In 17th century Japan, there was a samurai so skilled that myths started to grow about him while he was still alive. After his death, he became a legend of super natural skills with the sword. His ...

points out how the process begins when very pure, iron-bearing river sand is combined in a clay furnace with charcoal and heated to a near-molten state to create a pure steel known as tamahagane.

Seki Nobuhide Sensei, a martial arts and katana instructor, rates portrayals of samurai battles in movies and TV shows. He explains why samurai employed different types of spears in battle in "Shogun.

About 150 years ago, at the end of Japan’s Edo period, a civil war resulted in the end of the samurai culture and the birth of modern Japan. One rebel clan of samurai chose mass suicide. But in the ...

Students explore the characteristics of metals and produce a series of posters on different alloys, outlining their properties and how they are used. locate metals on the Periodic Table of elements.