Задание 15 на тексты и заголовки

A) Samurai — Art of War has been so popular since it opened in late November last year that organisers decided to prolong its run until the end of May. The enormous exhibition which takes up more than 1400 square metres includes not only Samurai weaponry but antique household items and clothing as well. If you’re going, give yourself plenty of time — because you not only can see such artefacts but attend lectures, learn martial arts, do some shopping and even have a bite to eat and drink.

B) Visitors will be instantly transported back several hundred years to the Sengoku Period (also known as the Warring States period) when warlords fought for control throughout the small island nation. The most famous battle of them all — the Battle of Sekigahara is depicted in a 3D exhibition. More than 170000 warriors took part in the Battle and it finally tipped the scales in favour of the Tokugawa clan which then ruled Japan for the next 268 years and moved the capital city to Edo (now Tokyo) for the first time in Japanese history.

C) There is a collection of more than two dozen beautiful tsubas; the guard at the end of the grip of bladed Japanese weapons. The ones on display are mostly made after the Battle of Sekigahara — in times of peace, tsubas became far more ornamental, often featuring motifs from a warrior’s family crest. Pieces of highly decorated furniture, patterned with gold leaf and beautifully lacquered, are also on display. Fabulously embroidered robes catch the eye as well, and there are ornamental dolls with alabaster-white faces and dressed as lavishly as a lord, down to the smallest detail.

D) Speaking of grandiose attire, there are several sets of armour on display, so heavy and complicated that one wonders if a warrior could walk in it, let alone wield a katana. Helmets are even more impractical with large horn-like decorations. These horns were added just for pride and intimidation tactics; looking at them, one begins to think that men’s psychologies in battle really don’t differ from those of moose or beetles — the bigger, the shiner, the more bravado the better.

E) The exhibition is not just for your viewing pleasure – there are plenty of programmes in which people can participate. There are demonstrations in various modem martial arts such as judo, karate and kyudo, meditation master classes, tea ceremonies, master classes in origami, shogi (Japanese chess) and sumi-e (Japanese paintings in black and white), lectures (in Russian) and so much more.

F) For gastronomes, March 17 and 18 are must-check dates. From 7 pm to 10 pm on Thursday, March 17, chefs from the Planeta Sushi chain are creating original dishes for the event, and spectators can also participate in some of the food preparation. On the following day, two of Moscow’s top Japanese restaurants will send their chefs to the exhibition to show off some of their best dishes. Tickets for these culinary events will be separate from the other events; a one-day ticket costs 1000 roubles and a two-day ticket — 1800. Tickets are limited, so booking in advance is recommended.

G) If all this were not enough, there’s a huge souvenir selection available. Decorative figures of samurai are going from 2100 to 3 900 roubles, there are books (in Russian and even Japanese) and imitation swords. For your house you can get exotic lamps and there should be some imitation kimonos and obis (sashes) as well.

A) – 8
B) – 7
C) – 2
D) – 1
E) – 5
F) – 6
G) – 3