Japanese Knife & Sword City: Seki Experience ★ ONLY in JAPAN
Traveling for KNIVES and SWORDS! The Japanese knife is quite simply the best in the world. The place best known for them is Seki (関市) in Gifu where Japanese Samurai swords have been forged for over 700 years. That tradition continues today in its knives and cutlery. They're perfect.
Following World War 2, the city changed from forging the katana to producing some of the world's best knives and cutlery. So, I ended up at Seki Station recently -- to buy the best knife in Japan! Maybe even a samurai sword, too.
In this episode, John travels to Seki city in Gifu prefecture to check out the CUTLERY FESTIVAL known as the HAMONO MATSURI (刃物まつり) in Japan. Now only will you find over 43 knife makers selling their best at discounted prices, you'll see the most unique knives anywhere as well as Chanbara performances (Samurai Sword Fight Acting).
The most unique part of the Hamono Festuval is an authentic demonstration of traditional sword forging using Tamahagane Steel.
HOW MUCH IS A REAL SAMURAI SWORD?
They start at 400,000 to 600,000 Yen ($4,000 to $6000) and can go up to $20,000! We'll see swords being made in Seki.
HOW TO BUY A JAPANESE KNIFE:
There many things to consider such as the type of steel, the type of knife, it's balance and of course, it's price.
WHEN IS SEKI'S HAMONO CUTLERY FESTIVAL ( 刃物まつり ) ?
2019 October 12th and 13th (Saturday & Sunday)
URL: (English available)
* It takes place on the second weekend of October annually.
The knife I bought:
Mcusta ZANMAI Classic Pro Damascus Flame
Santoku 180mm ￥15,000 Festival Price
Hida Beef (Hida Gyu 飛騨牛) is one of Japan's top wagyu beef and worth trying in Gifu or the Nagoya area.
HOW TO GET TO SEKI:
Best is to rent a car. It's easiest to get around this way because trains don't leave often in the countryside and many places like Monet's Pond can be accessed only by infrequent buses.
By Train, it's a short and scenic ride from Nagoya Station or Gifu Station.
Google Map:
Seki Station
Monet's Pond
LINKS:
★ Seki Sightseeing Association（関市観光協会）
★ Bushido Tsurugikai Association（武士道剣会）
THANK YOU!
I want to say ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU to Seki city and the wonderful people who helped me make this special episode. If you are interested in Seki, please check out their sightseeing page and feel free to contact them. They really want you to enjoy their hometown! -john
What is Damascus Steel?
Mr. Walter Sorrells made an excellent video on YouTube explaining it. I also learned more about knife making from his channel.
ビジネス関連はこちらへ：agency@wao-corp.com
This show has been created and produced by John Daub ジョン・ドーブ. He's been living and working in Japan for over 18 years and regularly reports on TV for Japan's International Channel.
Sakai Hamono (Knife) Museum & Shop - 2012-9-21
I just turned on the camera. Everything you see was made in Sakai, Osaka, Japan. Sakai has a 1500 year old history of making knives. The craftsmen there make some of the finest knives in the world. They are considered a national treasure.
Seki Sword Tradition Museum Swordsmithing Demonstration
On June 5, 2016 some friends and I went to the Seki Sword Tradition Museum to watch the swordsmithing demonstration for the first time.
Since we didn't know how popular the event was, we arrived 45 minutes early to make sure we got a parking spot and a seat. At first there weren't many people but when 10:00 rolled around it was quite crowded.
At about the 5:00 mark the guy with the middle hammer-swinging guy's tabi starts to burn. He stayed focused until the smith told them to stop. Poor guy. His foot seemed to be bothering him for the rest of the demo.
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Knife and Sword Museum
The master sword caster for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Kuo Chang Hsi, has established a Knife and Sword Museum in Kaohsiung County, adding cultural color to its vibrant heritage.
Different times and cultures produce different weapons. The museums collection tells the story of evolution for swords. The banging and clanging of the metal transcends time. A cultural journey to explore knives and swords awaits you here.
【Emyu's JAPAN Guide!】Kappabashi TSUBAYA Japanese Knife Shopping! Vol.02
In this channel, we show you the most loved traditional dishes or foods and culture of Japan.
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Knife Shop : Tsubaya つば屋包丁
Jeremy meets Kappabashi's shop owners, the Kitchen Town in the heart of Tokyo.
The video is subbed in English.
2013 Tour of Japan - CARTER CUTLERY
Murray Carter's five guest give a recap of their adventures on Carter Cutlery's annual Tour of Japan.
