Making Traditional Japanese Steel (Tamahagane)
We visit the Okuizumo area of Shimane to see how Japanese steel, tamahagane, was traditionally made.
• Thanks to Japan Heritage Official Site for sponsoring this video! More info: bit.ly/japan-heritage-LWIF
• Provision of reference: Wakou Museum
Sources:
- Tatara story japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja...
- Tatara Ironworks unnan-tatara.jp/en/tatara_abo...
- Tamahagane Steel www.seisukeknife.com/blogs/ne...
- By James St. John - Specularite (high-grade iron ore) (Soudan Iron-Formation, Neoarchean, ~2.69 Ga; Soudan Mine, Soudan, Minnesota, USA) 9, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
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Omg I am a foreigner living in Shimane!! I'm so happy you guys are here and made a video here too, because at Shimane University we explain to visitors about Tatara iron making and Tamagahane and almost nobody ever knows this stuff...super happy!
I hadn’t heard of it until this video. So glad the technique has been preserved and passed down.
do you know where we can do what they did? I really want to make my own kitchen knife as a souvenir
your joy is contagious, thank you I needed that.
That is weird, in prindu pradesh we all know the tamahagane, it is a great dish we all know how to make
The land of the Otori! 😁
This is fantastic - it's like an NHK documentary program.
Nar. NHK documentary is quite boring. They are informative but boring.
I guess all you need is the theme song for The Professionals or something.
Every time he says "Hello World", I was immediately excited to watch Greg new video (even the older one is very exciting to watch). Thanks, Greg for making me and other people more knowledgeable about Japan.
I live in Shimane! And I took a tour of this forge with a local tour company just last month! I'm so happy that you came to Shimane and made this video. It can be hard to find good quality information about Shimane in English, so I appreciate all your work in making this! :D (By the way, the company I took a tour with is called Though Inaka (Tavikala). They're in the process of developing tours now, but their official platform is scheduled to launch in early 2024! I highly recommend taking a tour with them sometime. They hire locals as guides for travelers and have a bunch of different travel plans with themes like ikigai and "Samurai are Still Here.")
Where can I find more info? It seems the links in the description aren't the exact same forge as shown in the video.
many of us blacksmithing enthusiasts know about your town because of the Tatara. we all wish we could get some to use. theres some people here who use similar black sand as material for hobby melts but its not the same.
@@joshschneider9766 I'm glad to hear blacksmiths know about Shimane! If you get the chance to come here, the forges are really something to see. The Okuizumo Tatara Sword Museum also has forging demonstrations pretty regularly.
akko is so cute, she seems like she's having fun like a kid ^_^ that 86 year old knife maker is amazing! i hope I'm as active as him when I'm in my 60s!
Please consider making a video on train stations that double as malls and grocery stores
Comming from a country rich in iron ore ... Australia... i can appreciate all the effort made in Japan... love your videos!
i live near a black sand beach and my neighbor waves a handheld spring loaded magnet over it and dumps the iron right into buckets then takes it home and smelts it in his back yard its the greatest thing ive ever seen lol. nothing like these mad geniuses of Japan of course but man, as a glassblower professionally and blacksmith and metal casting artist as hobbies i will never look at sand the same again lol
Fascinating actually getting to see this in practice. I find the history of steelmaking in general quite fascinating, and the Japanese process, by virtue of the poor ore quality, is particularly fascinating.
I can’t believe that man is 86, and still working iron like a pro! Amazing.
Yet another fascinating video Greg. The process for making the steel must've been quite an experience. And every video is made better by the inclusion of Akko, she is such a joyful soul.
There are many parts of the process captured here which are never shown in other video. Thank you for making such unique and complete record of your experiences!
As someone who usually teaches people to do some manual tasks in gardening, I appreciate how patient these masters are.
It makes sense that Princess Mononoke was inspired by this, because one of the songs on the soundtrack is called "Tatara Women Work Song."
I LOVE Akko. She is so game to try anything with such cheer. She is such a draw for viewers like me that you should include her in the titles. And it was great to see you using your Japanese on camera, too.
This was a honour to watch, I have so much respect for these teachers that still make these Amazing swords.
