Tawara Kuniichi Memorial Exhibit

This exhibit at the Shimane-area tatara ironmaking museum focuses on Dr. Tawara Kuniichi, a metallurgist at Tokyo Imperial University who spent two months in 1898 conducting fieldwork at tatara sites across Hiroshima, Tottori, and Shimane before most ironworks had closed permanently. His published research in 1933 preserved detailed records of traditional furnaces, equipment, and materials. Tawara also conducted the first systematic scientific analysis of Japanese swords, showing that the blade's edge and core have different chemical compositions, explaining their distinctive sharpness and flexibility. To support this work, he imported Japan's first large-scale metallurgic microscope from Germany in 1905. The 1938 model he later acquired is on display in the exhibit.