CarterCutlery.com
Photography by Robyn Wawn - itsatrap.com.au/
Diary of the trip by Ryan Swanson:
Day 1 Saturday. Introductions over breakfast and first meal as a group in Narita. Hit the road to Matsumoto where we check in to the oldest inn in town, the Marumo inn. This is authentic Japan. Brief tour of Matsumoto. Met Mr. Sakamoto, 16th generation Yashimoto bladesmith. Dinner with him at a sushi carousel. Visited and bathed in a 200 year old samurai bath house. Late night drinks with the group and realize we will all be getting along just fine. Murray emphatically tells me that when sharpening, you need to thin every blade out! Only Day one and we are all friends.
Day 2 Sunday. A tour of Matsumoto castle, with a great tour guide Kanji. Hit the road to Sanjo on the West coast where Mr. Hinoura was having an open house. I should note the rest stops in Japan have some delicious food. Mr Hinoura focuses mainly on outdoor knives but his kitchen knives were impressive as well. Had an amazing dinner ( one of many to come) which included whale bacon, which we ate strictly for research purposes.
Day 3 Monday. Visit Mr. Watanabe at his workshop and home. Saw him cold forging and he did some engraving for us too. Next stop was an old sickle maker who's shop was like stepping back in time. He put his heart and soul into every blade and then sells them for only $15-$20. That's what was most impressive, caring more for craft than the profit. He was as happy to meet us as we were to meet him. Another visit to Mr. Hinoura where he graciously gave us our first glimpse of forge welding blue steel onto mild steel. We met one more family of bladesmith in Sanjo where we all gathered in a tiny room, Sat on the floor, drank tea, and talked knives. The son had Murray's card from when they met ten years earlier. They also were very good at forging their blades to shape. This day was truly authentic Japan. Hit the road down to Sakai. 5 hour drive where we all got a lesson in metallurgy from Murray. We also broke the sound barrier on the road when Alexis got behind the wheel. There is nothing like a near death experience to bring the group together.
Day 4 Tuesday A tour of Mr. Shiraki's factory where he is busy forge welding blades. Which he has done for over 50 years. Words will do his craftsmanship no justice. This place was huge and had it all and we got the whole knifemaking process here in one stop. We each got our turn on the big grinding wheels too. Next stop was one Miss Miki, one of the few female players in the knife trade. She was a real peach and here she fitted some custom handles on some Shiraki knives we purchased by heating the tang and hammering the handle on. We had the honor of dining with Mr. Shiraki and his wife at a neighborhood restaurant. 12 courses of amazing cuisine.
Day 5 Wednesday. Withdrawing from a bank is near impossible so bring some spending cash as it took us three attempts to get some money. You haven't experienced Japan until you've gone to a bank. Our last stop in Sekai was a small father and son handle making shop. Saw them make an octagonal handle with no guides, just from sight and feel alone. A quick stop at the Sekai knife museum where where we had an amazing tour guide. Headed north to Takefu and stopped in Kyoto along the way. Beautiful city which wasn't bombed in the war so it had an old time feel. In Takefu we had dinner with the president of Takefu specialty steel corporation Mr. Kono and his son Michiro. Again, amazing food, amazing service, meal of a lifetime. Late night karaoke after dinner. The trip keeps getting better.
Day 6 Thursday. A trip to Takefu knife village where we see Murray forge a blade in his Sunday best clothes. Then a tour of the Takefu specialty steel company. This is where they clad steel for a number of big Japanese knife brands. Got to see the steel come out of the furnace and through the rollers. This was a serious operation so the theme of the tour was an zen daichi or safety first.. This is access to an operation no regular tour guide can provide. A quick drive north to Fukiu, where, yet again, the night of a lifetime.
Day 7 Friday. Heading south now to Seki for the annual knife show. We took a random detour to a random beach and had a random swim in the Sea of Japan. This was personally one of the highlights of the trip. Arrival in Seki and we were lucky to stay I'm a house owned by Murray's good friend Mr. Sekai. A quick trip to the Seki knife museum. That night we learned how to assess a knife for the weekends big purchases.
Carter Cutlery Japan Tour 2014 (Part 1)
Every year Carter Cutlery hosts a tour to Japan led by Murray Carter. Murray's native level fluency, thorough understanding of Japanese culture, and extensive connections with Japanese bladesmithing make this one-of-a-kind trip the adventure of a lifetime.
Carter Cutlery's 2014 tour of Japan was packed with interesting stops from start to finish. Highlights include an exclusive invitation to Takefu Steel's 60th anniversary celebration, visiting with the worlds best Kamisori maker, visiting the Osefune Sword Museum, and the Seki City Knife Festival (to name a few).
This video offers but a small glimpse into the Carter Cutlery Japan Tour experience. Join the 17th Yoshimoto bladesmith turned world's most qualified tour guide on our next trip and make memories that last a lifetime. What are you waiting for? Go sign up for our 2015 trip!
