The Land of Fire: Kumamoto

Kumamoto Prefecture is known as the "Land of Fire", with the active volcano Mt. Aso as its icon. Since ancient times, people have feared the volcano, yet at the same time learned how to live in harmony with it. Our traveler, tea master Randy Channell, starts by going to the top of Mt. Aso. He feels the pulse of the living earth on his first ever visit to a volcanic crater. At a Shinto shrine closely associated with Mt. Aso, he observes a ritual carried out for 2,500 years. In the Hitakishinji a fire is kept burning for 59 days to warm the local god. The people pray to the god so that rice crops will not be damaged by frost. Every year, one of the girls from the community is chosen to tend the fire. Randy watches an 8-year-old who plays the important role this year. At the end of his journey Randy meets a sword smith dedicated to forging Japanese swords using a traditional iron-making method called tatara. Genrokuro Matsunaga, who has made more than 800 swords in his career, says he wants to pass down Japanese culture through his work. Randy watches how the skilled artisan forges a sword, and then tries his hand at a traditional martial art, using a real sword.