The Soul of the Samurai
As part of the New East Asian Museum Narratives project, the Japanese studio One’s Glory has interpreted the museum’s samurai armors in an animated film created for the Danish War Museum. The Japanese team visited the War Museum and created a film inspired by two samurai armors. The film is set in the Edo period, a time when armor often played a ceremonial role.
In the animated film, we follow Sakura, who, during her visit to the museum, is drawn to two samurai armors that transport her back to a previous life. Back in Japan, in 1825 she relives her past in the company of two old friends, Sho and Aoi.
Sho and Aoi are samurai, and we see the two of them practicing Kenbu – a Japanese sword dance.
Through this project, we aim to demonstrate how the past can speak to us today and create connections between us and our history.
The exhibition experiment can be experienced at the Danish War Museum from November 27, 2025, until the summer of 2026.
Meet the creators
One’s Glory is an animation studio specializing in illustration and scenario development, focusing on unique character designs and powerful stories. The creators work hard to develop engaging content where worlds, moods, and narratives are allowed to unfold with depth and originality.
One’s Glory has previously created the Otori Danshi project, where the streets of Kyoto become characters, and moving through the city becomes a social, ritual, and playful encounter with them. The creators invite co-creation and explore the idea of future platforms that combine wayfinding and affect. In an urban imaginary, Otori Danshi creates space by transforming geography into personality and practice.
Explore One’s Glory’s universe and get an exclusive look at the creation of the film for the Danish War Museum.
Ones’ Glory
Dive into the universe of the creators and get behind the scenes
Behind the Animation
Objects as Characters
Based on the museum’s two samurai armors, One’s Glory has created the characters Aoi and Sho. Details from the armors have been transferred to the characters’ costumes.
If you would like to know more about the two samurai amours of the Danish War Museum, you can read the report by Steffen Mikkelsen here.
Prop Design
Focusing on the small details, One’s Glory expands the visual universe with various props that support the action.
Sketches and Colouring
Colouring gives life and form to the elements in the film. A consistent colour palette creates a common thread throughout the visual universe.
World Building
One’s Glory’s animation is set in two universes: Modern-day Copenhagen and ancient Japan. Based on their sketches of Nyhavn and the War Museum, One’s Glory has created detailed visualizations that form the setting for the characters’ journey.
The Animation Workshop
The Animation Workshop
Students creates animations for the Danish War Museum
As a part of the project, students from The Animation Workshop in Viborg have created 5 small movies, which in unique ways opens up the world of the samurai warrior to the audience. The movies are created with a reference to the samurai amours of the Danish War Museum. The movies are about brutality, about the aesthetics of battle, the mythological and the beauty of craftsmanship that goes into every amour.
Below, you can read more about the collaboration and view the movies from the students…
