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