- [Narrator] When it comes to Japanese metal work,
knives usually get all the glory.
But in the city of Sakai,
where blacksmithing goes back to the making
of samurai swords in the 14th century,
one craftsman has built a legacy
on something a little different.
Scissors to split paper, food, and, of course, Bonsai trees.
This is Yasuhiro Hirakawa, who works under the brand Sasuke.
- [Narrator] Hirakawa is a fifth generation scissor maker,
and he has been doing it for half a century.
He is the only traditional scissor craftsman
left in all of Japan.
- [Narrator] It takes Hirakawa a week or longer,
working 10 hours a day, to make a pair of scissors-
three to four times as long as making a knife;
and that effort is reflected in the price.
(hammering)
- [Narrator] But what are you gonna do
with scissors that expensive?
To answer that,
here's Masakazu Yoshikawa, a craftsman of Bonsai.
(cheerful orchestral music)
For a master like Yoshikawa,
a key in crafting perfect Bonsai,
is the perfect pair of scissors.
(hammering)
(snipping)
(hammering)
- [Narrator] And Yoshikawa still remembers
his first pair of Sasuke scissors.
(hammering)
- [Narrator] But for Hirakawa,
he's only just gotten started.
(hammering)