Seiun wo Kakeru Chapter 32

Chapter 32 – the Resumption of Smithing

Ah, so cold, so cold.

Not letting a single ray of light go through, the gray sky was blended with white things that fluttered. These were the falling snow.

It was a fur coat that she had previously made.
The coat, which was furnished with the skin of a fox, provided him with a fluffy touch and a certain warmth.

– Today’s much colder than usual, isn’t it?

– That’s fine, because I always burn fire.

– Tanya-san, you too, please properly kindle the fire so as not to get frozen.
– I’ll be fine. Didn’t you make this hand warmer for me? So it will properly warm me up.

The basic material for the hand warmer was iron powder.
Eiji made it by putting the iron scraps from his work into a cotton bag.

– Well, I’m off.

– Your embarrassed face, it’s refreshing to look at it once again.

– Thank you for the treat.

Giving out a miserable voice, Tanya kissed him timidly with an expression that was red just like a heated piece of iron.

The path leading to his workshop, which was not used by many people, was slightly covered up by the snow.

On his way from home to the workshop, Eiji frequently rubbed his hands together while warming them up with his breath.
The blowing wind was chilly; nevertheless, his heart was warm.

Two week had passed since the festival of abundant harvest– Regarding what happened after the festival, Eiji didn’t want to remember. Simply, it was truly bothersome for him.

Once he reached the workplace and opened the wooden door, Eiji clapped his hands in prayer, which was unusual for him, and entered inside.

The arrival of winter is different depending on each year; nevertheless, it is around 20th day of the twelve month.

Because this day was an important one for him, he wouldn’t fret about wasting firewood and charcoal for this particular day.
Without restraining Eiji kindled the fire.

He swept the floor called tataki[1], which he would tread upon.

Back when Eiji was still in Japan, farmers would usually come to his household and request this soil.

He would laugh at how his father thought of such an unexpected thing as a priceless treasure.

Once he slowed down his sweeping, the presence of another person was felt.
The person’s shadow, which was one size smaller than his, was that of his disciple, Pietro.

– Good morning!

– I apologize for making you do the preparations.

– Yes!

Eiji intended to tell Pietro about the customs that are present in a workshop as well.

It wasn’t an emphasis on spiritualism; however, proverbs and way of thinking were also  parts of the skills, to which one should live accordingly.

Then again, thanks to him being told about that every day, Eiji gained a new awareness.

– Erm…

– When you pay respect, what god should you pray to?
– Ah… that’s right.

So I’ve to explain to this point? – he wondered.

However, apart from gods, like the god of the cooking stove, Kanayago god, and Inari[2] god that were worshiped depending on the region, there were people, who would just visit a local shrine.

The god that is also known by other name – kanayamabikoamenomahitotsunomikoto[3] – is considered to be the one who governs the pair of bellows, which is the cornerstone among all the blacksmith’s tools.

At the time of the special event named the Festival of Bellows, the god would be worshiped by Shinto priests.

– Listen. It’s hard to explain, but hear me carefully.

– The name of our workshop’s god is kanayamabikoamenomahitotsunomikoto.

– That’s right. If you have no god whom you worship, then please pray to this god so that we can produce things skillfully, and so that there’s no fire incident.

– Try to say it quickly.

– Alright, then let’s pray silently.
– That’s mean! Master too, please say it!

Because the workplace is where fire is usually dealt with, there tends to be lots of fire incidents.

Therefore, you would request a god to protect you from the fire.
Looking at the earnestly praying Pietro, Eiji waited for him to finish while feeling glad as his mentor.

– I’m done.

– Yes!
– First, insert the charcoal like usual.

Pietro divided the charcoal in small portions.

If possible, charcoal made from pine trees and chestnuts were good as well.

In the first place, there were charcoal chips in stock; however, accumulating a regular amount of them was a good practice.

Actions such as accurately swinging down to where you were aiming and understanding where to hit were also useful for hammer swinging.

Judging from the situation, Pietro wasn’t bad; nevertheless, he wasn’t particularly fast.

– Master, I’m done preparing the charcoal.

– Yes!

– Yes?

– Eh? Then how am I going to light the fire?

Eiji halted Pietro, who was about to prepare fire by using flints.

Hearing that he shouldn’t use the flints, Pietro made a curious expression.

– We are going to strike the iron.

– That’s not what I mean; we are going to strike this iron as it is.

Eiji held a slender iron pole.

Well, even if I tell him, it will be hard for him to understand. – he thought.

If he was an obstinate type of master, Eiji would probably have raised his hand against the disciple; however, he wasn’t keen on resorting to Spartan education.
If he were to choose whether to do so or not, he might have given Pietro a toffy or a candy stick as well.

– Iron has a mysterious property.

– Whenever you strike the iron, its property will become balanced and it will seemingly hold a magnetic force. Another way for the iron itself to hold the heat is by adding external force, such as striking and bending.

When one folds and twist a wire, it will become naturally hot to the extent of becoming unable to hold it.

Starting a fire by generating heat is a customary way in a blacksmith’s workshop since the ancient times.

– Well, it’s not like you will understand from just listening. So as for you to see it…
– Yes.

Eiji began to strike the iron pole on the anvil.

The place which he was holding directly was probably turning very hot.
Once he mixed together dried straw ashes, smoke eventually rose and the fire was kindled.

– It’s real!

– No, I believed in Master. There’s no way Master would lie.
– Hey, enlarge the fire using these straw ashes.

Hehehe – Pietro laughed, causing Eiji to be taken aback while thinking that he indeed is an optimistic guy.

This guy has a peculiar personality, indeed – thought Eiji.

The fire transferred from the straw ashes to the tree bark, and eventually grew bigger on the charcoal.
Once the watermill started to make the pair of bellows works, the charcoal inside the furnace burned red.

Translator and reference notes:

[1]: Japanese type of entryway, also known as Genkan. More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genkan

[2]: Japanese shinto god: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inari_%C5%8Ckami

[3]: or kanayamabiko amenomahitotsu no mikoto, which is lit. Kanayamabiko The one-eyed lord of the heaven(needs to be confirmed though). For more info about Kanayamibiko:

Chapter end