Nojiyama Marunaka Stainless Kurouchi Santoku 165mm

A thin, light, impressive-looking santoku. Black-forged stainless is a great finish. Low maintenance Japanese sharpness at one end, warm in hand at the other - the scorched magnolia makes for a beautifully tactile handle. 

We've been asked why these products are branded 'Nojiyama Marunaka' and produced by Nakamura Hamono. Here's a quick rundown.

Nakamura Hamono is the name of the company, Nojiyama Marunaka is the name of the shop and the brand of all the edge tools the company produces. Nojiyama is the very small area (almost the equivalent of the crest of a hill) where the shop was established around 100 years ago, and where the family still lives. When the business started there were around ten other smiths in the immediate area, some of whom were probably also Nakamura, and shorthand identifiers were used, much like nicknames in English. So Marunaka (Nakamura's 'Naka' kanji character 中 inside a circle/maru) was used to discern that Nakamura san's particular business was the one in question.

The strategy is still working, we represent two companies called Nakamura Hamono and it's nice to know at a glance who the orders have come in for.