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We’re back, everyone! Though with a little twist– today’s devlog is, well, not really a devlog (as the title obviously hints at)– it’s more of a record of a trip the development team had to the Museu do Oriente, done as a University trip. So think of this more as a breather from our usual development stuff!

To begin, to those that might not know, the Museu to Oriente (Museum of the Orient) is a multicultural museum in Lisbon, Portugal, depicting and preserving various objects of asian origin. Here are some pictures that we took on the journey:

Here’s a Japanese armor– looks cool, right? Did you also know that the golden U-shaped metal there is not purely aesthetic, and also helps with the resilience and protection factor of the helmet?

Now here’s an interesting one. Those are tango no sekku (端午の節句), fish-shaped ballons used in a traditional japanese festival celebrating boys.

And these are hina (雛), Japanese dolls that are used in many festivals, but specially in the hinamatsuri (雛祭り). These ones appear to be specifically made for the hinadan (ひな壇), a sort of pedestal/platform made for those dolls.

…And yet another hina! Museum sure had a lot of them, not that it makes any less interesting to look! They’re all very detailed and well made, it’s a wonder to gaze at.

This one looks a bit spooky– it’s an ofuda (御札) with an oni (鬼) or some sort of akurei (悪霊, evil spirit) inscribed in it. Though weird as it might sound, it appears that this one should protect the user from “harmful forces”, as is written on the explanation there. The buddhist jukugo (熟語) inscribed on the ofuda sure seem to indicate that as well!

We took a lot more photos at the museum, but since we don’t want this “devlog” to be incredibly long (and also not to spoil the whole museum for those who want to visit it), we’ll be wrapping it up here! Next week we’ll be back with our usual devlogs. See you then!