Tanabe Tatara Tamahagane

Tatara smelting is a traditional Japanese technique for producing steel from iron sand. It began in the 6th century in Kibi Province—now Okayama Prefecture—where craftsmen developed low, box-like furnaces called tatara. These furnaces produced tamahagane (“precious steel”), renowned for its use in swords and tools. The intense, three-day process gradually spread across the iron-rich Chūgoku Mountains, becoming central to Japanese steelmaking. By the Edo period (1603–1868), tatara smelting had reached its technical height. But by the early 20th century, the method had been replaced by modern steel furnaces across most of Japan. In Shimane’s Izumo region, however, the tradition endured. Today, it anchors the so-called “Iron Road,” a cultural landscape that includes Japan’s last operating tatara in Okuizumo—and now a revived furnace in Yoshida, maintained and operated by the Tanabe family. Yoshida became the center of the Tanabe family’s ironmaking legacy. For generations, they controlled tatara production across eastern Shimane. As the family tells it, the tradition began in 1460, when a former samurai named Tanabe Hikozaemon had a dream urging him to smelt steel. The next day, he gathered iron sand from a riverbank and built a furnace, beginning a craft lineage that would span centuries. After about 11 generations of samurai service, Hikozaemon turned the family into ironmakers. By the mid-Edo period, the Tanabe had been appointed tesshi (鉄師)—domain-licensed ironmakers—for the Matsue feudal government. In 1755, they became chief ironsmiths, responsible for producing steel for military use and local industries. At their peak, they operated several tatara sites and a self-sufficient estate in Yoshida that combined smelting, blacksmithing, and woodworking. That era of prosperity left a lasting mark on Yoshida’s townscape. Twenty traditional kura—long, white-plastered storehouses—still stand in the town center. Built gradually as the family’s fortune grew, the kura stored everything from sales ledgers and household goods to fine art. Fukushima-san, a longtime caretaker at Tanabe Tatara, believes the design of each kura influences its interior climate. Though there are no written records detailing their construction methods, he notes that “each one feels different inside”—a quality he attributes to subtle variations in roof shape and structure. These adaptations helped protect sensitive items such as ledgers, textiles, and ceremonial goods. Locals still refer to Yoshida as Tatara-no-Sato—“Home of Tatara”—a name that gained wider recognition after Princess Mononoke, Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 film, drew visual inspiration from Sugaya Tatara Sannai, a former Tanabe-operated site now designated as a National Important Cultural Property. By the late 19th century, the Tanabe clan had achieved international renown. Steel from their Yoshida furnaces was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and again in Paris at the 1900 Exposition Universelle, a testament to the craftsmanship embedded in their tamahagane. Family lore holds that, in the Taishō period, they forged a ceremonial sword entrusted with the symbolic task of guarding the Emperor. Yet the rise of Western industrial methods soon overtook the tradition. Germany’s blast furnaces produced steel at yields far higher than tatara’s 25%, and with Japan’s rapid modernization, the slower, more labor-intensive process was left behind. The last Tanabe-operated tatara in Sugaya ceased production by 1923, quietly closing a centuries-old chapter. Nearly a century later, in 2018, the 25th-generation heir Tanabe Chōemon XXV (田部長右衛門) declared his intent to revive his family’s ancestral craft. Born Masataka Tanabe, he had spent decades in broadcasting and real estate, earning a place among Japan’s top business leaders. Yet despite his corporate success, the weight of legacy pressed on him. “I will one day be in the Tanabe Family Tomb. In there are all of my ancestors, the previous heads of the family, their wives, etc.” he reflected. “The greatest pain would have been for them to all ask me, “As the 25th head, what did you accomplish?” The answer came not from industry, but from heritage—a call to return to tatara. That decision took root after a visit to Yoshida Middle School. Speaking to the students, Tanabe-san was struck by their small number—just 38 remained enrolled. The town’s future seemed uncertain. He realized that reviving tatara could do more than honor tradition—it could revitalize community pride. Critics were skeptical. No tatara had operated in nearly a hundred years, and the last generation of