Akiotacho is the least populous town in Hiroshima prefecture. Here, in his workshop along the local shopping arcade, 29-year-old Kazuyoshi Akita silently pounds metal. He moved to the town four years ago to open a smithy. Though he attended art college with the dream of becoming an artist, it was in one class that he realized how the most beautiful items must also have practical uses. Having already decided to craft tools instead of artworks, Akita found an online article about a blacksmith who was looking for a successor before he went out of business. Picking up the mantle, he inherited tools, a workshop, and a client list, setting up his own business without investing any money at all. Every product, mostly consisting of farming equipment like hoes and machetes, is made to order. And despite concerns about his fluctuating income, Akita finds pleasure in working with his beloved metal.