Situated in a nondescript yet picturesque spot in Kyotongo City in Japan’s coastal region of Tango, is a forge or smithy that makes traditional katana by hand. These are the kinds of swords that were ...

YEOJU, Gyeonggi Province — Still freezing outside, Lee Eun-cheul, a swordsmith, sweats buckets in front of a furnace flaring to more than 1,300 degrees Celsius. He pushes and pulls wooden bellows to ...