Kyoto Visitor’s Guide, March 2010 10

Celebrating 23 years of KVG!

Of all the tools in the Japanese kitchen, themost important is the knife. Whether slicingfish for sashimi, butchering a chicken or mak-ing fine slices of negi, a good knife makes aworld of difference. Savvy home cooks andprofessional chefs, from Kyoto and abroad,know that the best place to go is Aritsugu,located on the east end of Nishiki Market.

Aritsugu has been supplying Kyotoites withfine, handmade knives and cooking utensilsfor 18 generations. The company wasfounded by Aritsugu Fujiwara, expert swordmaker to the Imperial family, in 1560 whenhe branched out to kitchen knives and woodchisels for Buddhist sculptures. With thearrival of the Meiji period (1868-1912), thecompany expanded to quality steel and cop-per cooking pots and specialized tools of theJapanese kitchen.Inside the immaculate, finely crafted show-room, one is easily drawn to the gleamingdisplays of the copper pots. One thennotices other smaller but no less skillfullycrafted tools, such as handmade graters fordaikon or wasabi, tiny mesh cages for roast-ing sesame seeds, and delicate cutters thatmake the delightful shapes that decorate finekaiseki meals: Seasonal motifs such as saku-ra flowers for spring, and momiji leaves forautumn.

But it is the display of hundreds of impossi-bly perfect knives that line the west wall ofthe shop that dominate the eye. Why somany? Well, wa-bocho (Japanese knives)are made in different shapes for specific pur-poses: Long yanagi-bocho for slicing sashimiin one fluid stroke, stout and sturdy deba-bocho for cutting fish and meat, and nakiri-bocho for vegetables. There are also differ-ent grades by type of steel. Lastly, since wa-bocho are sharpened on one side (not two,like Western knives) every type can be madefor left- or right-handed people. It’s enoughto make the casual visitor’s head spin.However, to address the changing tastes ofJapanese cuisine, Aritsugu also makes excel-lent all-purpose knives that are honed on twosides, suitable for lefties or righties, washoku(Japanese cuisine) or yoshoku (western cui-sine), and so forth. The only choices youmust make are the size and grade. Theseknives are also very affordably priced, mak-ing them perfect gifts.

If you decide to buy a knife, you’ll receive alesson in knife care, which is no small mat-ter, as you must properly clean the knifeafter each use, and sharpen it periodically tokeep it in top form. Your purchase isengraved with your name, in Japanese orEnglish, in a matter of minutes before yourvery eyes. Knives purchased as gifts aregiven a special stone go marble to symbolizethat the knife could never cut your friend-ship. It is so refreshing, especially in this ageof the mega-store, that such artistry, cus-tomer service and attention to detail is notonly surviving, but thriving.This is not easy, as the method of makingknives hasn’t changed for centuries and isextremely time-consuming. Iron must berepeatedly heated and then tempered in coldwater. After being cut to size, it is honed toa perfect edge and the blade is planed withharder steel. Then, the knife is heated forone last time, coated in mud and plungedred-hot into cold water before being signed.

Each artisan can only make up to15 knives ina day.Understandably, this costs more than facto-ry-made knives, but Aritsugu’s, even withdaily use, can last for 20 years. Lifetimerepairs of small nicks and a periodic resettingof the razor-sharp blade are included, free ofcharge, for local customers and long-termvisitors alike. Kyoto’s residents are lucky to have such atreasured establishment in their city, thoughit is not rare to find other equally skilful arti-sans and craftspeople in their respectivefields. Yes, Kyoto is one city that still honorsits artisans. Let’s hope it stays that way, sothat Aritsugu can thrive for another 450years.

Aritsugu is located on the north side ofNishiki, just west of Gokomachi (E-3, pg13 map); Open: 9:00-17:30, closed Sun.;Tel: 075-221-1091; www.aritsugu.jp/

Risa Sekiguchi is an ar-tist, photographer, and founder of Savory Ja-pan, a website dedica-ted to Japanese cuisine and culture. For more information on Japanese knives and knife techniques, visit Savory Japan: savoryjapan.com/learn/techniques/knives.htmlFine Purveyors of Japanese Knives and Kitchen Tools

Aritsugu

Haruji Ukai, head chef and proprietor of Kin-mata ryokan, one of Kyoto’s finest Japaneseinns, is a true master, and kindly demon-strates how to cut katsura-muki. Namedafter the gossamer fabric worn by aristo-crats, katsura-muki is paper-thin, and a spe-cial knife is made for this purpose. Extreme-ly difficult to master, young chefs often prac-tice katsura-muki in their free time, spendingtheir own money on vegetables to hone theirskills.As beautiful as Haruji Ukai’s cuisine is tobehold, his true skill is best tasted in personat Kinmata during a stay, or at the inn’s love-ly restaurant (see their ad on pg 18).

1. The vegetable (in this case, daikon) is cutto the length of the knife and peeled.

2. Working smoothly, chef Ukai holds thebocho with his right hand, turning thedaikon with his left.

3. The resulting sheet is paper thin andtranslucent, and when held up to the light,white squiggles resembling writing can beseen.

4. The sheets can be cut to lengths and thencut finely and plunged into cold water tomake ken, the thread-like garnish typicallyseen under slices of sashimi.

5. The sheets can also be cut on the bias androlled around a chopstick to make lovelyspirals.

Uniquely JapaneseKatsura-muki knife technique by Haruji Ukai of Kinmata

今月の Savory Kyoto は、創業1560年、450年に渡って愛される、有次の包丁の世界に迫ります。高度な技術が要求されるプロの料理人から家庭の主婦、そして外国人からも信頼の厚い包丁の種類は、用途に合わせて数十種類。網、菜箸、抜き型など、いろいろな形の調理器具も、見ているだけで楽しいほど。京の食文化を支えているお店のひとつです。

© Hotaru Image

All kinds of cooking and kitchen tools are displayed in the shop

P h o t o e s s a y b y R i s a S e k i g u c h iS A V O R Y K Y O T O