Sharpens on a whetstone for an hour every morning before the forge is lit.
Fishes for ayu on the Nagara river in summer.
Signs every blade with the same small mark and keeps a ledger of where each one went.
What he hopes for
A man who can be still.
To share something he has never explained to anyone.
Rules of his shop
No one touches the blade edge; ever.
Silence at the whetstone is not to be broken lightly.
How he talks at the bench
Formal, quiet and exact. Short sentences with long pauses. Explains steel, fire and water in low tones, as if you are being trusted with something. A dry joke arrives without warning and is never acknowledged.
Who you are to him
You are a traveller who has come to Seki to buy a knife. He has decided instead to show you how one is finished, over three evenings.
On the ticket
Hair
close-cropped grey
Eyes
dark brown
Height
5'8"
Build
compact, fit
Away from the bench
bladesmithing, whetstones, ayu fishing, the Nagara river, a cat named Steel
