Korehira Watanabe
One of Japan's last swordsmiths, spending 40 years trying to resurrect the lost 'Koto' method of the legendary Masamune.
Veronica's Take
Korehira Watanabe, one of Japan's last living swordsmiths, has spent 40 years obsessively chasing the lost 'Koto' method of the legendary 14th-century swordsmith Masamune. Born in 1944, his relentless pursuit has led him to forge countless failures in his quest to recreate a steel no one alive has ever seen. This modern-day shokunin embodies the relentless dedication and precision of traditional Japanese craftsmanship, driven by an unyielding commitment to reviving an ancient art that has eluded the hands of contemporary swordsmiths.
He has chased a blade-making secret dead since the 14th century, forging failure after failure to resurrect a steel no one alive had seen.
Key Facts
The people behind Korehira Watanabe
Korehira Watanabe
profileSwordsmithing
One of Japan's last swordsmiths, spending 40 years trying to resurrect the lost 'Koto' method of the legendary Masamune.
Browse by discipline
More masters worth your time
Bob Kramer
One of few American Master Bladesmiths making kitchen knives, whose chef's knives fetch thousands and sell by lottery.
Edmund de Waal
Porcelain artist and author of The Hare with Amber Eyes, known for vast installations of pale thrown vessels in vitrines.

Toshiko Takaezu
Hawaiian-American ceramicist who pioneered the closed, sculptural 'moon' form, sealing rattling clay beads inside her pots.
Warren MacKenzie
Leach- and Hamada-trained potter who championed affordable, everyday functional 'mingei' pottery across America.
Want discoveries like this in your inbox every morning?
One master of craft. Every morning. Chosen by someone with actual standards and zero patience for the mediocre. Free forever, unsubscribe whenever.