Hometown Stories
Stories about people, stories about life. Intimate portraits of people from around Japan, each leading diverse lives while enriching lives of others.
11. Forging On: Master and Apprentice
0.0Apr 15, 2018
Yu Kikuchi left an engineering job in the big city to pursue his dream of making things with his own hands. Now 32, he's training to be a blacksmith in Shimanto, a rural town in western Japan. His teacher is 79-year-old Kosaku Matsumura, a master blacksmith who's nearing the end of his career. Turning his apprentice into a full-fledged blacksmith will be his final job. Passing on the traditional skills for crafting hand-forged tools presents challenges – and rewards – for both men.