SAKAI UCHIHAMONO / SAKAI FORGED BLADES
About 600 years ago / 1400s / Muromachi Period (1336–1573)
Sakai blade making grew from medieval swordsmithing and gunsmithing skills. After tobacco arrived through Portuguese trade in the sixteenth century, the city became famous for extremely sharp knives used to cut tobacco leaves into fine strands. The shogunate recognized their quality, and those skills later flowed into professional kitchen knives.
For Japanese chefs, a Sakai knife is a specialized tool: different blade shapes exist for sashimi, vegetables, fish bones and many other tasks. The city remains deeply trusted in sushi and Japanese cuisine, while international chefs increasingly seek out its blades.
Sakai production is famously divided among specialists. Forging, sharpening and handle fitting may be handled by different craftspeople rather than one all-purpose maker. A single knife is completed through a relay of experts, making the entire production district function almost like one large workshop.