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This Amazing Japanese Sword Was Forged Out Of A Meteorite. Truly Awesome!

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8 years ago

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Sep 17, 2015 10:02pm EDT

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Mark Andrew

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Growing up, I would say I had a thing for swords. I thought swords were the coolest weapon ever. So whenever I saw them in movies, cartoons, and video games, I totally paid attention to the character.

Some of the awesome swords I can recall from my childhood include Lion-O’s Sword of Omens, He-Man’s Power Sword, Cloud Strife’s unusually huge Buster Sword, and of course, the iconic Lightsaber swords used by both Jedi and Sith warriors in the Star Wars flicks.

As of recent memory though, I think one that particularly stands out to me is Sokka’s sword. Seen in the cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender, this weapon is actually forged by Piandao out of a fallen meteorite. Now how cool is that?

Well as it turns out, space swords aren’t a thing exclusive to fiction nowadays.

Japan’s Tentetsutou is a katana made from iron meteorite.

Created by swordsmith Yoshindo Yoshiwara, the Tentetsutou (“Sword of Heaven”) is a katana that’s not only beautiful but unique because of the material used.

It is believed that the Gibeon meteorite has formed around 4 billion years ago.

You see, the sword has been crafted using fragments from Gibeon, an ancient iron meteorite found in Namibia.

The sword is currently on display at Japan’s tallest building.

Those interested to see the space katana can be seen at the Chiba Institute of Technology, Tokyo Skytree Tower. It is displayed beside a small chunk of the said meteorite.

According to the Chiba Institute:

“It is thought that the first human encounters with iron were with iron meteorites, and the Sword of Heaven truly symbolizes the relationship between human technology and space.”