Japan Intangible Cultural Heritage System for Nihonto — How the State Certifies Swordsmith, Polisher, and Scabbard Maker Crafts

Intangible Cultural Properties and Japanese Sword Techniques——Why the Government Protects "Technology" Itself

Japanese swords as finished products are protected as national treasures or important cultural properties, but the "technology itself" that creates swords is also the subject of legal frameworks. The Cultural Property Protection Law establishes a framework to protect not only tangible objects but also "intangible cultural properties" including performances, craft techniques, and the performing arts, and it includes Japanese sword-related techniques such as sword forging, polishing, and scabbard production as its subjects.

Traditionally crafted techniques directly involved in sword production become almost impossible to restore once the practitioners are lost. The sense of discerning the fire color of tamahagane, the experience of judging temperature by the sound of water during hardening, the subtle changes in finger pressure a polisher applies to the whetstone——these are all embodied knowledge that cannot be fully conveyed through text or video, and are living culture transmitted from master to apprentice. The intangible cultural property system is a national framework for protecting such "human techniques."

Recognition of Holders and "Selected Preservation Techniques"

The protection system for intangible cultural properties has a two-layer structure. The first layer is the recognition of holders of "Important Intangible Cultural Properties"——the so-called "Living National Treasure" system, in which the nation recognizes individuals or groups with particularly outstanding techniques and grants special subsidies of 2 million yen per year. Multiple individuals in sword-related fields such as blade smiths, polishers, handle wrappers, and scabbard makers have been designated over the generations, and notable examples include Miyairi Shohei (blade smith), Gakuyama Teiiichi (second generation, blade smith), Honami Hishu and Ono Mitsutsugu (both designated in 1975, polishing), Fujishiro Matsuo (designated in 1996, polishing), Nagayama Mitsuki (designated in 1998, polishing), and Honami Mitsusu (designated in 2014, polishing).

The second layer is the "Selected Preservation Techniques" system, which selects and supports techniques that are indispensable for the preservation and restoration of important cultural properties but have extremely few successors. Sword polishing technique, white scabbard production technique, and scabbard lacquering technique are subject to this system, and subsidies are provided to holder groups and individuals, as well as grants for successor training projects. This system functions as support for practical practitioners more broadly than the Living National Treasure system.

The Reality of Certified Swordsmiths and Polishers

Swordsmiths designated as Living National Treasures are expected to maintain their technical level at the time of designation while also taking responsibility for training successors. Many designated individuals accept young swordsmiths during their training period and continue a private master-apprentice relationship by raising them as disciples, but economic sustainability remains an issue.

According to surveys by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the number of certified blade smiths nationwide is around 300 (with annual variations), but the number of people who can actually make a living primarily from Japanese swordsmithing is said to be less than half that. Polishers are fewer than blade smiths, with several dozen full-time practitioners nationwide. Scabbard makers, handle wrappers, and metal workers (tsuba makers, menuki makers, etc.) are even fewer, and in some techniques the number of practical practitioners has declined to single digits.

Most of those aspiring to become swordsmiths undergo long-term training as live-in disciples under a designated master, master the entire process from selecting tamahagane to forging and hardening, and only then are approved for independence. This master-apprentice system has been handed down within the industry since ancient times apart from the cultural property protection framework, and most intangible cultural property holders have acquired their skills through this traditional training process. Similarly for polishers and scabbard makers, the primary form of personnel development is an apprenticeship-like system in which they undergo long-term training under a master craftsman before establishing independence, and no system has been established to complete technical training through school education alone.

Challenges of the Intangible Cultural Property System and New Initiatives

A challenge currently pointed out with the existing system is the "dependence on individuals" in designations. Living National Treasure designations are designations for individuals only, and once that person passes away, the public protection of the technology is lost. If there is no successor, there is a risk that social transmission of the technology may be interrupted. In response to this problem, in recent years, expansion of "group designations" in addition to individual designations and systematization of technology records through video and documents have been progressing.

A technology recording project conducted in cooperation with the Tokyo National Museum and sword museums is in progress to record footage of experienced swordsmiths' work in 4K and archive it with accompanying explanatory text. Additionally, some prefectures have established their own "Intangible Cultural Property Successor Training Subsidies," providing living expense subsidies and tool cost assistance to young craftspeople in training.

Coexistence of the Sword Industry and the System——Voices from the Field

Swordsmiths who actively utilize the system evaluate it positively, saying "having the designation builds customer trust," but there are also frequent complaints that "reconciling the annual production limit (designated smiths have a ceiling of 24 pieces per year) with economic self-sufficiency is difficult." Craftspeople in finishing processes such as polishers and scabbard makers have lower public recognition than swordsmiths and many feel they cannot receive sufficient institutional benefits despite having equivalent skills.

The sword industry as a whole continues ongoing dialogue between industry organizations and the Agency for Cultural Affairs to make the intangible cultural property system framework more effective. Since 2025, "strengthening technology succession support" has been repeatedly raised as an agenda item in discussions of amendments to the Cultural Property Protection Law, and future institutional improvements have become an important policy issue directly linked to talent recruitment in the sword industry.

The Relationship between NBTHK Certification and Intangible Cultural Property Designation——Perspectives When Selecting Swords

When considering the purchase of a sword, what is often confused is the difference between "intangible cultural property designation" and "NBTHK (Japan Art Sword and Sword Preservation Society) certification." While intangible cultural property designation is an evaluation given by the nation to the technical level of individual craftspeople such as swordsmiths and polishers, an NBTHK certificate presents the results of authentication of an individual sword as a "work," with assessments of era, maker, and quality, and the subjects and frameworks of assessment differ. Therefore, even if a work is created by a Living National Treasure or holder of Selected Preservation Techniques, each individual sword is newly authenticated by NBTHK and a certificate is issued.

Practical confirmation points when selecting a sword include the following.

• Whether the signature (maker name) carved on the nakago matches the authentication content stated in the certificate
• The assessment content of era and quality stated in the certificate
• Presence or absence of materials indicating provenance (history of previous ownership)
• Preservation condition (presence or absence of rust or blade chips, condition of polishing)

Works by makers who have received intangible cultural property designations tend to be evaluated for their technical rarity, but rather than judging value based solely on whether or not they have a designation, it is important in practice to comprehensively assess based on the contents of the certificate and the preservation condition of individual works. Such confirmation is best done through specialized shops where one can handle the actual object in a physical store and consult while cross-referencing the certificate contents. Regarding the intangible cultural property designation system itself, the latest designation status can be confirmed through materials published by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and sword museums.