About the Blacksmiths: Moritaka

The " Moritake " family has a long and proud tradition in Japanese blacksmithing - a tradition that dates back to the year 1293, when Kongouhyoueminamotono Moritake was Master Blacksmith for the Buddhist priest at Mt. Houman in Dazaifu, Fukuoka. His successors continued the tradition of producing swords for the Buddhist priests in the same place for 13 generations. In 1632, the Moritake family moved to Miyaji-machi, Yatsuhiro, Kumamoto with the feudal head of Higo. For the following 13 generations, the family produced swords, katanas, for the Buddhist army.

The swords that were produced at that time gained a completely unique status, as they helped preserve Buddhahood in the liberation struggle. Five generations ago, the master blacksmith "Chuzaemon Moritake" changed his focus and instead chose to utilize his experience and techniques from sword production to produce the kitchen knives we know today. Even to this day, the master "Hamone Moritake" occasionally forges a sword, a "Katana", to keep the old traditions and skills alive - but by far the biggest production today is knives. A hand-forged Moritak knife is a quality product with a 700-year history and experience, which is laid down in the steel.

We got to know Moritaka through Hocho which we took over in 2013. We have been doing business with them ever since and every time goods arrive we are very excited. We can only get knives from them approx. once a year and they are worth the wait. We still have the first meeting to go, but we are looking forward to it.

See our selection here