Hi there,
Hi everyone,
I hope you're doing well.
I've released a new conversation last week, and this one stayed with me longer than most.
We sat down with 15th-generation swordsmith Kazuki Kawashima and asked him something deceptively simple: is a katana a craft, a weapon, or a work of art? For most of his life his answer was clear — a sword is a practical craft, and the maker is a craftsman. A blade has to cut. If it chips or bends, he says, it fails the most basic test of what a sword even is.
But then he exhibited at a contemporary art show, and something shifted. He started talking about the artistry hidden inside a sword's strictly defined "canvas," the individuality a smith has to express within a form that can never be warped or squiggly, and the depth in a piece of steel that most of us can't read at a glance.
Where he lands is the part I keep thinking about: that art isn't a luxury, but something as necessary to human life as food, shelter, and clean air.
I'd love for you to hear him explain it in his own words.
▶️ Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W1aY_m4jUU&list=PLOHgag_kQhdN7qMKlJLClKsdAOp9d_qVC&index=8
As always, thank you for being here.
Kind Regards,
Kei, Matt & Team from the History of Katana
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