HOW A FOREIGNER CAN BECOME AN EXPERT IN JAPANESE WEAPONRY
The first question is, What on earth are you doing in Japan? Jessica Gerrity: If you mean what am I doing for a living, let me go down the list. I’m a tourism and PR ambassador for Saitama, the prefecture I live in. My job is to find interesting local places, traditions and craftspeople. I then conduct interviews and help promote the people on social media in order to raise awareness and interest.
For example, I recently had the pleasure of visiting a master of traditional sword making, Kawasaki Akihira. I spent a day interviewing him and filming his process of forging swords in the traditional manner. It was fascinating to watch — like time travel to a period when this craft flourished out of necessity.
At , I work as a budo ambassador. This means I get to visit different and find noteworthy martial artists and