Awww, Akko! We love you! 🥰
This was very great! Thanks for all the hard work on this. I loved the whole story of modern and historic steel making and working!
incredible video greg! i've said this before but my favourite part of your channel is that you make interesting videos on things i would never think about watching or have even heard of
You are constantly finding such great topics to talk about - absolutely love this
What a wonderful documentary on Tamagahane. I love how detailed your videos always are.
Sister-in-law is Awesome!!!
Fantastic. This is the first time I've seen it documented in good detail. Love it. I am so going to take that tour. I want to be part of making tamahagane!
I've just added something to my bucket list. Thanks Greg, a great video as usual.
and may i just say their commitment to sustainability is absolutely wonderful.
I love your videos man they let me experience things I know I wont be able to go and experience. So, thank you.
Always happy to see your video notifications Greg!
only great videos as always 😭 thank you
This was very cool - I loved seeing the process from smelting the raw materials right up to the finished product. I think I have a new place to visit on my next trip!
Excellent upload and a fantastic insight on the steel making!❤
Love the video that you get for us Greg! Ako was a natural reporter for variety show she has so many expression and so funny, glad you find her and make her regular in the video
Really high quality footage. The particles looked amazing on my oled. Great video!
Thank you so much for making this video
Thanks Greg. A great vlog.
Awesome video, thanks for sharing this experience. Your SIL is so sweet and seems like a ton of fun! Cheers!
Thank you! Good to see you!
Thank you for the beautiful video!
Hello world! I’m so happy to see you upload another video! Edit: just finished watching it. It was very fun to watch and I learned a lot! Thank you 🎉
Super cool video. Thank you very much for making it!
Wonderful video! I really enjoyed it? Please make more!
Very fascinating and enjoyable to watch - especially as an engineering student! Getting to see the Japanese side to metalworking was a real treat. Thank you for showing this to us!!
When my father died I took a chunk of my inheritance and had a tamahagane knife made by a Japanese master. It is my second most prized possession.
Wonderful and superb!!! I have a deeper respect for the katana I was holding the other month. The process to obtain the iron really impressed me. Thank you so much for producing quality content 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡
Love the Camera Work ! Wishing youu all the best :D
As always, love the video! Looks like the Akko fan club will be super happy too:)
Thank you for yet another awesome video, Greg! I would love to go see how they make knives and swords there myself (let alone learn to make them myself, but that’s just a daydream). The video also made me feel that I should get out of Tōkyō. The landscape there looks so beautiful and calm compared to the noisy city I am exposed to everyday.
thank you, once again a great show.
This give new experience to stairs master.
Thank you for helping preserve hundreds of years of Japanese culture that would otherwise not be accessible to a non-Japanese audience
This is the reason why i love japanese technology.
Akko always looks so good in the outfits!!! She's so adorable
Shimane prefecture is also the home to two very talented high school bands: Izumo BHS and Matsue CHS. Always wonderful watching them in a parade or stage performance.
Hi - I've been watching your stuff for a while... and I ALWAYS look forward to every upload.... it's just so peaceful. That being said, do you color grade your vids? I really love your style of recording/capturing moments and i wanted to know if you did this... Thank you!!!
I just thought to myself today that you havent uploaded in a while and I refresh to this nice surprise
amazing, love the blessing and lunch too!
Il y a si peu de vidéo de cette qualité sur le Japon. Merci beaucoup
best episode ever!
Ako is so brave. Despite being clearly uncomfortable, she just dives into things and try them. On camera, no less. :D
Very cool, love stuff like this, the real world has so much adventure and education available.
This is fascinating!
Very cool! I was impressed by your natural form on the bellows and by Akko's stamina hammering the knife. A whole hour! Wow! Also, really curious where the European men with beards were from - couldn't quite place their accents!
This is incredible
That was amazing 👏
I got my tenugui in the mail yesterday. Now I need to find a place to display it. Thank you
Watching Akko on that machine had me laughing along with you all, and cheering her on until she worked it out. So funny, her laughter is totally infectious. I’m still laughing. “Deity flavoured” 🤣🤣🤣 Thank you for sharing this adventure, it’s so very appreciated. All the best to you and your family. 🙂🐿🌈❤️ [sydney australia] P.s Such beautiful, BEAUTIFUL drone shots, well done 👍🏽 Surrounded by such incredible scenery, coupled with every shade of green imaginable. And all alongside flowing crystal clear waters....well, it would be hard to go wrong ❤
I bet you alot of people will travel to this area to pay for an experience like this. What a truly excellent presentation..
