Are there still swordsmiths in Japan that you can buy swords from like katanas?

Answer 1

Absolutely. There are some actual sword shops in any "Yellow Pages" phonebook. Get a Japanese friend to help you. And a much larger number of shops selling kendo equipment (shinai/wooden swords), who may also sell real swords.

Surprisingly (or maybe not) I can find REAL swords at any larger knife shop in a restaurant/food wholesaler district.. You can also find all kinds of evil-looking large bladed "tools" which are meant for slicing up an entire tuna in a flashy yet efficient manner, but look like they would be just as suitable for a dwarf to cleave some orc skulls.
However there are, I believe, 3 obstacles.

1. Price, the one above who said $20,000 at least is right. I've seen low-end, but real swords for 2,000,000 yen (about $18,000)
Something respectable would be double that.

2. Legal Hurdle #1, Having a real sword in Japan is a violation of the weapons law, you'd need a special permit, which I assume isn't too hard (but maybe harder for a gaijin), as many people who practice iaijutsu have permits and swords.

3. Export problems, Not so sure about this, but if you could find and afford any top-end sword made by a master craftsman (a Living National Treasure) you might not be allowed to take it out of Japan without some serious paperwork, if at all.. Kind of like how China handles pandas.

Crappy knockoff replicas are all over the place in tourist areas, a really basic one can be found for under 10,000 yen (about $80US)

Answer 2

Most definately. Go to any souvenier shop in Japan and you will find katanas. But there are the mass produced swords which are sharp, look pretty and are good for not much of anything. They are primarily ornamental and the metal is generally of poor quality.

There are the old-style swordsmiths still at work in Japan, producing swords with the folded steel that must be forged by hand. These swords are hard to get and are extremely expensive, but they would be exactly like the swords used by the samurai. You won't find their swords in a shop anywhere.

Answer 3

DONT. There are too many Asian online sellers of imitation Katana swords. Find a contact in India who can lead you to a Japanese connection for authentic swords.

Answer 4

Yes.

I do Tai Chi and have seen several very nice "real" swords from various houses. You can purchase some nice ones through http://www.martialartsmart.net/Weapons.html. However, beware, there are plenty of crappy cheap knockoffs out there. Weapons from the Hanwei forge seem to be well made.

Answer 5

Yes, but real swords are expensive. Maybe $20,000 or so at the bottom end.

Answer 6

♡Take a look here:
http://www.setocut.co.jp/sword.html
And here:
*Scroll down to "Home of Swords -Osafunecho, Okayama" -watch the English version.
http://www.g-platform.jp/tourism/travel/toptravel.htm
Hope this helps!♡