MISATO, SAITAMA PREF. ¨C Sparks illuminate the soot-covered studio of Japanese swordsmith Akihira Kawasaki as his apprentice hammers red-hot steel, showcasing a millennium-old craft now enjoying a resurgence in popularity.
Despite the rapidly graying, shrinking population of blademakers in Japan, their fine steel swords known as katana are amassing a new generation of fans, particularly younger women, on the back of pop culture.
Driving the sword boom of the last decade has been video game ¡°Touken Ranbu,¡± where swords take on the form of handsome men, with more recent hits like the anime ¡°Demon Slayer¡± and the U.S. series ¡°Shogun¡± also feeding the trend.
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