29/05/2026
Myochin san | Tohunga Pīau | Master Swordsmith
No mai rā anō ngā mahi ringa pīau i roto i te kāwai whakapapa o Myochin san. I ngā rā o mua i tapaina tō rātou ingoa Myochin e te Arikinui, te Emperor Konoe hei tohu i ā rātou mahi hanga i nga armour mo ngā samurai o aua rā.
I tino waimarie anō ahau ki te noho tahi ki a Myochin san me tōna hoa rangatira i to rāua whare, otirā, i tana taiwhanga pīau katana ki te kōrero, ki te ako, ki te mātaki i āna mahi rangatira.
He wairua koa, he wairua hūmārie tō te ringa pīau nei, ā, i ātaahua ki ahau te kite i tana aroha nui, i tana whakaute hoki mo te katana, otirā mō ēnei mahi tuku iho nei.
Blacksmithing arts have long been held in the Myochin whakapapa, their name was granted in the mid-12th century by Emperor Konoe when he was presented with their exquisitely crafted samurai armor, the emperor was so impressed by its appearance and the distinct sounds of the metal that he declared it “sonorous, bright (myō) like the sun, and extremely rare (chin)
I was so fortunate to be able to spend time with Myochin san and his wife at their home and in his home forge where he practiced these ancestral techniques to create katana.
Humble and warm, he approached his mahi and his katana with a beautiful respect and love, you could see it in the way he handled the katana and hear it in the way he talked about this ancestral art.
Yesterday we spoke together at a boys high school for a few hundred boys about sword making and taiaha and the similarities that we found in our values and traditions.
