Masataka Tamura

Born in 1932 in Miyagi Prefecture. The sole inheritor of the Sendai fishing rod tradition, once beloved by the feudal lord Date Masamune. Watching his father work from childhood, he taught himself rod making and was called a prodigy by anglers while still in elementary school. He now runs the Saomasa bamboo rod workshop, performing all of the roughly 200 steps from bamboo selection to finishing entirely by himself, and enthusiasts from all over Japan visit his workshop.