About Rust on Japanese Swords

A common misconception is that some people vehemently argue in museums that “iron objects cannot possibly last for hundreds of years.”

Swords have survived not just for hundreds of years, but for over a thousand, precisely because their past owners never neglected their maintenance—applying oil to the blade and creating a protective coating. It is truly the accumulation of history.

If your sword becomes rusty, be sure to have it polished.