Samurai Sword Enthusiasts - Culture Crossroads | NHK WORLD-JAPAN - NHKニュース

'The fact that foreign collectors cherish Japanese swords helps to unearth ancient works taken overseas after 1945. It also serves as a force for preserving traditional techniques facing extinction. Corrected on January 19 and 23, 2026: The footage at 00:49 and 09:36 has been partially edited since the initial broadcast.

Every November, "modern samurai" from around the world gather in Tokyo.

The All Japan Sword Traders Forum is the world's largest show of its kind.

Over 70 dealers participate and swords and various fittings are bought and sold.

On display are swords from every period, dating from the 12th century up to the present.

Prices start at 1,000 dollars, with some exceeding half a million dollars.

In recent years, overseas participants have become increasingly prominent.

I bought one Katana today, and I bought a Tachi yesterday.

This "artist" has even designed sword decorations.

Anime and movies have enhanced interest in Japanese sword culture.

But enthusiasm for swords is much more than just a passing fad.

Prior to the forum, a networking event for world sword enthusiasts is held.

One of the organizers is Robert Hughes from Canada.

While teaching at a university, he's been a pioneer in disseminating sword information in English for about 40 years.

His fascination with swords began with the martial art of "iaido."

It's like the United Nations of sword collectors, the UN.

with important Japanese cultural objects.

The sword enthusiasts look forward to a kind of challenge at the networking event.

This intellectual appraisal game was practiced among samurai.

The names of the swords are concealed.

Based on their characteristics, the players try to identify their period, place of origin, and swordsmith.

They may all gleam in the same way, but they come from different eras.

the joy of appreciating them increases.

but they exhibit subtle differences according to when and where they were made.

The shape of the blade's point, for example, reflects the trends of its time.

So the first part of "kantei" is looking at the "sugata."

We have quite a lot of, some tapering.

The "hamon" seems to be very "suguha," gentle, not hard.

So it's an early Nanboku-cho Soshu.

The participants closely examine the swords and identify their origins one by one.

But there is one sword that troubles them all.

I think it might be Yamato, but I'm not sure.

I think it's going to be something quite old.

I think it's maybe Yamashiro, somewhere. Is it good? Bad?

Finally, the sword appraiser provides the correct answers and details.

So sword No. 5 was by Satsuma Motohira.

Sword No. 5 is actually a copy of a Kamakura period Yamato Tegai sword.

In fact, it was a sword made in the 19th century, forged in Satsuma, now Kagoshima Prefecture.

But it was a perfect replica of a 13th century sword from Nara.

It's almost too Yamato and not Satsuma enough.

So everybody had a lot of trouble with this sword.

The study of Japanese swords is a lifetime of study.

Every time you pull out a sword, there's something different, something new, something exciting.

So these people, they're sword junkies.

but they don't have fluency in Japanese.

you know, the periods of history or the importance of the Japanese swordsmith.

To fully understand swords, you need a deep knowledge of Japanese history and culture.

But Hughes says that knowledge is merely the entrance.

Tracing back about one thousand years, the Japanese sword evolved as the samurai society developed.

It was not merely a fighting tool, but a symbol of strength, and the owner found spirituality in his swords.

However, following Japan's defeat in 1945, the Allied Powers confiscated swords nationwide.

and more than one million found their way overseas.

because then they were going to go right back to Japan.

some of the American dealers would raise the price.

using his position as a non-Japanese.

And through that process over probably 20 years, I managed to bring back around 800 swords.

Now, if they remain in the United States and they're cared for, that's one thing.

But if they remain in the United States and they're allowed to get rusty, then that's tragic.

where a modern swordsmith continues to forge Japanese swords even today.

Adachi Shigefumi has preserved high-level sword-forging techniques with a tradition spanning more than a millennium.

Our current reality is buying materials for tomorrow's research.

The Japanese sword is now regarded as a traditional craft or work of art.

But in the current sword boom, swords circulating online vary in quality.

Crafting a new sword using traditional methods costs at least 7,000 US dollars.

These days, swordsmiths receive surprisingly few orders.

In such circumstances, Hughes acted as an intermediary in bringing in an order from the United States.

The client was J. T. Nesbitt, an industrial designer from Louisiana who creates unique motorcycles.

the only way to ensure the survival of the tradition is by commissioning new work.

is also the only way that you will ever be remembered for your participation.

and an "ume" blossom, the Wakayama prefectural flower, on the other.

The client's face comes to mind as I work.

A sword is cold and silent, but this is the very thing that teaches me.

There's a soul behind this work of art.

If only I could understand that myself...

I believe I could forge a pure, untainted Japanese sword.

Through every stage of production from establishing the concept to completion took one year.

Finally, Adachi engraved the requested design.

The two flowers are the very soul imbued into the blade.

So, in a way, like the role I've been playing is a cultural bridge.

So people of different nationalities can come, and they share this topic, this passion, their passion.

Their content is the Japanese sword, and it transcends borders.

Then we start to talk and ask about how we started our hobby and things like that.

Great. Amazing. We met very amazing new people.

The spirit of being fascinated by Japanese swords is precisely what "samurai" is.

Foreigners greatly appreciate the swords born and treasured in Japan.

Transcending national borders, sword culture is being passed down to the future.