Japanese Blacksmiths Forge On (Photos)

A hoe blade amid red, glowing coke. Photograph taken at the workplace of Hosaka Heizō in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The Katagiri Kajiya blacksmith (left) in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. The Ōba Kaji Kōjō blacksmith’s workshop (center) in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, unusually located in the city center. A kitchen knife being warmed before tempering at the Mizuno Tanrenjo forge in Sakai, Osaka.

A vegetable knife, newly created by Andō Yoshihisa of Shitara, Aichi Prefecture.

Forging a knife at Andō Yoshihisa’s workshop in Shirata, Aichi Prefecture.

Blacksmith Kosaka Shigeo at work in Shinano, Nagano Prefecture. The area has long been known for producing hand-made sickles.

Creating a tapper for collecting lacquer from trees. At the workshop of Nakahata Fumitoshi in Takko, Aomori Prefecture.

Nakahata’s wife weighs in with a heavy hammer.

Forging a blade for trimming cows’ hooves at Taniguchi Toshiatsu’s workshop in Shōbara, Hiroshima Prefecture.

A blacksmith in Ayabe, Kyoto, mends a pick head.

Tempering a sashimi knife at the Mizuno Tanrenjo forge in Sakai, Osaka.

Testing the cutting edge by hand while sharpening a blade at the Taue Kajiya blacksmith in Totsukawa, Nara Prefecture.

An artisan skillfully sharpens a blade on a rotating grindstone at Andō Yoshihisa’s workshop in Shirata, Aichi Prefecture.

Creating a model sword each January 2 before starting work for the year is a regular tradition at the Furumi Seisakusho workshop in Numata, Gunma Prefecture.

Sparks fly like a firework display when cutting metal at the Nosaka Kajiten blacksmith in Nyūzen, Toyama Prefecture.

Husband and wife at work together at the Takahashi Kajiya blacksmith in Nima, Shimane Prefecture.

Forestry tools produced at the Yamamoto Kajiseisakusho workshop in Hyūga, Miyazaki Prefecture.

Local “tomarinata” hatchets from the Ōkubo Kajiya blacksmith in Asahi, Toyama Prefecture.