1 x 49 min.
Strong, supple, and rust-resistant. What gives the Japanese swords their unrivaled quality is the steel they are wrought from: the Tamahagane (lit. “jewel steel”). It is an enigmatic super-material that modern technology has yet to completely understand. There is only one place in Japan, and indeed the entire world, that has the natural ingredients and the know-how to create it. Still to this day, only the time-honored traditional method can do the job. The program follows the grueling production process – a tense, non-stop three days of tending the furnace. This year, with the onslaught of covid, the traditional “tatara” smelting can only take place once. Will the twelve craftsmen be able to pull off a one-shot victory?
