The Kyoto Shimbun
  • Home
  • Kyoto
  • News
  • Many Foreign Tourists Enjoy Swordsmith Experience
    At Kyoto Prefecture's Only Forge

    5 April 2018 - Kyoto//Tradition/Culture
    Photo= An Australian university student tries out Japanese short sword making (Masahiro Tantoujou Sword Forge, Honme-cho, Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture)

    Photo= An Australian university student tries out Japanese short sword making (Masahiro Tantoujou Sword Forge, Honme-cho, Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture)

    The short sword-making experience at Masahiro Tantoujou Sword Forge, Honme-cho, Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture, is gaining popularity among foreign tourists. The forge is run by Yuya Nakanishi, the only swordsmith producing Japanese swords in Kyoto Prefecture. The forge is visited by approximately 30 people a month, who can experience the same process for producing Japanese swords of hammering red-hot steel. Participants say with shining eyes, "It's interesting because we can touch Japanese culture."

    Since the forge appeared on an overseas travel website in January last year, it has been receiving reservations one after another and is now one of the most popular tourist spots. One group's experience takes more than three hours, so to maintain balance with his primary business, the swordsmith accepts a maximum of 30 visitors per month.

    A 22-year-old Australian university student and her 15-year-old brother participated in the sword-making experience. They repeated the process of heating a steel bar in the "Hodo," or a forge kept at a temperature roughly in the thousands of degrees Celsius, striking it with a metal hammer, then heating it again. They shaped their swords while following Nakanishi's advice, such as "Use more power," and "Make the surfaces parallel." Then after "Tsuchitori," a process unique to Japanese sword-making that creates the "Hamon" or blade pattern, and quenching to increase the swords' strength, they completed short swords with 8 to 10-centimater blades, on which they inscribed their names.

    Looking satisfied, the university student said, "I learned fencing, so I am interested in swords. It was hard because it required power." Nakanishi expressed his hopes, saying, "I hope this experience will motivate people to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture."

    (Translated by Mie Hiuzon, Psyche et l’Amour, Inc.)
  • Also in Kyoto//Tradition/Culture:

    New Year Buddhist ritual held in Kyoto amid pandemic
    28 January 2021

    Kyoto Ranked World's Most Popular City for First Time
    Tokyo, Last Year's Top, Falls to Sixth
    22 January 2021

    Sunken Ships in a Naval Port Post-World War II
    Tragic "Ukishima Maru" Also Caught on U.S. Military Film
    22 January 2021

    Relic of "Great Ruler Mitsuhide"
    Fukuchiyama Castle
    22 January 2021

    Bonfires Drastically Scaled-Back This Summer
    Seen as Points of Flame from Kyoto City; COVID-19 Countermeasures
    12 August 2020

News Archive
  • January 2021
  • August 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • More...
Categories
  • Sightseeing/Events
  • Temples/Shrines
  • Tradition/Culture
  • Local topics
  • Education/University
  • Business/Company
  • Traffic
  • Gourmet
  • 1min Kyoto
  • Kyoto
  • Shiga
Web site
Introducing Privacy Policy Japanese Site
Copyright © 1995-2021 The Kyoto Shimbun Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
We use cookies for a number of reasons, such as keeping our websites reliable and secure, providing social media features and to analyze the performance of ads. Accept & continue Read More
Privacy Policy