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National Geographic
3 days ago
- General
- National Geographic
Inside the foundry forging $15,000 artisanal samurai swords
It can take more than a year to make a single razor-sharp katana. In Japan, business is booming for the few remaining smiths who know how to do it. At Nippon Genshosha, a sword workshop on Japan's Tango Peninsula, Tomoyuki Miyagi (left), Tomoki Kuromoto (center), and Kosuke Yamazoe (right) work together to hammer, heat, and fold a piece of steel. The process, called tanren, strengthens the metal. Photographs by Noriko Hayashi In a converted barn on a residential lane on Japan's Tango Peninsula, some 75 miles north of Kyoto, three men are playing with fire. While robust flames lick the edges of a 2300-degree furnace, Kosuke Yamazoe uses a 15-pound hammer on a mass of white-hot steel, flattening it beat by beat in a hypnotic rhythm. Behind the shower of embers raining down on the earthen floor, Tomoyuki Miyagi grips the steel with a pair of iron tongs and bangs a smaller mallet in a melodic counterpoint. Nearby, at a small stove next to a soot-covered wall, Tomoki Kuromoto is making tea. This is the headquarters of Nippon Genshosha, one of the few remaining katana foundries in the world. For hundreds of years, expert swordsmiths forged blades for Japan's warriors, including the famed samurai. Early records show craftsmen's names in the thousands, but a decline of the art began in 1876 with the outlaw of open carry. After World War II, the occupying forces in Japan then banned the production of katanas, resulting in additional lost works and livelihoods. Today it is believed there may be some 200 licensed makers left, not all active. Yamazoe, Miyagi, and Kuromoto are the only katana artisans in a region that's home to one of the oldest blacksmithing workshops in all Japan. 'There is a sadness that it's dying out as a craft,' Kuromoto tells me through an interpreter. But together, they are honoring and elevating the vanishing art. (Whatever happened to the samurai?) Kuromoto displays a tachi, a long sword once primarily used by warriors on horseback. Today's blades are decorative and can be displayed in wooden scabbards or encased in resin. The men, now in their 30s, met during a hard-sought 10-year apprenticeship in Tokyo with Yoshikazu Yoshihara and his father, Yoshindo Yoshihara, two of Japan's most illustrious swordsmiths. (The elder Yoshihara's work is in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection; he himself was the grandson of a celebrity swordsmith of the Showa period, in the early 1900s.) After a brief stint working on their own, Yamazoe, Miyagi, and Kuromoto joined forces in 2019 and launched Nippon Genshosha from an abandoned barn owned by Yamazoe's grandparents. Swordmaking has long been an art form in Japan, and experts can date a blade much as a porcelain appraiser can date a vase or an arborist a tree. Nippon Genshosha swords are entirely hand-built, average around $15,000, and are sought after by collectors. As with most katanas, they're made from tamahagane, a type of steel that comes from iron sand mined in the Shimane Prefecture, north of Hiroshima. The five-figure price tag is a result of the laborious fabrication process, which can take a year or more. It begins with three days of round-the-clock smelting in the clay furnace. The technique of heating and methodical hammering helps draw out the slag—the waste product that results from smelting—and purify the steel, which is fused and folded into hundreds of fine layers. The hard steel is then worked into shape, and the razor edge of the blade is refined. Much of a sword's allure lies in the way the surface of the blade catches and throws the light. 'Instead of reflecting a clear beam of light, one solid beam, it will be speckled or broken up,' says Kuromoto, twisting a newly buffed blade in the sunlight as it pours through a window. Miyagi takes time to examine a katana. But while they work to keep an age-old art form alive, the partners are fighting an uphill battle. Demand for high-dollar katanas is waning, and the success of Nippon Genshosha depends on finding and developing a new generation of collectors, not just appealing to existing ones. To that end, the men have begun taking liberties with the hamon, the pattern etched along the blade edge. Traditionally, a smith designs a unique hamon, often featuring landscape patterns tied to the area where the sword is manufactured. But, says Kuromoto, 'if someone from the United States wants a scene from their front window, they can send a panoramic photo and we can reproduce it.' They've also pioneered a method of encasing blades in a sealed, transparent-resin block rather than a traditional wooden sheath. 'The idea,' says Kuromoto, 'was that this would allow people to appreciate Japanese swords safely and thus focus more on their beauty. What is the point of art if you can't see it?' In a country reverential of long-held traditions, the swordsmiths are striking a delicate balance. 'It seems that ordinary people have fewer opportunities to come into contact with Japanese art,' says Kuromoto. 'But today, as an art piece, swords have a place in modern culture.'
