[EVENTS]
Evangelion swords exhibition wows Parisians!
Translated by The Asahi Shimbun from the website of Anime Anime Japan Ltd.
Parisians and tourists to the French capital have been turning out in droves at the Japan Foundation’s Maison de la culture du Japon a Paris to check out an exhibition of Japanese swords that got under way on April 30.
Classic swords, mountings and other artifacts from the Kamakura Period (1192-1333) and Edo Period (1603-1867) are part of the exhibition, but the big crowd-pleaser have been the 20 swords and other artifacts inspired by weapons from the popular “Evangelion” anime film series.
Combining Japan’s traditional sword-making techniques and cutting-edge pop culture, the Evangelion and Japanese Swords Exhibition was originally held in 2012 at Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Museum in Okayama Prefecture. The exhibition attracted more than 300,000 visitors at nine venues across Japan before moving on to Paris in the first leg of the exhibition’s European tour.
On the opening day in Paris, fans flocked to the venue to see “Evangelion” weaponry such as the Lance of Longinus, the Progressive Knife and other blades from the anime that were forged by Japanese swordsmiths using traditional techniques. Life-size figures of “Evangelion” characters and replicas of original drawings were also on display.
Munenori Kinoshita, a sword engraver whose work is among the artifacts showcased at the exhibition, held lectures before crowds filled to capacity to show how to engrave a delicate design of a dragon into a blade.
The Paris exhibition runs until June 21 before moving to Museo ABC in Madrid from July 5 to Sept. 28.
Take a look at my previous related FULL ARTICLE, new images too 😉