Overview
The Wako Museum in Yasugi. It conveys the connection between tatara and specialty steel.
About this place
The Wako Museum (Wako Hakubutsukan) is a museum in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, about wako (Japanese steel) and tamahagane, the source of tool steel (a type of high-grade special steel) in the former Izumo and Hoki area. It opened in 1993. It has displays on tatara-buki, Japan's own direct reduction method using iron sand for making the material of Japanese swords, on early modern ironmaking, and on Japanese swords. It was planned as a project for the 2600th anniversary of the imperial era and opened in 1946 as the Wako Memorial Hall attached to Hitachi, Ltd.'s Yasugi Works.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗Key facts
Field：Tatara, special steel
Source kankou-shimane.com ↗Source pref.shimane.lg.jp ↗Official website
Check the official website for current opening hours, fees and closing days.
Source wakou-museum.gr.jp ↗Before you go
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Information checked on: 2026-09-03
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