Making of the Katana: Behind the scenes with a Master

A few days ago I had the amazing opportunity to meet, speak with, and watch the famous Japanese blacksmith Masahira Fujiyasu work during a special event at the Minka-en grounds in Fukushima City, thanks to the hard work and planning of Andy Coombs and the Fukushima City Tourism and Convention Association. This type of event hasn’t been held for over a decade and the majority of Japanese people never get this opportunity, let alone a foreigner.  Mr. Fuhiyasu’s master was a national treasure of Japan and I am told that Mr. Fujiyasu is the last classically trained blacksmith that has mastered techniques of making Kamakura and Muromachi period styled blades. What added to this even more was the opportunity to speak with him and his students during lunch and while he was taking a break in the afternoon.

Harbingers of Spring

The sky opens up; pushing back the gloom of grey and infusing the world with vibrancies that set the eyes and hearts ablaze.  The fresh, crisp wind blows just enough to tickle your senses into a giddy smile.  With this bliss and light-heartedness come the unpleasantness of fluctuating weather patterns and the despised first waves of mosquito battalions out for first blood.  The want to sit in the nook of a tree and read something so full heartedly that your mind creates a movie through the mind, not even noticing the words on the page, but seeing the events firsthand.  All leading up to the torrential downpour during a thunderstorm, raising the hairs on your body from head to toe until you are carried into the rain enticed into dancing your worries away until you have been set free.