murage—master smelters—was gone. There were no living craftsmen with the expertise to construct or run such a furnace. Still, Tanabe-san pressed forward, framing the technical challenge in an existential approach. To legitimize the revival, he sought the blessing of Izumo Taisha, one of Japan’s oldest and most sacred Shinto shrines. Priests there offered a flame from the shrine’s eternal fire, a powerful symbol of continuity. That flame now kindles every new furnace built by the Tanabe. In May of 2018, the first modern tatara in Yoshida was lit—after 95 years of silence. Since then, the family has hosted three to four smelting operations annually, each performed as both a metallurgical process and a sacred rite, restoring life to a tradition nearly erased by time. Tatara Steelmaking Because Japan lacks significant iron ore deposits, traditional steelmakers relied on satetsu—fine-grained iron sand—as their primary resource. In Shimane Prefecture, where the Tanabe family operates, this material is abundant and highly prized. Satetsu is formed over millennia as volcanic rocks in the Chūgoku Mountains break down through weathering. Rain and mountain streams carry the eroded particles—rich in magnetite (Fe₃O₄) and hematite (Fe₂O₃)—downhill, where they collect in riverbeds. These naturally concentrated sands are chemically ideal for blade steel, and their geological rarity has contributed to the distinctiveness of Japanese tamahagane. Tatara Process Building a tatara is both a ritual and a feat of engineering. The furnace is housed inside a takadono—a timber-framed structure designed to shield it from the elements. A one-meter-tall hearth is shaped by hand from heat-resistant clay and constructed on top of a dense carbon bed made from finely ground, charred mizunara oak. This foundation process, known as hai surashi, ensures consistent heat flow from below. Unlike conventional brickwork, the clay is thrown in place and packed by hand to prevent air pockets. Some furnaces rest on substructures extending as deep as ten meters underground, reflecting a level of craftsmanship rarely seen in pre-industrial metallurgy. Over the course of three full days and nights, workers continuously shovel alternating layers of satetsu and charcoal into the furnace. Every 15 to 30 minutes, the murage judges the color of the flame and the sound of combustion to direct precise adjustments, using a foot-operated bellows to regulate airflow and temperature. The role of murage was traditionally passed down through a system called isshi sōden (一子相伝), in which trade secrets were entrusted to subsequent heirs. By midnight on the second day, the core temperature surpasses 1,500°C (2,700°F), and a tall, whitish-blue flame signals that the furnace is operating at its peak. After 72 hours of continuous firing, the clay walls are broken open to reveal the glowing kera—a bloom of raw steel and slag. This mass is set aside to cool naturally for another three days before it can be processed. The highest-quality tamahagane contains between 1.2% and 1.5% carbon, offering the optimal balance for blade hardness and resilience. Out of the 10 to 12 tons of charcoal and iron sand used per smelt, only about 2–3 tons of kera are produced—and just 70% of that is viable steel. The rest is slag or lower-grade material. Extracting the usable metal requires skillful separation and repeated heating, folding, quenching and hammering to eliminate impurities and align the internal grain. Steel Quality The performance of a blade depends on the structure of its steel—specifically, the grain. Steel is made up of microscopic crystals, and the size and distribution of these grains determine how the metal behaves under stress. Refined grains create more boundaries between crystals, which makes the steel tougher and less prone to fracture. In tamahagane, the process of heating, hammering, and folding not only purifies the metal but also sculpts its internal architecture. When done correctly, the resulting blade holds its edge longer, responds predictably to heat treatment, and reveals jihada—distinct patterns on the surface that reflect both the material’s nature and the smith’s craftsmanship. Unnan City Unnan City, established in 2004 through the merger of several towns including Yoshida, is today the center of the Tanabe family’s operations. Nestled in the river valleys and terraced hills of eastern Shimane Prefecture, the city still bears the marks of its metallurgical past. Unnan has actively branded itself as the “Holy Ground of Tatara Ironmaking,” and cultural sites such as Sugaya Tatara Sannai, Kanayago Shrine, and the Unnan Wakō iron workshop attract visitors seeking