Natural whetstones are very precious. Yōzō Tsuchihashi (土橋要造) is the last miner / artisan family still producing natural whetstones in Japan. Mining whetstone is dangerous to one’s health. In fact Yōzō’s father died from pneumoconiosis. Once artificial whetstones became available, most natural whetstone mining was discontinued. But traditional Japanese cutting implements, including swords, and wood-working tools such as those used to produce Buddhist statues require delicate sharpening techniques that are best obtained using natural whetstone. Artificial whetstones cannot meet this refined standard of work. Mining whetstone is a tough job, but Yōzō says he wants to continue working as long as possible.
