This site is a window into the world of Traditional Japanese Swordsmithing through the experience of Apprentice Pierre Nadeau and his mentors.
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Originally from Canada, Pierre Nadeau is a fifth year traditional swordsmithing apprentice in Western Japan.
Follow up the making of a sword on the Soulsmithing Blog!
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Japanese traditional sword making is bound to the use of types of steels marked by ancient manufacturing processes. Without the use of such steels, it wouldn’t be the tradition anymore, and the swords wouldn’t be japanese swords.
It is not possible to use those steels such as they come from the smelter. In the old days there were no other steels available, and every blacksmith had to perform tanren to turn them into useful stock. Nowadays japanese swordsmiths have fully preserved those techniques mostly because the steel is what characterizes swords the most.
In order to become a swordsmith, one must learn to understand the nature and origin of the steels he is to use, and how to prepare them through tanren.
Steel coated in charred straw and clay
Useful hand-held straw brush and tool
The te-bōki (lit. “hand-broom”) are extremely useful tools during forging to hold down hot work, brush away scale, push back hot coals, hit apprentices (!), etc. At first sight they look pretty simple, but their making requires a bit of practice so that they become tough and rigid enough to sustain hard work. A good te-bōki should neither bend nor twist even under a man’s full strength. Here are the basics to making them. The rest is practice…
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Sumi-kiri, the elaborate cutting of charcoal by apprentices is said to take three years (san nen) to assimilate. I’m obviously a slow learner for it’s been over five years and my charcoal is far from all right. But what’s all the fuss?!
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A good to way to learn proper sword sugata, or silhouette, is to make a kata, or pattern, from 1.25-1.5mm thick sheet of mild steel. I bought a full sheet and cut it in about forty 5 cm wide bands of various lengths. The longest tachi won’t usually exceed 100 cm of zen-nagasa (full length, from tip to tang).
A bit of news…
It’s been over a year since I properly updated Soulsmithing. I wonder if that’s a good sign or not: I was once told that if I was actually training enough, I shouldn’t be having enough time to “play” with a Web site…
The last two years have had their share of ups and downs and the sum of it all will be enough to fill a novel. It’s hard for me to measure the quality of what is happening for I am soaking in it up to my nostrils. Continue reading
The Soulsmithing Web site has been up for years now, but it’s always been my dream to publish a regular newsletter, in the continuation of Kogei, to diffuse as much information on the world of japanese swords, swordsmithing and the culture in general. Editing and publishing a newsletter has proven too much work to fit in my schedule, so the project kept being postponed – and still is. In the mean time, this blog project seems like a nice temporary solution.
Starting January 2011
I’m giving myself the task to report on the making of one short sword at least once a week starting from January and until completion, probably around spring. Follow up as I share impressions, mistakes, challenges, discoveries and tricks of the trade.
Japanese swordsmith charcoal forge on fire
Each year, the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (NBTHK – Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Art Sword) organizes competitions for the different fields of craftsmanship related to the Japanese Sword.
Kiyota has submitted a sword almost every year since he became independent in 2000. His competition swords have always reflected his focus of research on the group of Bizen smiths who used the Sukesada ?? name with an emphasis on the end of the Muromachi period, or late 16th century.
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For the second time, the Kawachi Ichi-mon Kai (Mukansa smith Kawachi Kunihira’s direct group of apprentices, including Kiyota) went to Lithuania this summer.
This time, the group was part of a series of events on the general theme of japanese arts, along with traditional dance accompanied by koto and shamisen players, a bonsai exhibition, and traditional swordsmithing.
Over 10 000 people attended the events during the whole duration. The forge was set in front of the main hall where the dance show was performed.
A Kawachi Ichi-mon Kai sword display was even organized.
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