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Swords of famous samurai reborn as beautiful kitchen knives from Japan’s number-one katana town

Casey Baseel Aug 11, 2019
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A fierce warlord, a visionary reformer, and a Shinsengumi officer are all standing by to help you get dinner ready.

We’ve spent the last few days appreciatively staring at the freshly forged real-life version of anime samurai Rurouni Kenshin’s reverse-edged katana, which was forged by a craftsman from the town of Seki, which has been Japan’s leading sword-producer for hundreds of years. Looking at the mesmerizing glean of its sharpened steel, we can’t help wanting a Seki-struck blade of our very own.

However, we no longer live in an age where we’re likely to be attacked by brigands, challenged to duels to the death to defend our honor, or otherwise have need to strap a sword to our side as part of our daily routine. One bladed instrument we do still use frequently, though, is a kitchen knife, and Seki’s master smiths also make those, and now they’ve combined samurai and chef’s blades in a way that’s both practical and beautiful.

Seki’s Nikken Cutlery is currently offering a line of three chef’s knives based on famous swords carried by actual historical samurai. Each 25-centimeter (9.9-ich) knife is individually hand-crafted by Nikken’s craftsmen, and along with a keen cutting edge features a hamon, the distinct tempering lines along the flat of the blade which are a uniquely impressive aspect of katana aesthetic tradition. Wrapped sword-style grips ensure they’ll stay secure in the palm of your hand, and the three designs have corresponding hard sheaths.

First up is a recreation of the sword carried by Oda Nobunaga, one of Japan’s greatest samurai warlords who almost succeeded in unifying the country during the tumultuous generations-long civil war known as the Sengoku period. Specifically, the knife is based on Nobunaga’s Heshikiri Hasebe, a sword he was said to swing with such force that it both crushed and cut the target.

Pictured above is Nikken’s version of the sword carried by Sakamoto Ryoma, a samurai who pushed for Japan’s modernization and democratization, and was eventually assassinated by his enemies.

Finally, rounding out the lineup is the sword of Hijikata Toshizo, the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi special police force, whose objectives and ideology often clashed with those of Ryoma.

Now you might find yourself intrigued by these designs, but also feeling like using them with just any plain old cutting board would be unsatisfyingly anticlimactic. Fear not, because Nikken has a solution to that as well, with a series of wooden cutting boards emblazoned with the family crests of the three samurai who inspired the kitchen cutlery.

▼ An especially cool touch is a rotating section that allows you to stand the boards upright for display purposes.

The entire lineup is being offered through Japanese crowdfunding site Makuake here, with reward tiers for knives/sheaths starting at 6,500 yen (US$60), cutting boards at 3,500 yen, and knife/sheath/board bundles at 9,500 yen. There are also complete sets of all three knives starting at 18,000 yen, in case you do a lot of cooking or just want to start your own katana hotel-style gallery in your home.

Source: Makuake/ニッケン刃物株式会社 via Japaaan
Images: Makuake/ニッケン刃物株式会社
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where he thinks his 100-yen kitchen knife, the Silver Edge 2000, sounds like something an RPG hero would use at about the 60-percent-completion stage of the game.