The videos and photos of this trip (and editing) were done by Leonid, an international traveler and hobbyist photographer. Some of Leonid's spectacular photographs can be seen here:
Japan festival seki city
via YouTube Capture
Shop Tour Series #4 - Tower Knives Osaka, Osaka, Japan 新世界の包丁専門店
Tower Knives Osaka, 1-4-1, Ebisuhigashi, Naniwaku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, 556-0002, Japan
Kanamara P*nis Festival Exposed ★ ONLY in JAPAN
★ Special Episode ★ This festival will next be held on Sunday, April 5 2020. Here's a preview with all the background you'll need.
Japan's Kanamara Matsuri as you've never seen it before!
Every now and then something very bizarre from Japan pops up in the news. This time, it happens to be bright pink and carried around the streets of a town near Tokyo. The Kanamara Matsuri / Festival is definitely unusual but there is much more to this story including a strong historical backbone and religious significance.
So – WHY #JAPAN ?!?! WHY ?!?
The international media sees the images and write the stories but never ask the questions. Let me do that for you in this episode.
The festival sometimes dubbed the “Penis” festival or the Utamaro Festival has a long history going back 200 years.
It was created by a transgender salon in Asakusa called Elizabeth who wanted to bring attention to the issue of STD, HIV / AIDS and the LGBT community. They succeeded in getting a lot of attention but over the last several years, the message has gotten lost in the shock and -- bright pink of their hand made phallus. Whatever you may think about Elizabeth, there is no doubt that it is the most photographed mikoshi in Japan!
Kanamara #Shrine is dedicated to both fertility and a place for prayer for women afflicted by sexual diseases. It's a place women go to today to pray to get pregnant and for a healthy child.
Those who have been unfortunate to contract a STD have been coming here for centuries. The priests approach those afflicted with a lot of compassion. Kanamara Shrine is certainly one that opens its arms to anyone and everyone who is suffering and that compassion is admirable.
In recent years, the worldwide media attention has been overwhelming skewed on the weird and the Kanamara Matsuri has become something of a joke and embarrassment in many Japanese eyes. I really hope that this episode can help shed light on the cultural, historical and religious significance of this festival in Japan today. It's more than a gag, a comedy piece.
Parental Guidance suggested:
Because viewers of the shows come from all different backgrounds and ages, I highly recommend anyone under 13 have a parent watch with them. There are no actual body parts shown but I know the material is sensitive for parents; and parents should be the ones making the decision if this should be seen or not. I added a rating at the opening for this purpose.
Where is Kanamara Shrine?
Here's a Google Map:
Address: 2-13-16 Daishi Ekimae, Kawasaki Ward, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture 210-0802
How to get to the Kanamara Matsuri:
Station: Kawasakidaishi Station / 川崎大師
Take the JR LINE to Kawasaki Station then change to the Keikyu Dashi Line, a 50 meter walk from JR. Take the train 3 stops, 140 Yen.
MUSIC CREDIT:
Teknoaxe /
The Unicycle Crew #136
64 Sundays by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Artist:
The video has the STANDARD YOUTUBE LICENSE and is not Creative Commons. ONLY in JAPAN is a registered trademark. All rights reserved 2019.
ビジネス関連はこちらへ：agency@wao-corp.com
This show has been created and produced by John Daub ジョン・ドーブ. He's been living and working in Japan for over 21 years and regularly reports on TV for Japan's International Channel.
Itadori river, Gifu ken Japan
masamune 700 years ago Japanese Samurai Sword masamune 49cm katana Nihonto blade antique
↓We sell, but please look!
Shan Traditional Sword Business
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Buying a Japanese Sword in Wakayama! | Raphael Japan
Shopping for Japanese Samurai swords (Katana) in Wakayama, Japan with Moriwaki.
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Katana Engraver of the Setouchi Sword Museum
For Part 2 of this sword artisan series, Q2 Japan interviews Katayama san, one of the few sword engravers left in Japan. He was very kind and gave us all sorts of fun insights to his trade. Come visit Setouchi city if you're in the area!
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Randall Made Knives Museum and Shop Tour - Orlando Florida
An informative pictorial video tour of the Randall Knife Museum, and Randall Made Knives Shop in Orlando, Florida. Every Knife is made by hand using the stock removal method (not forging) by a select few craftsmen.
Royalty Free Music: Modern Jazz Samba Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
ISRC: USUAN1100153
Cutlery festival of Sakai City 2010 Part1
Kitchen knife exhibition.
It is an event that has been held in Osaka Prefecture Sakai City in local.