A movie introducing a blacksmith who continues to preserve tradition alone in the mountains of Kochi prefecture and a young apprentice who inherits tradition

" Tosa Knitting Cutlery " forging farm tools and knives such as 鉈 (tatami) and sickle is a traditional craft of Kochi prefecture famous alongside " Tosa Washi ". However, according to the Forestry Agency , forestry practitioners in Japan are decreasing year by year, and accompanying it, demand for crabs and sickle of Tosa stamping tool is also decreasing. Meanwhile, Great Big Story introduces a blacksmith who keeps the tradition of Tosa stamping knife in Kochi prefecture and a young man who applied for discipleship to that blacksmith, in a movie.

The Ancient Art of Forging Japanese Knives - YouTube


Tosa stamping knife is a traditional knife from the beginning of the Edo, not a weapon such as a sword, kitchen knife and farm tools were mainly made.

This fine piece is also a Tosa stamped cutter. Many of the people who run forestry in Kochi prefecture have said that they love Takata knife and sickle.

Tokoro Shimanto Town, Takaoka-gun, Kochi Prefecture, where Shimanto River, famous as "the last clear stream in Japan," flows.

Mr. Matsumura Mr. Matsumura who runs the blacksmith "Katsuhide smithya" which remains only one in this Jukawa. Mr. Matsumura has been the second generation to succeed the father 's blacksmith and has been making Tosa stamped knives as a smithmaker for more than 50 years.

As the Mr. Matsumura said, there are nine in Shimanto-cho once in this district, mostly (blacksmith has disappeared) ", as for Mr. Matsumura, the blacksmith who used Matsumura san's" Katsuhide smithyya "as a 2018 as of now . Mr. Matsumura says, "I think I will continue".

Remove the iron mass from the high temperature furnace and hit it while hot to stretch.

And, when you stretch the beat up, repeat repeating the shape of the iron with a grinder.

On the surface of the knife blade there are irregularities left behind with the tapping hammer. In addition to taking time more carefully sharpening ... ...

After carefully polishing with a grinding stone, the surface of the knife which was uneven was completely finished.

Mr. Matsumura's stuff uses not only cutlery, but also a handle, a sheath that holds the cutlery, and a nail (octopus) to fix the cutlery on the handle. The blacksmith who handmade to that extent nationwide is unusual.

Mr. Matsumura will carve with inscription, not inscription. Although the effort and labor required to build a single gauze is enormous, usability and quality are wonderful accordingly, Mosumura-san's Tosa Knife is said to be ordered from all over the country.

A young man volunteered to Mr. Matsumura to apply for apprenticeship. It is Ms. Yuki Kikuchi who works as a regional cooperation squad in Shimanto Town.

Mr. Kikuchi is a former Mr. Matsumura, training as a blacksmith apprentice of Tosa striking blade.

Mr. Matsumura who was originally a policy not to take his disciples had been declining his discipleship for reasons that "he is not old enough to teach his disciples", but since Mr. Kikuchi repeatedly accepted his apprenticeship, Mr. Matsumura He took root and took Mr. Kikuchi as his disciple.

According to Mr. Kikuchi, Mr. Matsumura asked Mr. Matsumura to apprentice because he wanted to learn not only the technology but also Mr. Matsumura's way of thinking. "Although I can see a variety of things with Internet video distribution, I think that it is because I can not acquire skills by themselves, because I can not know the way of thinking," says Mr. Kikuchi.

"I think that traditional things are extremely technically expensive and it is very difficult as a job.It is more challenging for jobs that are more difficult than simple tasks.If you want to do it seriously, I think that's fine, "Mr. Kikuchi says.