We visited three blade makers to get a sense of this famous local product. Seki is among the largest cutlery-producing areas in the world, along with Solingen in Germany and Sheffield, England. The hamono (cutlery) culture runs so strong in the town that it hosts an annual cutlery festival, the Seki Traditional Swordsmith Museum, the small Seki Hamono Museum, and countless knife factories and smiths, some of which are open to visitors. Licensed by the government to keep the art of Japanese swordsmithing alive, they are the only craftsmen allowed to produce katanas. The Seki Cutlery Association has around 60 members and there are 10 traditional bladesmiths. Today, Seki boasts a number of knife and cutlery makers. The clean water, good river clay used in the quenching process, abundant coal, and strategic location helped establish Seki as a steel forging powerhouse. Located in central Gifu Prefecture, the town is cradled by two rivers. Here, bladesmiths have been making swords, knives, and cutlery for 800 years. We are in the city of Seki, Gifu, also known as the City of Blades. Sparks shoot out like laser beams around the room as he pounds, a rhythmic cacophony. Sparks dance as he fans the flames, and he takes the red hot metal and places it on the anvil, raising his hammer high and bringing it down with a deafening clang. A smoke tang hangs in the air, and the man wielding the molten steel comes into relief as he leans over the fire, his face smudged with soot. An orange heart glows in the darkness, gently pulsing.
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