The New Generation of Japanese Swordsmiths [Hardcover]

YOSHIHARA YOSHIKAZU

Pursuing an Ideal
In this interview, I am visiting a swordsmith who is one-third the age of Enomoto Sadayoshi.

Yoshihara made a striking debut, just like his father did a quarter of a century ago.

Concerning the future of shinsakuto, I asked this young swordsmith, whose own future looks extremely promising, about his feelings.

Personal History
* Born in 1967.
* Real Name: Yoshihara Yoshikazu.
* Apprenticed himself to his father, Yoshihara Yoshindo, in 1985.
* Licensed as a swordsmith by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 1990.
* Won the NBTHK Chairman Award, Kunzan-sho, Kanzan-sho, Yushu-sho, Doryoko-sho and Rookie Award at the Sword Forging Competition of the NBTHK, also Toku-sho, Yushu-sho and Kasaku (Fine Work Award) in the Tanto division.
* Lives in Katsushika, Tokyo.

......

Improving Technique Through Time

.... I asked him, "Why the Bizen tradition?" and he answered, half-jokingly, "The flamboyant and garish style appeals to me." He believes the Bizen tradition is the basis of sword forging and said, "Of course, I would like to challenge various other styles of workmanship, but I am concentrating on the Bizen tradition for the time being."

Yakiire, hardening the edge by plunging the heated blade into a trough of water, is preceded by tsuchioki, or clay coating, which is one of the most important processes of making the hamon. Bizen swords derive their choji or juka-choji hamon from this process. It would be natural for people to think yakiire and tsuchioki are the key elements of Bizen. However, Yoshikazu unexpectedly told me that the most important aspect of the Bizen tradition was not yakiire but wakashi (assembling the steel block to be heated in the forge). Whatever workmanship a swordsmith attempts, he cannot carry on to the following stage unless wakashi is properly executed. Naturally he cannot temper the hamon he intended without a jigane that is suitable for the hamon.

Needless to say, tempering midareba of the Bizen tradition requires precise tsuchioki and perfect control of the temperature in yakiire. Yoshikazu thinks that any swordsmith can produce utsuri, which is regarded as the most difficult feature of the Bizen tradition to achieve, if he can control the temperature of the jigane. Yoshikazu's contention is that carefully controlled wakashi produces the type of jigane which can yield utsuri. This is because good wakashi can result in an even distribution of carbon throughout the blade, rendering it more stable during the heating process. This stability is essential for utsuri, which allows for only a slim margin of error in temperature distribution across the edge, back, and sides of the blade. We know that not only Bizen smiths, but also others of different schools and traditions, produce utsuri. This fact may support his theory. Yoshihara Yoshindo and Shoji have demonstrated this theory and produced utsuri in front of an invited audience.

I asked him if there was a particular old Bizen smith he was aiming for, or a particular classic sword that he wanted to reproduce. Normally swordsmiths who practice the Bizen tradition give the names of Ichimonji and Osafune smiths in answer to this question. But he had a certain reason for not answering it.

He says, "Classic swords are very beautiful and attractive, and we can learn a great deal from them. But it is not my intention to simply reproduce old works. Sword forging techniques have been developed as times progressed. If you are talking about the historical value of the Japanese sword as an antique, then the convention is that older is better. But this has nothing to do with the quality of the sword itself, or the technical merit of the swordsmith. I don't subscribe to this idea."

His comments are quite logical from the point of view of a swordsmith. It is true that there is a gap between sword appreciation and that of other arts and crafts. This is because antiquity plays such a major role in sword appreciation and is often considered synonymous with quality. In other artistic fields, the works of many modern artists are often esteemed as highly as, or even higher than, older "classical" works. The problem facing shinsakuto today is not so much that people fail to understand the beauty of modern swords, but that there is still an immense bias towards old swords among smiths, appraisers, and collectors alike.

In Pursuit of the True Japanese Sword

The Sword Forging Competition has helped in raising the quality of shinsakuto considerably. Several smiths, who demonstrate the Bizen tradition and win the first prize regularly at the competition, are expecting to be designated as mukansa smiths in the near future. This leaves younger smiths, eager to catch up, with a good deal of work cut out for them. Presumably, shinsakuto will be confronted with a totally new phase several years in the future. There is no doubt that the Bizen smiths will be at the center of the movement.

Finally, I asked Yoshikazu how he looked back upon his swords presented to the Sword Forging Competition in the past, and what he was going to challenge from now on.

He was happy to have won the Rookie Award after putting in so much hard work, and glad to know that the sword was properly evaluated by the judges of the competition, though he was not fully satisfied with the work of the winning sword. People praised his talent and noted how skillful he was in spite of his age (early twenties). He remains dissatisfied, however, with his present work since he always makes exacting demands on himself and his attitude toward sword forging is to improve his skill further. With an attitude like this, I'm sure he will never disappoint us.

"I feel I have an image of the ideal I am pursuing," he told me when I asked about his present goals, "but it is still unclear. I am finding it difficult to give it any shape right now."

I was reminded of a passage from the book Hon'ami Gyojo Ki ("Hon'ami Family Record"), written by Hon'ami Koetsu. In it, he explains:

"Sword polishers and connoisseurs can only carry out their work when they cultivate a clear image of the sword in their minds, when they come to understand its true essence. Without this true internal image, they can never fully appreciate the quality of the sword in front of them. People who do not understand this will never be master polishers or connoisseurs."

I found it fitting that Hon'ami, who displayed his artistic genius in many fields, such as calligraphy, pottery and painting, was born to the Hon'ami family, who specialized in sword polishing, sword care, and kantei (sword attribution). His family environment no doubt honed his aptitude for various artistic fields.

It is very important when forging a sword to have a clear notion of the ideal sword. Yoshihara Yoshikazu has always had such an image in his mind and was able to create something similar to that image. However, the conception of his ideal sword itself constantly changes, since he creates it on the basis of accumulated knowledge and experience. Naturally he must demonstrate a superior technique in order to realize his ideal sword....