Hello everyone. Thank you for reading this article. I’m Shogo from Let’s ask Shogo, the interpreter of the online lessons and owner of this website.

A question I often get from everyone is, “Why do you still use crappy steel (Tamahagane) to make katana in Japan?” I had an opportunity to ask actual katana swordsmiths this question, and they told me these three reasons. 

1. It wouldn’t be a katana
2. It’s high-quality carbon steel  
3. Artistic coincidence 

First, blades not made from Tamahagane can not be called katana in Japan. In Japan, katana are defined as “works of art,” so traditional materials and methods of making them are required.

Next, Tamahagane is not the best kind of steel, but it is a good quality as carbon steel. Carbon steel is a very convenient steel for craftsmen who make everything by hand because it’s easy to work with.

Finally, it is only because craftsmen make katana by hand using Tamahagane, which is not perfect steel, that artistic coincidence is possible. If katana were a uniform tool mass-produced in a factory, it would not be called a work of art. It is precisely because the katana is believed to be the home of the gods that it is meaningful for craftsmen to collaborate with nature in their creation.

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