The forging process, Knife Forging of Tottori Prefecture

Since ancient times, iron forging has prospered in Western Honshū thanks to the high-quality iron-sand available there. Today, in a region formerly known as Inaba, there are still blacksmiths using long-established traditional techniques. Charcoal, indispensable for forging iron, is abundantly available in the mountains of Tottori Prefecture. Forestry in this region also utilized iron tools, so the blacksmiths’ work was closely entwined with local people’s daily lives.