Tsukasa Hinoura, born in 1956, began practicing his trade in 1975. His blades are known for a refined and long lived edge. His knives are highly sought after in Japan and Europe, and will soon have the same reputation in Canada. Hinoura-san represents the third generation of his family‘s forging tradition. As a young craftsman, his role models were Nagashima and Shigeyoshi Iwasaki of Sanjo. They enjoy an excellent reputation in Echigo and have done a great deal to advance the knife maker’s art in Sanjo.
A province in the northern part of central Japan, historically named Echigo, is by no means just another knife making region. There, the art of forging looks back on 700 years of tradition. The city of Sanjo is situated in this province, in today’s Niigata prefecture. This is where the Hinoura family have been plying the blade making trade for decades.
