History of Knives in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.   
 
The history of knife-making in Seki dates back 800 years to the Kamakura period (1185-1333). From the end of the Heian period (794-1185), with the establishment of the Samurai society, the demand for Japanese swords rapidly increased, and skilled swordsmiths, the craftsmen of Japanese swords, were sought after in many places. The Yamato-den (Nara Prefecture), Yamashiro-den (Kyoto Prefecture), Bizen-den (Okayama Prefecture), Soshu-den (Kanagawa Prefecture), and Mino-den (Gifu Prefecture) all developed excellence in the hand forging of blades. Their highly refined skills have been handed down generation after generation to the present time.  

 
One of the main reasons for the development of superior blade making at Seki in Mino-den (Gifu Prefecture) was because it had some of the best conditions for forging top-quality blades: high quality soil, an excellent species of pine charcoal for furnaces, and an abundance of fresh, clear water from the nearby Nagara River. Since the Muromachi period (1333-1573), more than 300 renowned swordsmiths were born and raised in Seki at Mino-den, the largest number in Japan.  
 
In 1876, however, the Japanese government banned Samurai from owning swords, and the sword industry was practically destroyed overnight. This left many highly seasoned craftsmen in a difficult situation.  As a result, they gathered the wisdom of hundreds of years of blade-making into the framework of modern technology: the artisanal handcrafting of beautiful, sharp, light, superior quality knives, and created a new tradition of its own.  

 
In this way, Seki expertise has grown from the Edo period to the Meiji period, and from the Showa period to the Reika period. Although the craft has been caught up in, and tossed around by, social conditions over the years, it is said that Seki cutlery has pushed forward with the spirit of "cutting through the times without losing heart or bending beliefs," no matter the circumstances. This is exactly the spirit that had been handed down from generation to generation in the making of the famous swords that the Samurai originally fell in love with.  
 
Seki City in Gifu Prefecture is still one of the top producers in Japan with a market share of over 50%. In recent years, Seki knives have been entering the highest quality marketplace, and attracting attention all over the world as top chefs and culinary associations speak highly of their quality. Seki's knife-making will no doubt continue to evolve with changing times, but with the clear, age-old commitment to create blades of superior quality that will enrich people's lives. F/W–20
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