About Us

Welcome to Zahocho Knives Tokyo

I'm Fred, and this is my wife Akiko. I trained as a sushi chef in Japan and worked in the industry before starting Zahocho Knives in 2019. We had plans to open a small restaurant, but COVID changed that. Instead, I shifted focus to something I'd always been passionate about: Japanese kitchen knives.

Since then, we've been running a small online shop from Tokyo, sourcing knives directly from blacksmiths across Japan. We work with craftsmen from traditional knife-making regions like Sakai, Sanjo, and Echizen. Our stock is limited. We focus on quality and only carry knives we'd use ourselves.

Most of our customers are home cooks, chefs, and collectors who appreciate Japanese craftsmanship.

The name

Zahocho is a wordplay. In Japanese, "the" is pronounced "za," and "hocho" means knife. So, 'the knife'—we want to help you find the knife for you. Nothing deep and philosophical.

Thank you for supporting our small shop.

— Fred & Akiko