Japanese arms and armour is an ever popular theme for our History in Your Hands seminars – come along and handle genuine items of Japanese arms and armour from our collection. Learn about the production and use of katana and wakizashi as well as taking a close-up look at armoured sleeves, helmets and face masks.

Hosted by our Curator Emeritus Ian Bottomley this is a unique opportunity to get up close and personal to some of the most beautifully made and fascinating items in our collection.

* All of the seminars run from 10:30 to 16:30 and take place at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds.
* Lunch is not provided, but there is a bistro and a café plus a picnic area in the Museum.
* Booking is essential as the seminars tend to sell out quickly and places are limited to 20 delegates per seminar.

Our ever-popular Japanese swords seminar will give participants a unique chance to learn about making and care of important cultural objects. Delivered by Keeper of Armour & Oriental Collections Thom Richardson and Curator Emeritus Ian Bottomley the session gives the chance to handle genuine objects from our study collections which are not usually on public display, including a wakizashi by Tadahiro of Hizen of the mid 17th century with its complete set of mounts, bags, and sword box, and a tachi of about 1400 by Sadatsugu of Bitchu.