A Japanese sword resembling the style of the “Nichirin Blade,” a black sword carried by Tanjiro Kamado, protagonist of the Demon Slayer manga series, can...
How many times has this fire been ablaze? The furnace fills with flames stretching tall. Sand with iron and charcoal is added as fuel....
Paul Martin for JAPAN Forward The city of Yasugi has a long history with Japanese steel. Hitachi Metalworks — co-sponsors of the...
On June 22 a written request for a budget increase to train Japanese sword artisans was delivered to Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture,...
The traditional dance performance of Iwami Kagura tells the story of the discovery of steelmaking in Izumo, Japan, through the metaphor of the deity...
The raw material used to make Japanese swords is called tamahagane. On January 24, production of the annual batch of tamahagane for Japan’s swordsmiths began...
I recently took a trip to Shimane Prefecture, also known as the San’in region, to research some of the mythical origins of the sword and...
