One National Treasure in Japan
In 1329 a samurai had some notable sword smiths make a sword. He then dedicated it to a shrine.
Today, the sword is designated as a national treasure.
This is one typical incident of the samurai era in Japan.
A powerful samurai became a feudal lord. He governed a farming area, including some villages. He took rice and other agricultural products from farmers as customs. Then a samurai lord sold rice in the market in a big city to get money if necessary.
But there were usually other authorities in a farming area: shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.
So, it was natural for a samurai lord to donate something important for him to a major shrine or a major temple in his fiefdom so as to be blessed by holy spirits and to be respected by farmers and townsmen.
Therefore in this case of the sword, a samurai called Okawara Tokimoto asked sword smiths named Osafune Kagemitsu and Osafune Kagemasa to make a good sword. Then, Tokimoto donated it to a shrine called Hiromine Jinjya which is situated in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture near Osaka/Kyoto., though Tokimoto was originally from the Chichibu region, Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo.
At the time, namely around 1329, Japan was governed by the first samurai regime with its capital in Kamakura, 60 km west of Tokyo. Kamakura samurai leaders gave a feud to each of their subject samurais. So, Okawara Tokimoto was given a territory in Hyogo, 700 km far from his home ground in Saitama. And his act of reverence for a dominant shrine in his feud resulted in preservation of a fine sword over a time period of 700 years.
So, as you see in the picture above, a successful samurai in Japan 700 years ago had such a sword as is today ranked as a national treasure of Japan.
It also tells that before modernization and westernization of Japan or during the samurai era, the society was under the rule of sword in Japan. But samurais respected shinto and Buddhism. The symbol of their soul, namely a sword, was also subject to religion, too. And they might rather donate a better sword to a shrine or a temple than they had and used as a way of expressing their reverence for religion. This is one of Japanese traditions.
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Joh 9:25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.