A rare opportunity to view historic museum-quality samurai swords will take place on Sunday, July 7, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, 244 S. San Pedro St. in Little Tokyo.
There will be new knife releases, free engravings, live knife-forging demonstrations, and the opportunity to meet and speak with master artisans.
Master blacksmiths Yu Kurosaki and Yoshimi Kato will be traveling from Echizen, Japan for the event. Located in Fukui Prefecture, Echizen is known as one of the capitals of knife making.
Kurosaki is the youngest knife-maker to ever be recognized by the Japanese government as a master blacksmith. He is highly esteemed for his distinctive and unconventional blade designs, often surprising observers with each new creation.
Kato took over his father-in-law’s company, Takefu Knife Village, in 2017 and he continues to make stunning knives, including the iconic SG2 Black Damascus series. There will be a live forging event on the plaza as part of the festivities.
Michael Yamasaki will be showcasing a sword exhibition and demonstration in the Doizaki Gallery known as “tameshigiri” to test the sword by cutting tatami mats.
Yamasaki is the leading expert on Japanese swords in the Western Hemisphere. Having trained under the head appraisers at the Japanese Sword Museum (NBTHK), he went on to become the youngest and the only non-Japanese citizen ever to win the NBTHK’s National Sword Appraisal Championship in 2001.
He is a founding board member for the NBTHK’s American Branch, and regularly lectures and leads study sessions for the Japanese sword club in Los Angeles, as well as for the Japanese Sword Preservation Society (NTHK) in America. Yamasaki can also be seen on the hit show “Pawn Stars,” and is their longest-standing appraiser.
In addition there will be cultural workshops, including origami and tea ceremony, for the entire family and delicious culinary offerings, including a sake tasting and a five-course dinner prepared by an all-star chef team, including Chef Peter Duong, together with Chefs Gary Matsumoto and JACCC Executive Chef Chris Ono, joined by Seisuke Knife team’s Chef David Phu and Chef Wallace Wong.
The exhibit will display swords that were once owned by feudal lords ( Maeda, Kuroda and the Owari Tokugawa). Along with these museum-class blades, they will also show a rare set of sword fittings that were made by Japan’s greatest swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi. There will also be a display of original sword mountings from the Edo period. In addition, a short demonstration of how sharp the Japanese sword is in addition to its beauty by cutting Tatamiwara using Kenjutsu techniques.
As an All Japan “Kantei” (Appraisal) champion at the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (Sword Museum of Japan), it is their pleasure to represent the beauty and history of the Japanese sword which is an essential part of Japanese culture and history to the public.
Admission is $35 general, $10 for children. Dinner is $165, which includes tax and service fee. More information at jaccc.org/events/tanzo-art-forge-expo/