ABOUT YOSHIMI KATO

Yoshimi Kato works out of the Takefu Knife Village in Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. He took over the family business, Kanehiro Hamono, from his father in-law, Hiroshi Kato-san, in 2017. Hiroshi Kato-san started the shop in the late 1960's and was inaugurated as the 4th Chairman of the Takefu Knife Village in 1994. He was certified by the Japanese Government ’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry as “Dentou-kougeishi,” meaning “Traditional Master Craftsman;” a distinct honour bestowed to very few craftsmen with decades of training, work, and apprenticeship who have passed the “Master of Traditional Crafts Certification Examination” from the nation’s Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries.