm_source=yt&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=samurai
CONTENT WARNING:
Contains discussions and depictions of warfare and combat.
Some disclaimers are needed for this video:
The swords used in this video have been carefully selected to illustrate certain periods of Japanese history, and are authentic in style to the periods described. However, many of the actual swords shown may have been produced at other periods of time. We'd have loved to explain this, but it would have made this video far too long.
At 12:15 When Joe refers to the kogai, he means the kazuka. The kogai (comb) and the kozuka (knife) are a set of small tools that are contained on either side of the scabbard.
Finally, the timeline is for illustrative purposes only, and should not be taken to be a perfectly accurate representation of time periods or production dates.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:36 Kamakura blade
02:50 Naginata
03:51 Tachi mount number one
05:00 Tachi mount number two
07:00 Daisho pair with katana
09:38 Sword Accessories
11:51 Snakes on a blade
12:44 Sabre style mount
13:44 World War Two sword
15:34 Touken Ranbu figurine
Content credits in order of appearance:
Chokuto Sword - Suiryu ken: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 4.0
Inu ou mono (mounted archer with dagger): Toyohara Chikanobu
Bushido (cover): Inazō Nitobe – HoughtonLibrary
Surrendering swords WW2 (IWM IND4851) Imperial War Museum
Mikazuki Munechika sword - ColBase: 国立博物館所蔵品統合検索システム (Integrated Collections Database of the National Museums, Japan)
Ashikaga Yoshiteru (cropped): Tosa Mitsuyoshi – National Museum of Japanese History
