Kono Uchihamono / Oita

Tadaki Kono

Kitsuki city in Kyushu's Oita Prefecture prospered as a castle town during the Edo period. At the time when craftsman Tadaki Kono began his training under a master swordsmith traditional kaji culture was still thriving and there were ten blacksmiths in the local guild. 

Today there is only Kono san and he continues to make delightful knives employing time-honored methods. As a sword smith and treasured keeper of old traditions much of his time these days is spent attending Oita Prefecture promotional sales events in department stores around Japan. He's the kind of guy you'd like to spend an afternoon with and so when we can pin him down that's the plan. Stay tuned. We expect to offer more of Kono san's knives.

Sad note, April 2025. This time had to come. Happily it was a long time coming, but still. On a visit to Kitsuki in late March we were greeted with a fresh note on Kono san's shop window, closed today. His numbers rang out for a little over a week, and then both were disconnected. Please contact us if you feel the need to own a knife by sword smith and knife maker Kono san, we can get them, but please note they are now considerably more expensive.