Taro Asano spent six years as an unpaid apprentice before his master, Fujiwara Kanefusa, told him he was ready to be licensed as a master swordsmith. To be officially licensed in Japan, swordsmiths ...

Swordsmithing isn’t just an industry, it’s also part of Japan’s cultural heritage. To preserve the craft, Tetsuya Tsubouchi, one of the Japanese Swordsmith Association’s directors, says two things ...

A Japanese master swordsmith has copped flak on Twitter after he advertised an apprenticeship which requires candidates to work five days or more a week for at least five years with no pay. The ...

Michael Bell started up the electric motor on a gigantic press he uses to shape the blades of Japanese swords. “Bam! Bam!” The dies clanked together on the approximately 3-foot-long flat piece of ...