On the 9th of August 2019, we joined a tour called “Okuizumo Tatara Tour –learning the Japanese sword making-“, a part of JST’s Shimane Girls Science Program and organized by the Support Office for Gender Equality of Shimane University.
The tour started with lectures on Tatara, the traditional Japanese steel manufacturing and the local geological features. A workshop followed, and the participants, including some girls from a junior high school in Matsue City, each made a lump of iron from iron sand and aluminum. After the workshop, we took a bus tour to see the terraced rice-fields which was derived from the ancient iron sand collection, and also visited a valley called “Demon’s tongue tremor”, the National Site of Scientific Beauty and nature treasure. The tour as a whole provided the girls with a wonderful chance to learn the ancient iron making in the region and to feel the beauty of the local Tatara remains. Next Generation Tatara Co-creation Centre is also putting effort into gender equality and diversity management.


Pictures of the lecture and workshop


Remains of the ancient iron sand collection and the view from “Oni-no Shita-burrui (Demon’s tongue tremor)”