{"id":51646,"date":"2019-11-06T20:00:05","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T11:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=51646"},"modified":"2021-11-10T10:20:22","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T01:20:22","slug":"swords-samurai-kumamoto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/swords-samurai-kumamoto\/","title":{"rendered":"The Unbroken Tradition of Japanese Swords and Samurai Culture in Arao, Kyushu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cStrike while the iron’s hot.\u201d I always knew what this meant, though never witnessed it in its complete, literal meaning. That is, until one stormy day, while the furnace roars and hammers clang, Mr. Matsunaga <\/strong>of Arao<\/strong>, Kumamoto<\/strong> leads us into the elusive world of katana<\/strong><\/em> sword making<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Tradition Bound to the Samurai<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not every day that you get to see a Japanese katana<\/em> swordsmith at work<\/a>. In fact, never in a million years would I have thought that I would meet one, invited into his workshop, and be shown a glimpse into the centuries-old tradition of Japanese swordsmithing. As the craft advanced into this modern era, the world never forgot the swords’ intrinsic ties to the samurai who wielded them over a century and a half ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Edo era of feudal rule in Japan between 1603 and 1868 saw the samurai<\/strong> class rise to power. With a law that effectively made the samurai the only members of society permitted to carry swords, the katana<\/em> became the physical manifestation of samurai status. Though the 1868 Meiji Restoration brought the end to the feudal era and the samurai class with it, the practice of making katana<\/em> swords survived, and still continues today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Swordsmith<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Matsunaga Genrokuro<\/strong> of Arao, Kumamoto, has been practicing Japanese sword making for over 40 years. As a child, his interest in sword-wielding martial arts leads him into an interest in learning how to make the sword itself. After a 5 year training period and several tests to verify his ability, Mr. Matsunaga set off on his own to pursue the tradition of sword making over the next 41 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mr.<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We meet Mr. Matsunaga at his home and workshop. Wearing a sandy blue work suit, he gestures us to follow him into his studio. There are a plethora of tools hanging on the walls, and swords in various stages of completion lying next to the forge. Picking up a shovel full of pine charcoal to feed into the fire, Mr. Matsunaga prepares to show us a process called folding<\/em>, where iron is hammered, stretched, and folded, then forge-welded back into a single piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n