Japan's Sword-Making Crisis: How the Tosho and Togishi Face an Uncertain Future and the Path to Recovery

The world of Japanese swords harbors serious challenges that are difficult to see from the outside. The number of craftspeople required to complete a single Japanese sword—sword smiths, polishers, scabbard makers, metal artisans, and others—spans diverse fields, yet nearly all of these professions are experiencing a shortage of successors, and the industry as a whole faces stagnation in human resource regeneration. This article surveys the current state of this human resource crisis, examining the challenges of successor cultivation, the rise of female craftspeople, and the employment realities of sword makers in provincial regions.

The Succession Problem Among Sword Smiths—The Harsh Reality Shown by the Numbers

The number of sword smiths currently existing in Japan is disclosed as "sword-making authorized practitioners" recognized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and in recent years has remained in the range of three hundred, with even fewer full-time sword smiths supporting themselves entirely through their craft. While it was once customary for apprentices to serve under master smiths for five to seven years, there are now increasing regions where the number of prospective disciples falls far short of the master's capacity to accept them, making it difficult to maintain lineages in some cases.

The root of the problem lies in economic barriers. Based on guidance from the Agency for Cultural Affairs that a sword smith requires approximately two weeks to complete one sword, a practical benchmark of 24 swords per year has become established custom—not a legal limit, but within this de facto constraint, many report that it is difficult to earn a living without a secondary income. The fact that income is nearly zero during the apprenticeship period also deters young people from entering the profession. For young people raised in urban areas to choose to "relocate to a countryside region with a smithy and continue several years of apprenticeship with no income," strong resolve and financial support are necessary.

Meanwhile, global demand for Japanese swords is increasing. Attention from overseas collectors and martial artists is growing, particularly since the 2010s when interest in Japanese sword culture among English-speaking and European audiences has expanded significantly. A structural mismatch has emerged: while demand is broadening, the supply side—the number of craftspeople—is stagnating.

Training Systems and Current State of Polishers and Scabbard Makers

Alongside sword smiths, the world of the polisher (togi-shi) faces severe worker shortages. Japanese sword polishing requires highly sophisticated techniques to reveal the jigane and hamon of the blade, and is said to take over ten years to master. While precise statistics on the national population of polishers are difficult to obtain, there are reports that institutional frameworks formerly serving to cultivate polishers have been weakening in their successor functions.

The path to becoming a polisher is fundamentally based on apprenticeship, with the central model being discipleship under a master craftsperson to inherit the techniques. However, when an aging polisher retires, a "gap period" can emerge in the years before their apprentice becomes independent, during which the region's polishing needs go unmet. In some provincial areas, the situation actually occurs where no nearby polisher is capable of properly polishing a sword that a smith has completed.

The same problem exists for scabbard makers (saya-shi). The manufacture of shirasaya and equipped scabbards requires both specialized woodworking techniques and knowledge of swords, but the number of masters willing to accept apprentices is itself small, and the overall number of craftspeople in the field is declining. If scabbard maker techniques are lost, the supply of proper shirasaya for sword preservation could cease to exist, potentially developing into a problem that directly impacts collection preservation.

The Rise of Female Craftspeople and Changes in the Industry

The Japanese sword manufacturing workplace was once male-dominated. Particularly regarding sword forging, a folk belief persisted in some quarters that "if a woman enters the smithy, the gods become angry," and some masters refused to accept female apprentices. However, in recent years, this situation has been quietly changing.

The appearance of female sword makers is no longer rare, and it is known that several women have obtained sword-making authorization and are active in the field. The proliferation of social media and video distribution has made the activities of female sword smiths more widely visible, accelerating industry image changes. As the fixed notion that "Japanese swords are a male domain" weakens, the layer of prospective apprentices is broadening.

In peripheral fields such as polishing, scabbard making, and metalwork, the proportion of female craftspeople is reportedly increasing. Particularly in fields involving delicate finishing work such as metalcraft, handle wrapping, and cord braiding, women's participation is being actively welcomed in some cases. The increasing diversity of the entire industry carries important significance from the perspective of securing successors.

Employment Realities of Provincial Sword Makers and Attempts at Regional Revitalization

In regions such as Bizen, Soshu, Yamashiro, and Mino that have historically been renowned as Japanese sword centers, many sword makers once concentrated, but in modern times the number of sword makers has drastically declined in almost all such areas. While some local governments do support sword maker workshop establishments as part of cultural promotion initiatives, such support rarely extends to continuous living support.

The challenge faced by provincial sword makers is the difficulty of acquiring orders. Most contemporary swords are priced above one million yen, and customer development is effectively achieved through participation in exhibitions in urban areas or information dissemination online, but resources available for such activities are limited in a one-person workshop in the provinces. In recent years, efforts have been attempted to combine with inbound tourism incorporating sword smith tour programs and hands-on experiences, and projects are being reported that simultaneously achieve workshop recognition and revenue supplementation.

Furthermore, in some regions, the development of successor cultivation programs through collaboration with local governments and educational institutions is gradually progressing. Initiatives combining young person relocation promotion with traditional craft successor cultivation have yielded results in other craft fields, and their application to the sword industry is attracting attention.

Issues in Training Systems and Future Perspectives

The greatest challenge of the current master-apprentice system is high dependency on a single master. If a master dies suddenly or retires, there is risk that apprentice training will be interrupted, and particularly in provincial single-workshop structures, there is possibility that techniques could be lost in a single generation. "Multiple master study," where apprentices learn from multiple masters, and the establishment of inter-workshop technical exchange and short-term training systems have emerged as future industry challenges.

The application of digital technology is also being debated. Digital recording of sword master work video, temperature data, and forging procedures has potential to aid in the visualization and systematization of tacit knowledge. However, Japanese sword forging ultimately depends heavily on embodied knowledge such as "fire-color judgment" and "the tactile response of steel," so video recording alone cannot completely serve as a substitute. Nevertheless, expectations remain high for it as a backup to reduce the risk of technical discontinuity.

From the demand side, one approach is for Japanese sword collectors and enthusiasts to indirectly support craftsperson cultivation by purchasing contemporary swords and maintaining the market. Purchasing decisions that prioritize sword maker names, techniques, and production regions directly sustain the income stability of craftspeople and the sustainability of the industry.

Summary

The shortage of successors among sword smiths, polishers, scabbard makers, and metal artisans is a structural problem affecting the continuity of Japanese sword culture. The following elements are complexly required:

• Reduction of economic barriers
• Development of environments where women, young people, and provincial residents can easily enter the field
• Enhancement of technical record-keeping utilizing digital technology
• Revitalization of the contemporary sword market

Understanding the world of craftspeople that stands behind a single Japanese sword should deepen the meaning of sword ownership and appreciation.

The charm and details of contemporary swords forged by present-day sword masters can also be viewed in the TOUKENZA online catalog. It is also possible to confirm details through the inquiry form.