FORGED FROM THE PAST

Yanagisawa — In 1868, the Meiji Restoration happened. During this time, laws were enacted that prohibited Samurai from holding and carrying swords. Within the Kikuichi history, this era was the dark ages when we lost all of our clientele. Then the Samurai disappeared altogether. We had to choose between either continuing to make katana swords as artwork or adopting a new business strategy.  This is when we made the decision to make culinary knives.

Yanagisawa — Sakai is a town about an hour away from Nara. It is the birthplace of katana forging. Each of these local artisans learned their skills from their fathers.  The blacksmith learned from another blacksmith, the sharpener learned from another sharpener, so on and so forth. They have protected the craft of making knives by continuing to embrace traditional themes. They do not compromise any steps of the process. They are an integral part of the Japanese knife-making culture, and other countries' technology or techniques cannot compare to ours.  

Yanagisawa — I believe that the Japanese trade culture, where an apprentice learns from a master, is one of a kind. This unique relationship doesn't really exist elsewhere anymore. It is a method that deploys teaching which is deeply embedded in all our relationships today.

Yanagisawa —Each knife is generally made by four different craftsmen. The first one is the blacksmith. There are sixteen steps to making a knife, and the first eight are done by the blacksmith. After that, there's a process where the three different blades need to be assembled together by the sharpener in a series of six additional steps. And then the handles are made, before all of the components are brought together.

Yanagisawa —Taking into account Kikuichi's seven hundred and fifty year history, my time is really, really short. I’ve been in charge for two and a half years. My father ran this company for fifty years. I see myself as someone who's filling the void, so I think that the most important goal is to keep up the tradition and the quality of our products.

Yanagisawa —I think that the weight of seven hundred and fifty years can get really exhausting.  I try not to think about the history too much, and come to terms with it and myself, when I'm looking towards the future and what's coming next.  When a business is around for so long, it has to adapt. I think that our business has changed a lot over time, but without sacrificing the product quality and tradition. I believe that this is the key of our success, being able to withstand the trials of time. 

Yanagisawa —Of course, the quality of the product comes to mind first. We use the best materials that are hand-crafted by people who have mastered this artistry. But there is also a reputation and reliability factor that exists in our products because we have been around for so many years. When a customer chooses one of our knives, if anything should happen to that knife say, ten or fifteen years down the road, we will definitely be around to fix it.