{"id":75863,"date":"2021-02-03T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=75863"},"modified":"2021-08-19T14:54:26","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T05:54:26","slug":"sword-samurai-kyoto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/sword-samurai-kyoto\/","title":{"rendered":"Swords and Samurai in the Kyoto Countryside"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just outside the crowds of Kyoto city is a world of serene nature, vibrant culture, and deep history that you probably have never heard of before. Oita Prefecture, known mainly for its abundant onsen hot springs, is another area like Kyoto, rich in nature and history. We have carefully selected less crowded destinations in both of these fascinating areas of Japan and will cover them in a series of nine articles: “Travel like a Kyoto and Oita native to experience nature and traditional culture.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The samurai period in Japan lasted for over 700 years from the 1100s until the abolition of the samurai class in the 1870s. During this period, master swordsmiths<\/a> in Kyoto and around Japan were in a literal arms race to produce ever more effective swords. Advanced, high-quality swords gave a definite advantage to samurai when fighting, so pushing forward and refining the production processes was a high priority. Swords had to balance strength with durability \u2014 if a sword is too hard it is easily broken, but to fulfill its purpose it needs to be able to cut effectively. So the swordsmiths developed techniques to make the cutting blade very hard, and the rest of the core of the sword more robust. This combination created a very practical sword, but once swordsmiths perfected this balance, the focus then shifted to crafting a beautiful object.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yuya Nakanishi preparing the sword for the quenching<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kyoto Swordsmith Masahiro<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Yuya Nakanishi trained for seven years to become a master swordsmith<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Yuya Nakanishi is one of the few active swordsmiths in Kyoto Prefecture, and his love of everything to do with swords and the culture that produced them is unmistakable. Nakanishi-san trained in Fukushima Prefecture for seven years to attain the skills, passed down through generations of master swordsmiths, to be able to produce his own swords. It takes him one week to produce the blade of a sword, and he has a list of orders keeping him busy for an entire year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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