Kageura Ken / Yusuhara

A neighbourhood acquaintance told us we had to go. She and her husband, a hands-on fence-building ceramicist architect type, had taken their Landy to Yusuhara in the mountains of Kochi Prefecture and spent some time in Kageura san's shop. "Yusuhara is good, yo!" said Akiko san. "Nice camp!"

Interesting. Akiko is not really the camping type. She's more... antique shops in Paris. But she was right, Yusuhara was definitely worth the visit. The campsite was amazing, the onsen next door incredibly inviting after a day's driving, and Kageura san's work was a pleasure to see. 

Damascus outdoor knives of glowing beauty that cost more than the car I drove to see them. Delicately layered nakiri and gyuto knives. One of the biggest, baddest (ie goodest) gyuto blades your writer has ever laid eyes on. A treasure trove!

Twenty-eighth generation craftsman Kageura san is these days a lifestyle craftsman who forges according to whim. His longer whims aren't impulse buys that walk out the door and much as we'd like to have acquired some that were there for the acquiring, the economics of sinking that much moolah into stock means we left with some of his shorter whims (now sold, sorry).

If you're interested in acquiring a longer Kageura blade yourself, a damascus gyuto perhaps, a deba that shimmers seductively in the moonlight, drop us a line from our contact page (under Ordering Information). Our next visit to Yusuhara will be in late September '24 and we might be able to help.