Yasuki Hamono

Yasuki (Yasugi), Shimane Prefecture, is the historical home of the Hitachi paper steel family — the area's iron-sand-rich rivers were the original source of the raw ore. The Yasuki blacksmith tradition predates the modern Hitachi steel classification, and workshops here have been forging blade tools from local materials for centuries. The guild represents dozens of individual smiths specializing in everything from agricultural sickles to fine carpenters' tools.