Dialogue between Osaki Yasumune(大崎靖宗) and Kurihara Kenji(栗原謙二)

[BANGBANGSAN]

I read this interview with 大崎靖宗 Osaki Yasumune, and the interviewer is 栗原謙二 Kurihara Kenji, a apprentice of the second-generation 小林康広 Kobayashi Yasuhiro. In the article, some interesting story is mentioned, where 靖宗 Yasumune talks about"In fact,we use oil to soften the blade after water quenching to improve it's flexibility.And this method was invented by Dr.Kuto Haruto 工藤治人(The chariman of Yasuki Steel Mill Company 安來鋼製作所 ）.It was certainly a better method for cooling down the entire blade more evenly than the traditional method."

 

 

[PNSSHOGUN]

Incredible insight to Yasukuni-To, especially the part about the first generation of smiths only using the very best quality Tamahagane. Which publication does this appear in? The formatting is the same as "The Yasukuni Swords" by Tom Kishida but don't recall it being included in that book.

[BANGBANGSAN]

46 minutes ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

Incredible insight to Yasukuni-To, especially the part about the first generation of smiths only using the very best quality Tamahagane. Which publication does this appear in? The formatting is the same as "The Yasukuni Swords" by Tom Kishida but don't recall it being included in that book.

The new generation of Japanese swordsmith by Tomio Tsuchiko

[BANGBANGSAN]

55 minutes ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

especially the part about the first generation of smiths only using the very best quality Tamahagane.

He also mentioned that the Tsuru 鹤 Tamahagane was too hard and small carcks werer often seen in the sword.

[BANGBANGSAN]

In the chapter titled "CHANGE IN THE NUMBER OF SWORDS PRODUCED" in The Yasukuni Swords, it is mentioned: "Nevertheless, Yasukuni smiths engaged in sword forging with maximum effort, always seeking to improve their techniques and produce the highest number of swords possible. They employed a sword forging method called 'makuri-gitae,' which is one of the relatively less time-consuming traditional methods, and it favored a hamon in suguha. This method seemed the most appropriate to the circumstances, and suited the forging of practical swords such as gunto."

 

It also mentions that "each smith produced about ten swords per month around 1935, and succeeded in increasing the monthly output to fifteen swords around 1940. Supplying for the Pacific War, which started on the 8th of December 1941, some of them surprisingly produced twenty swords per month in 1942, the year in which production reached its peak. It is speculated that this output was achieved by teams consisting of a swordsmith, two sakite, and a charcoal cutter, using no electric machines."

Given that traditional sword-making is a highly labor-intensive process, it indeed seems almost impossible to complete a blade in just two days without the use of power hammers or other modern machinery. This would require extreme efficiency and coordination from the entire team, pushing the boundaries of what could be done by hand in such a short time. Traditional methods, especially without the help of machines, would usually take longer, which is why the reported productivity is surprising.

 

 

[Bruce Pennington]

I also saw in the first post that civilians sought after the Yasukuni-to.

 

Also interesting was that he made blades for 2 instructors, which they signed.