Japanese sword making ceremony (part 1 of 3) 刀 関

On 2nd Jan '07 I was lucky to have witnessed this. A must see.
It took place in Seki, Japan.
In the ceremony they use a Japanese steel called 'tamahagane', that is used to make samurai swords. This is heated up to 1,200 degrees, and the sword makers take it in turns to beat it with sledgehammers.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Engineering
• sword
• japan
• making
• ceremony
• samurai
• forging
• forge
• seki
• katana
• japnese
• 刀
• 関

[Nirusu87]

Thanks for uploading! Interesting movie, as it almost seemed identical to my own. Although this one, took place in '07. I went there last year: '09 and I recognized it's place. Very interesting to experience too, as a sword collector.

[NightUlf]

Yeah it is definately a place to go and watch.

Well worth it. Glad you liked it. : )

[zerowildfire]

This is why Katana is treated with such care and respect.

So it should be.

[blueingreentrain]

is it true that the purpose of this ceremony was to pass on specific details to do with the making of the sword to the next generation of sword makers at a time when the Japanese had no writing system of their own with which to record the intricacies of this process?

I imagine there would be some religious significance too, but could anyone confirm this?

[blueingreentrain]

is it true that the purpose of this ceremony was to pass on specific details to do with the making of the sword to the next generation of sword makers at a time when the Japanese had no writing system of their own with which to record the intricacies of this process?

I imagine there would be some religious significance too, but could anyone confirm this?

[mauiboynokaoi]

@perdurabo1 Not really. I may not be a sword maker or anything of that caliber. All I do is sharpen blades but I do so rather well. I ask for nothing more than one of the sharpened blades in return as a kind of souvenir to remind me of the effort I put into it. Yeah it doesn't take that long (maybe 15-30 minutes depending on the sharpness the client wants) but it still means something to me regardless of how non-time consuming it may be.

[perdurabo1]

@sk8wise12 i agree that buying from store is bad, you should buy them from their maker.

Making one sword isn't that time consuming, my friend makes 2-5 blades a day, and another few days on each to do fittings. It takes time to learn how to do it. If you spend that time in workshop, then you don't spend it trianind fencing. Emotional bond to sword is sorry to say but BS. Every 2-3 years i break atleast one sword, sometimes even faster, i had swords that lasted less than year.

[sk8wise12]

@perdurabo1

Uhhh I think you didn't understand the post. I understand how long it takes to truely make a good sword. Not just some cookie-cutter (hehe) B.S. I mean something you truely have an emotional and artistic claim to. Buying swords from a store isn't a very good thing, you have no real claim to it other then monetary.

[perdurabo1]

@sk8wise12 sorry you are wrong, i'm swordsman i would like to make swords but it would take time to learn, time that i spend on training how to use it. Years ago (both in europe and asia) there where separate people who did blades, handles, crossguards and pommels, scrabbards, polishers, jewelery fitting... and people who used them. It takes years of practice to do decent job in one of those fields, and to master them all you'd be 80 year old grandpa. Master your field don't try to grab them all

[Rico8458]

these people have a higher state of culture and civilization than america does. you cannot compare a nation of alien immigrant mexicans wet backs with the pure race of Japan.

[Utiyn001]

i agree with u all

ah what a bond between the samurai and his katana :)