I remember with great fondness the day I became a samurai. It was yesterday.
Hello, I am a person who loves Japan. So when the Japanese airline ANA told us about this new thing they have as part of their IS JAPAN COOL? project — where you can create a samurai version of yourself and then 3D-print your samurai avatar — I said, "Yes, yes please, let me become a samurai, arigato gozaimasu." Because Japan is cool, and this is cool. And by the way, there were female samurai warriors, too.
Without hesitation, I accepted the challenge of becoming samurai avatar-Ayla, 3D-printed version.
Compared to the lifetime of training and discipline needed to maintain true samurai status, this was pretty easy. You can do it too, right here. All you need is a computer and a photo of your face. (I used a photo that my friend took in Tokyo, for extra Japan-ness.)
It happened quickly. When you become a samurai, the first thing you notice is that your breathing intensifies:
OK, so the next thing you can do is customize your armor.
Can we just pause for a second to admire these pants?
Then you choose your background.
After seven minutes spent designing my samurai ensemble, I was ready. My samurai name is "Samurayla," in case you were wondering.
I sent my files to a local 3D-printing place so they could bring my samurai self to the third dimension.
I also sent the ANA samurai builder to my coworkers to see who might want to samurai themselves with me. Sukita from our Brazil office said yes. He looks majestic.
The avatars were color-printed perfectly and delivered right to my door. Just like that, we were three-dimensional samurai.
With a cat, for scale:
And now my new thing is photoshopping our samurai selves into images of Japan:
You can create your own 3D samurai avatar here.
So is Japan cool? The answer is yes, of course. And here's why: In Japan, you can also still see artisans upholding the ancient traditions of samurai armor-making.
Feeling ready to experience Japanese culture in person? Book your flights with ANA and discover the inspiration of Japan for yourself.
