Having a Japanese sword made to your own specifications — by a living licensed swordsmith — is one of the most meaningful things a collector can do. It is also less complicated than most people assume. This article answers the...

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You have found the sword. The swordsmith is a licensed master. The blade is everything you hoped for. Now comes the question every international collector eventually faces: how do you take it home legally? For a contemporary Japanese sword —...

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Sword-forging experiences in Japan have become genuinely popular — and mostly for good reason. Getting close to the craft, feeling the weight of a hammer, understanding what it takes to shape steel: these are meaningful encounters with a 1,300-year tradition....

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The Gassan school of Japanese sword-making traces its origins to the swordsmiths who worked on and around Mount Gassan in ancient Dewa Province — present-day Yamagata Prefecture — during the Heian and Kamakura periods. Their defining technical achievement was the...

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