Have you ever heard of tatara?

There was a scene in the recent popular animated film, Princess Mononoke, in which iron is being cooled in a tatara. The mountainous area in the Chugoku region in western Japan where a legendary late-15th century warrior called Mori Motonari engaged in his exploits is the place where tatara began.

A tatara is a clay furnace where iron is made. Iron has been an extremely important metal since ancient times, being used for swords, cutlery, guns, and a variety of tools. Hitachi Metals has an extremely intimate connection with the tatara, and we'd like to tell you a little bit more about it.

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