Bring your Japanese sword story to life.
The Holy Land of the Japanese Sword, Osafune
A town, its history and people shaped by the sword. ITTO created ‘seppa’, with the aim of creating a private space where guests could come to understand the craftsmen and sword culture of the region at a deep, highly personal level.
Bizen Fukuoka has evolved and changed over the centuries alongside its swords. In the middle ages, waterborne trade down the Yoshii river saw it become a flourishing, vibrant trade city, the flow of people and goods helping it to become a hub for craft and culture.
In the 13th century, too, this town played home to the influential Fukuoka Ichimonji School of sword-smithing, known for their dynamic trademark ‘clove bud’ temper line design. Today the school is seen, alongside the Osafune School, as one of the most important sword-making collectives in all of Japanese history, with many Ichimonji blades classed as National Treasures.
The ring of hammer on anvil and the incessant roar of the forges once echoed out over the landscape, marking the birth of masterpiece after masterpiece. We invite you to spend a night in the Holy Land of the Japanese sword to contemplate its history and to rebuild for yourself that which was once so natural – the connection between the sword and everyday life.
The name ‘seppa’ comes from the small, unassuming fittings that sit either side of the sword guard. Though almost invisible, without these vital connective pieces to keep the handle and blade in place, a Japanese sword would be useless.
Our hope is that, like the ‘seppa’, this guesthouse will be a quiet presence, helping to connect people and building new ties between the region’s sword culture and their way of life.
A town, its history and people shaped by the sword. ITTO created ‘seppa’, with the aim of creating a private space where guests could come to understand the craftsmen and sword culture of the region at a deep, highly personal level.
Bizen Fukuoka has evolved and changed over the centuries alongside its swords. In the middle ages, waterborne trade down the Yoshii river saw it become a flourishing, vibrant trade city, the flow of people and goods helping it to become a hub for craft and culture.
In the 13th century, too, this town played home to the influential Fukuoka Ichimonji School of sword-smithing, known for their dynamic trademark ‘clove bud’ temper line design. Today the school is seen, alongside the Osafune School, as one of the most important sword-making collectives in all of Japanese history, with many Ichimonji blades classed as National Treasures.
The ring of hammer on anvil and the incessant roar of the forges once echoed out over the landscape, marking the birth of masterpiece after masterpiece. We invite you to spend a night in the Holy Land of the Japanese sword to contemplate its history and to rebuild for yourself that which was once so natural – the connection between the sword and everyday life.
The name ‘seppa’ comes from the small, unassuming fittings that sit either side of the sword guard. Though almost invisible, without these vital connective pieces to keep the handle and blade in place, a Japanese sword would be useless.
Our hope is that, like the ‘seppa’, this guesthouse will be a quiet presence, helping to connect people and building new ties between the region’s sword culture and their way of life.