Knives and Stones · People of the craft
Japanese Knife Craftsmen職人
The blades in our range are forged and finished by individual people, and knowing who made a knife tells you a lot about it. These profiles are researched from primary Japanese sources, checked against maker rosters, and where we can, confirmed with the workshops themselves. They are laid out here the way the trade itself is laid out — by prefecture, from the north of Japan down to the south, then by the town and the workshop each craftsman belongs to.
Niigata
新潟県Sanjo
Hinoura Hamono
Tsukasa Hinoura日野浦司
Tsukasa Hinoura, third-generation blacksmith at Hinoura Hamono Koubou in Sanjo, Niigata: maker of the Ajikataya and TSUKASA SAKU marks and river-jump damascus.
Manaka Hamono Tanrenjo
Kisuke Manaka
Kisuke Manaka (貴輔), fifth-generation smith of Manaka Hamono Tanrenjo (est. 1872), now in Sanjo, Niigata — self-taught stainless forge-welding, every step by one man.
Tokifusa Iizuka飯塚解房
Tokifusa Iizuka (飯塚解房) founded Shigefusa in Sanjo, hand-forging Swedish carbon steel knives prized by collectors worldwide.
Toyama
富山県Fukui
福井県Echizen
Kamotou Hamono
Shiro Kamo加茂詞朗
Shiro Kamo (加茂詞朗), certified Echizen master smith at Takefu Knife Village — forged kitchen knives and purpose-built blades from a workshop founded in 1955.
Kitaoka Hamono
Yoshihiro Yauji弥氏良寛
Yoshihiro Yauji is an Echizen knife blacksmith in Fukui, certified in 2019 for single-bevel production. He runs Kutsurogi and both forges and sharpens himself.
Kurosaki Uchihamono
Yu Kurosaki黒崎優
Yu Kurosaki, maker behind Kurosaki Uchihamono in Echizen, Fukui: company president and a Traditional Craftsman, trained under Hiroshi Kato and Takeshi Saji.
Saji Uchihamono
Takeshi Saji佐治武士
Takeshi Saji (佐治武士), third-generation master of Saji Uchihamono (est. 1916) in Echizen — nationally certified smith, and the man who taught James to forge.
Osaka
大阪府Sakai
Ikeda Tanrenjo
Yoshikazu Ikeda池田美和
Yoshikazu Ikeda is a Sakai forged-cutlery blacksmith in Osaka. He founded Ikeda Tanrenjo in 1983 and was certified a Traditional Craftsman in December 1988.
Nakagawa Uchihamono
Satoshi Nakagawa中川悟志
Satoshi Nakagawa, Sakai's youngest-ever Traditional Craftsman: Kenichi Shiraki's sole successor, forging White, Blue, Ginsan, VG10 and honyaki blades.
Sakai Takayuki
Hirotsugu Tosa土佐廣次
Hirotsugu Tosa, sharpener in Sakai, Osaka: Traditional Craftsman; honyaki and mirror sharpening specialist for Sakai Takayuki, active from 1967, died 2025.
Sakai Takayuki
Itsuo Doi土井逸夫
Itsuo Doi (土井逸夫) forges Aogami #2 blades in Sakai for Sakai Takayuki, including the Hien 飛燕 series. Son of the late master smith Keijiro Doi.
Sakai Takayuki
Keijiro Doi土井敬次郎
Keijiro Doi, Sakai blacksmith and second of three Doi generations: son of phantom master smith Kazuo, father and teacher of Itsuo Doi, died in 2017 aged 90.
Sakai Takayuki
Mitsuo Yamatsuka山塚光雄
Mitsuo Yamatsuka, sharpener in Sakai, Osaka: a Traditional Craftsman certified 1999 and Sakai Meister 2015 for kasumi polish, who trained two sharpener sons.
Sakai Takayuki
Yukinori Oda小田幸徳
Yukinori Oda is a retired Sakai sharpener who worked in-house at the Sakai Takayuki factory. He was certified a Traditional Craftsman in 1987 for kasumi work.
Togashi Uchihamono Seisakusho
Kenji Togashi富樫憲治
Kenji Togashi, Sakai blacksmith: a Traditional Craftsman certified 1996, honyaki and forged-work specialist, one of three Togashi smiths for Sakai Takayuki.
Yoshikazu Tanaka田中義一
Yoshikazu Tanaka, fourth-generation Sakai blacksmith at Tanaka Uchihamono (est. 1896): national Traditional Craftsman, forging division, certified FY1996.
