Japanese sword making ceremony (part 1 of 3)　刀　関

On 2nd Jan ’07 I was lucky to have witnessed this. A must see. It took place in Seki, Japan. In the ceremony they use a Japanese steel called ‘tamahagane’, that is used to make samurai swords. This is heated up to 1200 degrees, and the sword makers take it in turns to beat it with sledgehammers.