The Myochin Family
鐵の一族

代続く53

Tamahagane
Fire Chopsticks

Metallic Figurines

Myochin Fire Chopstick Wind Chimes. The clear sound that resonates when the fire chopsticks touch. It is said thisenigmatic trailing sound is emitted only from forged iron. The skills of heating and forging this iron are skills kept
secret and passed down through the generations of this one family.
The Myochin family is a lineage of armor and helmet makers unbroken since the Heian era (784–1184), the family name Myochin(“bright” and “rare”) having been bestowed by Emperor Konoe in the mid-12th century in commendation of those skills.
Then a time of great change came.
With the turn of the Meiji era came the end of the age of the samurai, demand for armor and helmets disappeared, and the family
was faced with ruin, but, learning from the historical precedent of their ancestors having made fire chopsticks for the tea masterSen no Rikyu, the family sought to revive its fortunes by making fire chopsticks.
The family was faced with crisis again and again. To ensure the survival of their traditional skills, 52nd family head, Munemichi
Myochin, persisted through trial and error until finally the first Myochin Fire Chopstick Wind Chime was produced in 1965.
The superb qualities of the sound of Myochin Fire Chopstick Wind Chimes have received high praise not just in Japan but fromaround the world as an Eastern enigma. But the Myochin family have not rested on their laurels. They continue to devote
themselves assiduously and unstintingly to improving quality and craftsmanship. Thus, the Myochin family have passed down
through the generations this untiring tenacity in taking on challenges, making Tamahagane Fire Chopsticks using traditional
tamahagane (traditional Japanese steel), as well as Buddhist bells hand-forged from a new material, titanium.

The skills to forge the helmets and armor that once protected the lives of samurai
now resonate in a sound quality that soothes the soul.

This is the pride of the Myochin family - House of Iron.

Photos by Ichiro Inoue, courtesy of TV-Setouchi CreateBlacksmith (53th)

Swordsmith

Iron Maste (52th)

Munetaka Myochin

Munehiro Myochin

Munemichi Myochin

The House of Iron for 53 generations

The superb qualities of the sound of MyochinFire Chopstick Wind Chimes
have received high praise from musiciansand establishments around the world
The timbre of Myochin Fire Chopsticks has been used to test the sound quality
of SONY microphones.
Isao Tomita, composer and synthesizer performer has been captivatedby the sound of Myochin Fire Chopsticks, which he encountered by chanceand has used in compositions such as The Tale Of Genji, Symphonic Fantasy (composed by Isao Tomita).
London Philharmonic Orchestra performance, England, 2000.

nihcoyMMr. Tomita played the sound of the Myochin Fire Chopsticks for Mr. Stevie Wonder,
who gave them high praise saying “They’re an Eastern enigma.
At first they sound as though they are right next to you,but then the sound seems to come from far away, tens of thousands of light years away.”
2002
Tamahagane Fire Chopsticks were used at the function
on the night before the final of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
2008
Fire Chopstick Wind Chimes were usedin the Issey Miyake show at the Paris Collection.
2011
Joint development of the gong sound source
for the Seiko watch “minute repeater”

Titanium Buddhist bell

2020
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) DMSE Metal Arts Lecture
Guest lecture & hibashi (charcoal-handling chopsticks)
smithing demonstration"

Wind Chime