News

Help Support Nakaya Heiji - Disaster Relief
In the past few days, Japan has seen some horrendous natural disasters- earthquakes and tsunamis.  The north-east part of Japan has been his pretty hard, especially with the failing nuclear reactors up there.  But many other areas have been hit hard as well.  One such area is Ibaraki.  Ibaraki is just a bit north-east Tokyo and is located on the coast.  It is in the prefecture of Ibaraki that Nakaya Heiji is based.  He and his son live and work in Mito City, in Ibaraki Prefecture.   Since the earthquake,... Read more...
月心™
「月心™」と書いて「げっしん」と読みます。Japanese Knife Importsのオリジナルブランドの名前です。陶芸家である私の両親の「月心窯」を違う分野で、だけれど同じように手造りの工芸品・芸術品を愛する気持ちをもって受け継がせてもらうことにしました。「月心™」の「月」は太陰暦を長く使用してきたことなどから、月や陰と重ねられることが多かったアジアを意味し、「月心™」ブランドは日本だけでなくアジアの心と多様性を称えるという私達の気持ちを表しています。 Japanese Knife Importsは多くの人が日本からの素晴らしい作品やその造り手に出会うことができる架け橋となっていきたいと願っています。実践的であるだけでなく日本の伝統的な価値観や文化を象徴する、手造りの素晴らしい工芸品を提供していきたいという私達の思いを「月心™」は象徴しています。私は月心の焼き物に囲まれて育ち、芸術家である両親に常に刺激をうけて育ちました。主人のジョナサンも、何度もその環境で生活し、また窯たきを手伝うなどの体験を通してきました。常に更に良いものを求め製作に取り組む両親の姿は、いつになってもその姿こそが非常に美しいものだと感じます。私達が月心のオリジナルを築くことにより、両親のその気持ちや行為というものを、包丁や砥石、その他の厨房道具を扱うことを通じて引き継いでいけたらと願っています。これから「月心™」は商品の品質、弊社の販売姿勢、アフターケア、知識などを含め、より全体的な評価を頂くことと思います。毎 日使うものだからこそ、そこに実用的でありながら美しいと思わせるデザインや、長く良く使おうと思わされる価値を求める意味があるように思います。生活に 潤いを与えてくれる、手造りのものの良さはそこにあるのではないでしょうか。日々の生活の中で役に立ってくれ、なお日常生活を明るくそして豊かにしてくれ ます。自 分に合った包丁を見つけること、包丁を研ぐこと、それぞれの包丁の特性を理解するということ、そしてある一定のレベルの包丁であれば、それを使いこなす技 術を習得するということ、それぞれすべての行為に意味があり、日本の伝統的な文化や価値がぎっしり詰まっていると感じます。ものを大切にし、 本当に良いものを長く使うという価値観を、包丁や砥石から学ぶというのも、やはり手造りのものが生活をより豊かにしてくれるということの表れだと思いま す。 「月心™」ブランドと共にJapanese Knife Importsとしての私達も成長していきたいと心から願っております。これからも何卒宜しくお願いいたします。   Read more...
A New Day of Videos
As some of you may have noticed, we’ve been on a recent quest to make a number of short clips covering knife sharpening, care, use, tips and tricks, and other interesting/useful subjects.  Last night we shot 3 more videos.  Here they are.  We hope you enjoy them.  If you have any questions, shoot us an e-mail at Jon@JapaneseKnifeImports.com Read more...
Introducing Gesshin
I am really very excited about this week’s announcement.  We are finally introducing our Japanese Knife Imports original product line- Gesshin ™.  Here is our introduction letter for Gesshin ™: https://groups.google.com/forum/goog_1748770999 We are very proud and excited to introduce our own brand - Gesshin ™ “月心”, named after the unique pottery created by Sara’s parents.  Gesshin ™ translates into “moon heart”, reflective of Asia’s reliance on the lunar calendar. Gesshin ™ symbolizes not only Japanese, but also the Asian spirit and celebration of diversity.   Japanese Knife Imports strives to be a cultural bridge... Read more...
New Videos on Youtube - Microbevels and Tips
So, I’ve finally gotten around to making some new videos.  At the request of many of my customers and friends, we have decided to go with a series of mini-videos covering basic techniques, tips, and tricks. Our first videos were posted yesterday on youtube. A huge thanks to Unkajonet for his help in making these videos.  It was really nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of and get feedback from the perspective of one who might be watching these videos.  Anyways, if you have any questions about these... Read more...
New Heiji Custom Honesuki
Just thought i'd post some pictures of this beauty up here for all to enjoy... sorry guys, but this one is already sold. I have to say, i'm going to miss staring at this when its gone though. Nakaya Heiji Custom 160mm Semi-Stainless Single Bevel Honesuki       Read more...
New YouTube Channel
Recently we've had a little trouble with our previous YouTube account, so we created a new one.  You can find our old videos here as well as some new ones... we will be trying to post many more in the near future... Hope you enjoy it ;) http://www.youtube.com/user/JKnifeImports Read more...
Having fun in Japan... the foreigner way
By Sara Motomura-Broida Its been two years since I’ve been home to Japan, and this trip has been unlike any time before… this is the first time I have spent so long traveling with a “foreigner”- my husband Jonathan.  I am seeing things from a completely new perspective this year.  Things that used to be normal to me, no longer seem regular through my new lenses. First of all, Japanese regional dialects have become far more interesting to me this year, more so than I ever expected.  As a child,... Read more...
Yamagata and beyond...
By Sara Motomura-Broida It has been a while since our last blog entry…. Sorry.  This was a little unexpected… we thought we would have time at night to update our blogs and answer e-mails.  We were wrong.   We have been very lucky to be so busy though.  Being busy is very much of a privilege, especially because our experience has been such a unique one.  Our Japan trip has been amazing so far… meetings with amazing craftsmen, participating in the firing of a wood burning kiln, and visiting amazing... Read more...
Our First Official Knife Maker Meeting - Jin Knives
Yesterday we went to our first knife maker meeting in Tokyo.  There aren’t a huge number a knife makers in this city… lots of stores, but not so many makers.  While we were researching knife makers before our trip, we stumbled upon this guy.  His knives seemed unique and had great personality.  We were truly in for a treat meeting with him. His store/workshop was about a 45 minute train ride from Tokyo center.  Walking around the area near his shop really felt like Japan to me.  If his shop... Read more...
Our Japanese Excursion - The Beginning
As many of you know, Sara and I are going to be spending the next three months in Japan, meeting knife makers, stone companies, and anyone else we have time to talk to.  In the process, we are hoping to find cool new products for our customers, increase our knowledge so we can better answer questions, and take lots of pictures to make you want to visit Japan more (everyone should visit at least once) ;) .  During this time, we will be adding all kinds of new products to... Read more...
A repost of our 9/15 Newsletter
Hey guys-   How’s it going?  We’ve got lots of new things going on here at Japanese Knife Imports.  Sara and I will be spending the next three months traveling all over Japan meeting new knife makers and stone companies.  During that time, I will also be training under some sharpening experts to help improve my sharpening.  For those of you who are worried about changes in our shipping, fear not!  We continue to ship our existing inventory from LA while we are gone…  with one small exception… we will... Read more...