NOVA travels deep into Japan’s ancient foundries, follows the craft of the traditional swordsmiths and attends samurai fighting school to reveal the art and science behind making what many call the perfect sword.

For more than a thousand years, the samurai sword has dominated the battlefields of Japan, instilled fear and terror into every enemy it faced and evoked a spiritual way of life that continues even today. With unparalleled access, NOVA travels deep into Japan's ancient foundries, follows the craft of the traditional swordsmiths and attends samurai fighting school to reveal the art and science behind making what many call the perfect sword.