So Masachika was born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1958,
His father is So Tsutomu, a swordsmith who has received the certification of MUKANSA swordsmith, the second most prestigious honor in the swordsmith world after living national treasure.

He studied the theory of old sword making at the Department of Metallurgy, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, and after graduation joined Hitachi Metals, where he was engaged in metallurgical research. In 1983, at the age of 25, he joined his father and began to study sword making in earnest.

With the words of his father and master, "A sword is determined by its base iron," he devoted himself to the exploration of base iron as a swordsmith. He has studied metallurgy scientifically, so he has developed his ability as a swordsmith with his extensive knowledge. In 1990, he exhibited for the first time at the New Sword Exhibition and won the Newcomer of the Year Award and the Award of Excellence that year. He made a spectacular debut as a swordsmith.

The following year, he was awarded the Honorary Chairman's Prize of the Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords, the Chairman's Prize of the Society, the Commissioner Prize of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and the Prince Takamatsu Prize, demonstrating his true potential as a swordsmith.

Among his works, one in particular, which was awarded the Prince Takamatsu Prize in 2005, is a replica of a Japanese sword made by Tsuda Echizen-no-Kami Sukehiro (a Settsu Province swordsmith of the Edo period), and is regarded as a masterpiece.

The sword, with its distinctive Toranba blade pattern reminiscent of large waves lapping the shore, was outstanding among the exhibits and was used as the main visual for the poster of the exhibition of new swords by the Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords the following year, making him the greatest swordsmith in modern Japan in both name and reality.

In 2006, Mune Masachika was certified as MUKANSA master, and along with his father, he has left his mark on the world of swordsmithing for two generations.

Swordsmith name: Masachika

Real name: Masatoshi So

Birthplace: Fukuoka Prefecture

Birth year:1958

How did you become a swordsmith?
Born the third generation in a family of sword smiths, I was destined to become a sword smith. My research on swords at university was a major catalyst for my career.

Personal Motto
Always keep your mind as open as when you began