This was really cool!
This is pretty cool for anyone that’s into katana and tanto ect… and had seen it in anime but isn’t a knife enthusiast 🎉
13:10 That ring.
Such a relaxing watch :)
I always find the traditional way of making steel more interesting than the factories producing steel today. The process of traditionally making steel such as tamahagane is, in my view, environmentally friendly because you are collecting the iron sand instead of just digging through the Earth to find iron ores. I mean sure there is a bit of mining to get the iron sand by using a pickaxe but that's just it. No huge and expensive mining equipment needed. It may be time consuming but seeing the process is just beautiful.
Your sister is so funny. Adorable. ❤
Your video quality was always great, but wow you’ve liked upgraded your camera or something!? This looks amazing!
very nice info
I would love to visit this place and experience these things.
I don't know which one is better but the katana wins if it's a beauty contest 😉 Amazing experience, I'd love to do it. Thanks for filming it.
With love from India. Keep up the good work!
Awesome master craft video and I love your co-creations with Akko! PS You really should get a subsidy from the agency for tourism or cultural affairs. 😉👌👌👌
i live near a black sand beach and my neighbor regularly uses a hand held magnetic separator to remove the mostly iron particles from the rest just like you did in the river. only we dont really deal with washaway. the result is a crucible melt with very little slag in it. the old timers in Japan knew with a little hard work they could achieve the same results as my friend today in his hobby forge on a big scale and they sure showed the world that determination can yield magnificent results alright.
Tamahagane is still lower quality than steel produced from iron ore and far below any modern steel, which is why they do not use it anymore. However it is impressive they made usable steel at all from iron sands which present far more issues with purity vs iron ore.
I love history content like this. Japanese sword making is an art. The best….👍
Its amazing what they could make with such a low quality steel source.
The beach from where i live had a huge area covered with iron sand usually at river mouth and the river itself
The salty cracker makes sense if your working up a sweat... Pickles taste extra delicious when your dehydrated
I am quickly becoming a fan of Akko-san! *_* She seems so much fun!
Mr Kobayashi named one of the most famous star ships in history, he is a true master no matter what he decide to do! 🖖
❤ Akko!!! ❤
A lot of people think tamahagane is superior steel. It's actually pretty crude and inconsistent. It takes an extremely knowledgeable smith to work it into billets with a consistent grain structure for use in swords. They learned to make it work, because that was the steel they were able to get.
Imagine all the samurai duels that happen😮
Awesome as always, and your sis-in-law is fun 😁
Узнал полотенце на голове вашей сестры. Много лет назад я работал кузнецом. Я ковал в основном декоративные украшения, но иногда заказывали мечи, сабли и ножи. Посмотрел ваш ролик и ностальгия нахлынула. Сейчас уже не работаю - спина больная. Сказались годы тяжёлой работы... Благодарю за видео и эмоции! Удачи!
When I was a kid, a samurai sword maker trained in Japan moved to my hometown. During a presentation on sword making at my church, he said that he moved to this area because our river sand had the right kind of iron for his swords. His name was Keith Austin. If you Google him, you can read about is journey in becoming a sword maker trained in Japan...
Otsukaresama 😊 beautiful tamahagane
My family and I would love to experience all of items/activities you showed on the video. Any chance you could send the details as we are moving to Tokyo soon and will want some local learning experiences.
that katana is so cool!!!
Looks like a next stage on "Primitive technology" channel :)
The knife teacher became an adult two days after graduating middle school 😭
My favorite Katana is the 2022 Suzuki Katana!
Akko is hilarious!
It's these sorts of places I would love to go for a vacation or honeymoon.
Akko is so adorable
The religious ritual before making steel is like something the Ancient Greek would do to Hephaistos, the god of metallurgy. In the West the Ancient religons were superceded by Monotheism, but in Japan the polytheistic/animistic tradition is still alive.