x elements | Seido Kino | Aka Aka 2024

"Although I had no relation at all to Shimane, my interest in the ancient technique of Tatara smelting brought me here. The process of pouring iron sand and charcoal into a furnace to produce Tamahagane (precious steel), the material used in making Japanese swords, was a perfect example of the workings of people and forests. I wanted to learn in what form this activity survives in the Unnan and Okuizumo regions today. I had the opportunity to attend a traditional year-end event still held by the Tanabe family, formerly a powerful business family of iron masters in the Tatara ironmaking industry centered in Yoshida Town in Unnan City where iron was produced from the Muromachi period (1460 A.D.) to the Taisho period (1923)." - Seido Kino

Photographer Seido Kino takes us to the Shimane region, famous for the production of tamahagane, the steel used to shape Japanese swords, photographing its nature and social life of its declining polpulation.