The point of a polished blade on a black background, with the undulating temper line.

Photo: the smith himself

Tamahagane, pine charcoal and hardening in the dark

Work and style

How he says he works, what can be seen in the photos of his blades and what is missing to describe his style.

On this page
  1. How he forges
  2. His style
  3. The steel
  4. His blades

How he forges

For everything he uses red pine charcoal that he cuts by hand and tamahagane (玉鋼, tamahagane) from the tatara (たたら, tatara). He folds the steel (鍛錬, tanren) until the carbon is adjusted, forges by hand as close as possible to the final shape and hardens (焼き入れ, yaki-ire) in the dark, with a clay of his own that speeds up the hardening at the edge. He does the first polish himself and a professional polisher finishes it. He polishes his knives himself on natural stones.

His style

In the photos of his blades an undulating hamon can be seen. There is no description, his own or by critics, of the steel (地鉄, jigane), the hardening or the shape of his blades, or of the tradition he follows; nor are there catalogued works of his with their measurements. His master works in the Sōden-Bizen, but there is no record that he follows it.