A visit to Izumi Riki Seisakujo in Sakai, Osaka Japan, as featured on JTCO: Japanese Traditional Culture Promotion & Development.
Forged knives have been sought after and revered worldwide for years, which, once you know the process involved, it’s not hard to see why. Recently, I ventured into the old blacksmith neighborhoods of Sakai to uncover this masterful art.
Although metalworking was introduced more than 1000 years ago, the city had begun to receive true acclaim around the mid-1500’s. As a port city, Sakai frequently saw a great amount of trade. Tobacco and guns were popular, brought over from the Portuguese. In order to smoke the tobacco in pipes the leaves needed to be finely cut. Local blacksmiths began developing such knives needed to cut with acute precision, therefore forging extremely sharp blades of high quality.
Through the eras Sakai continued to be at the forefront of metalworking, forging swords for samurai and beyond. As the Tokugawa shogunate fell from power, samurai stopped carrying swords and the demand for such transitioned to knives. The prized art of these blacksmiths has been passed down through each generation. One such company that has been crafting these precious knives for eight generations is Izumi Riki Seisakujo of Sakai.