Represented by Japanese cooking knives and swords, the high level of forged cutting tools is internationally well-known. Ironically, the raw material for these products (good quality iron ore) was exhausted as early as the Nara period, and presently Japan depends on an imported supply almost completely. Historically, the iron material was not fully imported, and iron manufacture in Japan used iron sand, which could not necessarily provide the needed high quality. The excellence of Japanese cutting tools was supported by the high level of techniques of forging by blacksmiths and polishing. (The Japanese word kaji, or “blacksmith”, comes from kana-uchi meaning “metal beating”.) Some examples are weapons used in battle; swords as prestige goods; cooking knives which are essential to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage washoku, Japanese cuisine; traditional carpentry tools, such as planes, saws, and nails, which are vital in building traditional wooden buildings; and agricultural tools, such as hoes and sickles. In the foundation of the various tools which form Japanese culture we cannot miss the techniques of blacksmithing and forging.
It was during the Edo period and later that the blacksmith industry became locally established. The industry was born in order to supply the demand from city life in the newly developed castle towns and large cities. Amongst these historical local forging industries, seven of them – Echizen, Sakai, Shinshū, Banshū Miki, Echigo Yoita, Tosa, and Echigo Sanjō – are recognized by the government as centres of traditional craft.
In Echigo Sanjō the blacksmith industry originated in the early Edo period when the local magistrate gave guidance for the production of traditional Japanese nails as a sideline. Subsequently, agricultural tools were produced to support the development of farmland, followed by the rise of professional blacksmiths. The variety of product items was enlarged to include carpentry tools, cooking knives, and nails. Production skills were also broadened. These products were sold through merchants dedicated to metal ware and the market grew beyond the neighborhood, but in much wider scope.
The forged cutting tools of Echigo Sanjō have a history as described above. Their specialty is free forging or open-die drop forging, in which moulds are not used to shape the products. The blacksmith can freely decide the shape of the product with his hammer and anvil surface. This technique is suitable for producing large forged pieces and a variety of items in small quantities. In the section of this exhibition dealing with cutting tools, we introduce a wide range of designs and possibilities through the display of more than twenty kinds of special knives, which were born from the varied requests from lifestyles in the diverse Japanese environment.