Los Angeles Times
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Latinx celebrities looked mighty dandy at the 2025 Met Gala
2025 Met Gala co-chair Colman Domingo spearheaded annual arts benefit, where other Latinx stars like Bad Bunny, Willy Chavarria and Jenna Ortega shined bright Every year the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala — a.k.a. the Met Gala — draws the biggest stars of the entertainment world, as well as the most buzz-worthy celebrity looks. Co-chaired by Black artists and entertainers like Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, ASAP Rocky and Pharrell Williams — as well as Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour — the 2025 edition of the ceremony was centered on the theme of Black dandyism, a historical style developed among members of the Black diaspora on both sides of the Atlantic, with special emphasis on tailored silhouettes and opulent accessories. Some of the sharpest and most talked-about looks of the night came courtesy of big-name Latinx celebrities, including co-chair Domingo, who has paternal roots in Belize and Guatemala. Domingo rocked two looks and played two roles at the 2025 Met Gala. Domingo first arrived in a royal blue cape, which recalled the legendary stylist and fashion journalist André Leon Talley, who passed in 2022. The robe held not only a historical significance for the 55-year-old actor but several personal ones: 'One of the first freed slaves said, 'I wanted to dance at my freedom day in my finest blue, super fine wool,'' Domingo told Access Hollywood. 'Also, blue was my mother's favorite color. When I step on that carpet, like Maya Angelou says, 'I'm not stepping [out] by myself, I'm bringing 10,000 of you with me.'' Domingo later removed the blue garment to reveal a Harlem Renaissance-inspired look. 'I'm giving you a zoot suit tonight with classic tailoring and looking at how we pull ourselves together and define ourselves,' he explained. Bad Bunny rocked an all-brown custom Prada suit that was topped by a pava straw hat — which served as a nod to the 'DtMF' artist's Puerto Rican roots. 'We worked on this look for a couple months,' Bad Bunny told Vogue. 'Some pieces are inspired in the Puerto Rican culture, like the sombrero and the tie because it's the same fabric. We did something special. I feel good. I hope people think I'm looking good.' On Monday, Bad Bunny announced a 23-date stadium tour that will kick off Nov. 21 in the Dominican Republic, followed by shows in Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina. There are currently no U.S. dates scheduled for the tour. The 'Wednesday' star's metallic look was made entirely out of rulers that was 'inspired by the art of tailoring tape & rulers,' wrote a representative for Balmain — the French fashion house behind the dress — on Instagram. 'A poetical ode to couture and craftsmanship, the sleek sheath dress is crafted entirely from the metallic rulers used by patternmakers, placed vertically along the body to enhance the silhouette to create a bustier gown sculpted on her body,' the rep said. Latino fashion designer Willy Chavarria walked the carpet alongside Colombian singer Maluma in a Pachuco-style double-breasted, bubblegum-pink suit. 'As we know, the Pachuco look is the quintessential dandy from the '30s and '40s representing Latinos and Black [people] who dressed as a form of resistance to the beauty,' Chavarria told WWD. 'I hope to encapsulate that.' The 'Creed' actor donned a tuxedo dress with a top hat and a church fan that bore the face of André Leon Talley. 'I think a part of the theme tonight is really about the way that fashion illustrates our dignity as Black people,' Thompson told Billboard. 'I grew up watching my grandparents get all dressed up, so this is partially for them too.' The 'I Like It' rapper showed up to the Met Gala decked out in a shiny green look that pulled inspiration from the Harlem Renaissance and the Victorian Era. 'We looked at Victorian dress and corsetry,' Cardi B's designer for the night, Daniel Lee, told Vogue. 'There was one particular image we found of an emerald green gown from the 19th century: The back of the gown had a circular cutout that, for the time, would have been controversial. We liked this idea of nonconformity, keeping with the spirit of dandyism.' The rapper's initial thoughts on the theme of the night was Harlem. 'When I found out the Met Gala was dandyism, all I could think about is Harlem,' she told Vogue. 'When you walk the streets of Harlem, you always have custom stores that actually make custom fits like [mine].' Of her fit for the night, she said, 'This is like suits with seasoning on it.' Below are some other striking looks from Latinx celebrities at this year's Met Gala.
BBC News
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Rihanna pregnant: Asap Rocky confirm Rihanna pregnancy for Met Gala 2025
Rihanna announce pregnancy wit her third pikin showing her baby bump for Met Gala Wia dis foto come from, Getty Images Author, Victoria Bourne Role, BBC News 8 minutes wey don pass Singer Rihanna don confam say she dey expect her third pikin while attending di biggest fashion night of di year, di Met Gala for New York. Di 37-year-old show her bump and smile for di cameras wen she appear for red carpet, wit navy and daffodils. Robyn Fenty, wey pipo sabi as Rihanna and her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, don already get two sons. A$AP Rocky, wey pipo sabi as Rakim Mayers thank tori pipo wey congratulates am on di red carpet. "Na di time to just show di pipo wetin we bin dey cook up," e tok. Wia dis foto come from, Getty Images Rihanna na di last pesin to arrive at di benefit event for New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, wey mark di opening of dia Costume Institute annual fashion exhibit. Each year celebrities dey wear big-big clothes in line wit di event theme. Dis year concept na "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," di first since 2003 to focus exclusively on menswear. A$AP Rocky, co-chair of di event, confam di couple pregnancy news on di red carpet. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," di rapper tok. "I dey glad evribody dey happy for us becos we dey definitely happy", e add. Dem no support media player for your device Play video, "A$AP Rocky confirms Rihanna is pregnant at Met Gala", Duration 0,25 00:25 Wetin we call dis Video, Watch: A$AP Rocky confam Rihanna pregnancy for Met Gala Di couple born dia first son RZA in May 2022 and dia second son, Riot in August 2023. Di pop star and businesswoman dey popular for her high-profile pregnancy announcements. She debut di pregnancy of her first child wit photoshoot wit her partner for Harlem, New York City in 2022. Wen she perform for di Super Bowl halftime show in 2023 she reveal say she dey expect dia second pikin. She no be di first star to reveal dia baby bump at di Met Gala - di former tennis player, Serena Williams and model Karlie Kloss both don publicly reveal dia pregnancies at di 2023 event.
