Takefu Village – The Town of Knifemakers

Japan is a very famous travelling destination known for many aspects. It is broadly appreciated for its unique history and culture. Another outstanding part of Japanese cultural and industrial heritage is its production of steel cutlery, swords and knives. Even today modern Japanese craftsmen are heralded for the cultural depth, quality and longevity of their art. One of the most remarkable places on the knifemaking map of Japan is Takefu so-called 'Knife Village (Town)', which stands out as the home of over 100 knife makers, which are associated with over 10 knife-making conglomerates and companies. It is a beautiful example of how various knifemakers came together to proceed their legacy and tradition into the modern era.

Location and population

History – The Beginning of the Legend

According to the legend, it was the exceptional location and outstanding purity of local water which attracted a travelling knife smith from Kyoto named Kuniyasu Chiyozuru about 700 years ago. He was on a journey for refining his art and finding a resourceful area. He chose to stay in Takefu, which was at that time a small remote village. Upon his arrival, Chiyozuru settled down and began to create swords and sickles for farmers. His exquisite work became popular with peddlers and merchants, who started exporting them to neighbouring areas. Over time they started to come back with a constantly increasing number of new orders for master's Chiyozuru work.

During the time, when the region was ruled by the Echizen Kanenori clan in the XIV century, the clan's swordsmiths were renowned for their skill and craftsmanship, and their swords were highly sought after by warriors and samurai across Japan. Over the centuries, Takefu Knife Village continued to thrive as a centre for knife making, and by the 19th century, it had become known for its production of a wide range of knives, including kitchen knives, hunting knives, and even surgical knives.  Thanks to its renown the village sprouted into one of the most important Japanese knife-making basins. Eventually, it lead to the development of the whole area and was finalised in merging into the city of Echizen. Today, many of the town's knife makers are still family-owned businesses that have been passed down through the generations. Even nowadays the region is established as the centre of production of hand-forged knives and the home of today's most popular, various world-famous knife-producing companies and craftsmen, such as Yu Kurosaki.

The Challenge

The knife-making industry flourished during countless periods of historical instability in the archipelago. Even during and after the two World Wars, the industry pushed forward, developing up until the second half of the 20th century. However young smiths of the time started to sense problems. These 'younglings' were now broadly known Hideo Kitaoka, Hiroshi Kato, Takeshi Saji and Katsushige Anryu.

The problem that they recognized was the mass production of cheap. Factory-made produced stainless steel knives that began to grip the market in the 70s. The situation was specifically harsh for smaller companies that relied on slow, traditional techniques, which were often family-owned. They began eventually to go out of business. (The same situation was at that time with local traditional Echizen pottery craft shops with a history dating back 850 years, which struggled with the modern consumer model as well.) The young generation focused on facing the problems connected to sales problems, extending the line of tradition and bringing it into the modern market.

The Solution

When noted incoming crisis became a hot topic for intensive debates among young knife masters. As a solution, they contacted their Fukui compatriot - Kazuo Kawasaki. Kazuo Kawasaki was a well-known designer of the time (ultimately he became a design director of Apple in the 1990s). The contact with Kawasaki allowed knife smiths to revive their community by attracting the worldwide modern consumer.

At first, the craftsmen formed a conglomerate under one shared brand, which became TAKEFU KNIFE VILLAGE, in the honour of community's history. This step allowed all of them to unify and broaden their perspective under unified status.

The next step was focused on designing, in the sweat of the brow, numerous new knife models to spread around the world for the triumph of their label. They aimed to not only conquer the hearts of consumers but also show the whole world the beauty and performance of traditionally made Japanese knives. The first breakout happened a year later when the TAKEFU society held product exhibitions in New York and Tokyo. Both exhibitions were very well received and brought great interest in their product lines. After this success, the central base of TAKEFU was established. The knife makers with considerable assistance from Kawasaki created a workshop complex located in the Echizen countryside to 'grind' their brand. The objectives of the young knife smiths were gradually fulfilled as their dream was coming to life. The established TAKEFU facility became the manifestation of their unspoiled, strenuous hard work dating back from historical smiths, in an effort to preserve ancient and rare culture.

What is remarkable in Takefu Knives?

One of the most remarkable thing about TAKEFU KNIFE VILLAGE knives is that they are hand or mostly hand-made with modern technology implemented into traditional processes. Thanks to human, master smith control every knife coming out of Takefu is unique. The users often praise these knives as extremely durable (although not so flexible as machine-made), with long-lasting sharpness, which still can be easily acquired during sharpening. Hand-made knives are often a lifetime purchase due to their impressive sturdiness.

Forging is a process of forming metal with the use of local compressive force. It often requires the use of a hammer or a die. Depending on the temperature of the forging the technique is usually divided into cold forging, warm forging and hot forging. It is one of the most basic smith techniques developed in ancient times and used up to this day. Hand forging or forging with a machine hammer with strict control of the process provides direct control over the obtained properties, parameters and quality of the blade by the master smith. After forging knives and other blades are submitted to further processes such as grinding, polishing and sharpening.

Present day

Until 2022, Takefu Knife Village is a sprouting knife-making centre, with numerous founders and their apprentices still working in the same hard-working, committed and genuine way. The makers associated with the Village consist of Hideo Kitaoka, Anryu Hamono, Yoshimi Kato, Takeshi Saji and Yu Kurosaki Knife enterprises.

In recent years, Takefu Knife Village has become a popular destination for tourists interested in learning about the art of knife making. Visitors can watch skilled craftsmen at work in the town's many knife-making workshops, and even try their hand at forging a knife using traditional techniques. Despite the rise of modern technology and mass production, the knife makers of Takefu Knife Village continue to preserve the art of hand-forged knife making, ensuring that this important piece of Japanese cultural heritage is not lost to history.