Reviving an old sword
A help to pass it on to the next generation
like a bridge
Nice to meet you
Hello welcome
Can you tell us more about your job
When a rusted or very old sword comes out of your house,
I would revive it
or I would add life to the modern sword made by modern swordsmiths
Could you introduce it?
This whole place is the sharpening base or the sharpening boat
I get in so that the water won't spill
And there is the bucket to keep the water. It could be plastic,
but the wooden ones won't hurt the swords as much
I would ask craftsmen to make these.
This is made of wood. I would place my both feet on it
This is the carving stone. During the sharpening, the weight will be on it so it won't move
I would lean on it. To keep this position at first is quite difficult
This style was gradually modified by my predecessors going back to the Edo period to choose the optimal position
This is the ideal and yet most practical position to sharpen the sword
So it evolved until now
So this did not exist at first? Probably not
The probably just sat and sharpened
They found out some were not working and reached this position
Better barefoot so it won't slip
Your left buttocks should be placed here
The right side is floating in air
Place this leg here
If you get used to it, the legs will be easier to place
The middle of your body aligns with the sharpening stone
Hold the sword with your right hand
Hold the other here
The ideal position is your armpit on your right knee
It won't be easy at first
This one is high so your lower back may hurt
From the top, yes yes
And move it like this
What do you call it, your mind becomes empty
Nothing bothers you. You just concentrate
People who has a office job comes all the way and says that doing this concentrates and relaxes them more than any
Even though I tell them this is the most stressful job
It's easier this way
The 45 degrees is easier. A bit rusty there
It's not a rough stone to carve off any rust so don't worry
If it's on the opposite side, this way
And the hand? -It goes from top on this side
You use the rhythm? -Yes, not only power but rhythm
For skilled people the sound them make is comforting
When a sharpener stands on the side, you can tell when it's wrong by the sound
The sound is important
For the sound, there is one coming into the ear, and the one you feel through the hand
It says the lady who did the experience in February and entered in April
I'm letting her sharpen this since what I'm doing is the sheath
Now she's doing great. The marking from the sharpening is all lined up
The direction is all in one. You don't see it going everywhere
That is how we judge whether this person is suitable or not
You really can see it
How did you learn and how did you do it?
For me, I'm the 3rd generation so my father taught me
I would either see my predecessors work,
or when you see and old work, by looking at it you gradually will know the history and the technique
That is how I learned and absorbed it
How many years did it take?
For me, I did 10years under my father
Do you have any apprentices? -Yes over 50
Quite a lot -It grew a lot
What do you tell them is important?
As I said 10years, of them I did Base Sharpening
It's the basic. If you don't have the basics, no matter how polished you make it, it doesn't work
Like humans, base and the basics are very important so I teach my apprentices this
So the inside is important
It's the same in all jobs
What is the oldest sword?
Maybe the one at the end of Heian Era. That's around 1000 years ago
1000!
They just found a sword in that era in a shrine near here. It's all rusted but I will sharpen it
It was in way back in their storage which was just found recently
Don't you become nervous? -More like the satisfaction of being to sharpen such a sword
I am more excited to imagine how it will turn out or how it will look
If it's all rusted dark you don't know the shape or what design it has
It was rusting for years
-Is it going to be put up somewhere? It's not only a treasure of Osaka, but perhaps national treasure
so it will probably be in a museum where it would be properly exhibited
Of the swords lined up, what are the designs in the middle?
It's called Kinzogan and it's gold engraved to design the 7 northern stars
There was a person called Shotokou Taishi in the past and it's the sword used by him
The real one is in Shitennoji in Osaka
That's a national treasure
It's either in Shitennoji or in the national museum in Tokyo
Based on that, that is the replica made by modern day sword sharpeners
Can you tell us the history of the sword
As I said the 7 northern star sword is still in the shape of where it came from. Either from China or from the Korean Peninsula
As you see, the shape is straight. It's called a straight sword
In the Kofun era, a lot of this type was used
Until early Heian Era, the shape was like that
but in the middle of Heian era, it was not functional. It was hard to take out
And when using it, it was made more sharp
That is the origin of the Japanese sword
It's in the middle of Heian Era, so it's over 1000 years
-Any injuries? -Daily
As you can see on the footage before, the right hand side has this towel around the grip
but the left is bare hands so the blade will start to get into the palm
It's the same as car driving. When you get too used to it, you start driving with one hand or look somewhere else
It's the same with sword. When you wipe off when looking somewhere else, you get into accidents
So it's what you do. The sword doesn't bite
I don't think I can do it
but there a few women who come to learn -Really?
They come here to learn and try to make a living out of this. It's great
It used to be a man's world but not any more. We actually welcome ladies
Since women have more sensitivity, I have a feeling they can do much better finish than men
so it's fun for the teaching side as well
In Tokyo there is a very famous sharpener who is a lady who appears in different media
Do you have any experience tours for foreigners?
For some of my apprentices, there are some who is in the field of martial arts and who brings their apprentices from abroad
They come and sit here to pose or take some pictures.
If there are requests, I feel that is possible as well
It sounds fun
I think it's a great opportunity for them to learn about the Japanese swords and it's something necessary
That was quite an experience. Thank you very much