to connect with Japanese culture through its ironworking legacy. This identity is also deeply rooted in regional mythology. For generations, local blacksmiths believed the gods walked among them. In nearby Yasugi City, the deity Kanayago-no-kami, patron of iron and smithing, is enshrined and honored for having taught humans to smelt steel. Similarly, in the Izumo tradition, the storm god Susanoo-no-Mikoto is venerated for slaying the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi, a battle said to have occurred in the rivers that thread through Shimane. Shrines such as Yasaka and Yaegaki continue to commemorate these legends, entwining the divine and the artisanal in the same landscape. Even the region’s agriculture is intertwined with its ironworking heritage. The celebrated Nita beef originates from cattle that once hauled iron ore through the mountains, and the area’s rice fields are cultivated on land reclaimed from former mining sites. Visitors to Yoshida can still explore old kanna-nagashi water channels—used to wash and separate iron sand from river sediment—which remain embedded in the landscape as quiet remnants of industrial ingenuity. Community Projects and Preservation The Tanabe family has taken a leadership role in keeping the tatara tradition alive. In partnership with local groups, they organize immersive experiences like the annual “Tatarabuki” tour, named after the traditional bellows used in smelting. Over three days, participants stoke a scaled-down tatara furnace, receive Shinto blessings, witness sword-cutting demonstrations, and enjoy Kagura dance performances. The program is both educational and emotional—designed to instill a sense of pride, stewardship, and continuity in those who take part. In the heart of Yoshida’s historic district, the Iron History Museum helps preserve this cultural narrative. Housed in a renovated 19th-century doctor’s residence, the museum exhibits original tools, steelmaking artifacts, and rare footage of one of the last traditional smelts. The film Wakō Fudoki (1969) documents a complete tatara operation led by elder craftsmen just before the craft disappeared. Today, local schools hold annual tatara education days, while workshops like Wakō Production and Exploring Tatara introduce young artisans to the process of forging steel from raw bloom. The Project’s mission is: Envisioning the ideal state of the mountain 100 years from now, and building and passing on the landscape of the Tatara Village. Passing on the skills of craftsmen to the next generation and to manufacture high-quality products, with a focus on tatara ironworking. To develop high-quality Satoyama cultural projects based on Tatara Village. To cultivate, refine, promote and pass on local food traditions. In Yoshida’s historic core, their retail outlet Tessen-dō offers handmade knives, iron teapots, and cookware, alongside other establishments that produce and sell sake, wine, soy sauce, washi paper, textiles, tamahagane golf putters and confections made with fresh eggs from free-range chickens raised in the village—merging craftsmanship with commerce in a way that sustains both tradition and livelihood. The story of Tatara Tanabe is a testament to how an ancient craft can be adapted to serve a modern community. From mountain-top tatara villages to contemporary blacksmithing workshops, the Tanabe family has preserved both the technical skill and the intangible spirit of their forebears. Their metalwork bridges worlds—between Kibi’s early furnaces and the legends of Izumo, between samurai armor and culinary precision. Through education, stewardship, and relentless practice, they ensure that tamahagane continues to inspire, not only as a material but as a cultural force. In a country that constantly balances innovation with tradition, the Tanabe family’s tatara revival is more than a restoration—it is a living practice. Fueled by fire, guided by heritage, and forged with intention, their steel stands as both artifact and affirmation: a cutting-edge craft rooted deep in history. Bibliography Unnan City: The Holy Ground of TATARA Ironworks and Izumo Mythology Unnan City Tourism Office. From https://unnan-tatara.jp/en/ What is TATARA Ironworks? Unnan City Tourism Office. From https://unnan-tatara.jp/en/tatara_about.html The Holy Ground of TATARA Ironmaking Unnan City Tourism Office. From https://unnan-tatara.jp/en/midokoro-taiken/tatara.html TATARABUKI Iron-making by the Tanabe Family Tanabe Tatara no Sato. From https://tanabetataranosato.com/tatarabuki/ Tatara Watetsu: Japanese Town Revives Traditional Steel Production Japan Forward. 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