Chiba Koshogu is a general term for the blades and hand tools, such as sickles, hoes, kitchen knives, and Western-style scissors, that blacksmiths across Chiba Prefecture continue to make using traditional techniques. On November 30, 2017, it became the second craft in Chiba Prefecture, after Boshu Uchiwa, to be designated a Traditional Craft Product designated by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The Boso Peninsula saw large-scale civil engineering and land reclamation projects throughout the Edo period, including the eastward diversion of the Tone River beginning in 1594 and the reclamation of Lake Inbanuma starting in 1724, and demand for hand tools such as sickles and hoes used in land clearing grew as a result, forming the basis for the craft's development in the region. Exchange of skills between swordsmiths and farm-tool smiths allowed excellent blade-edging techniques to take root locally. In the Meiji era, production of Western-style scissors began there ahead of the rest of the country, and the manufacture of barber and beauty scissors also flourished following the decree encouraging short hairstyles. Today, craftspeople, including women blacksmiths, continue to forge blades one by one entirely by hand at workshops across the prefecture, including in Kashiwa City, Tateyama City, Narita City, and Nagareyama City.
Origin
On the Boso Peninsula, large-scale land reclamation and civil engineering projects were carried out throughout the Edo period, including the eastward diversion of the Tone River starting in 1594 and the reclamation of Lake Inbanuma beginning in 1724. Demand grew for the hand tools indispensable to this land-clearing work, such as sickles and hoes, and it is said that the skills of local blacksmiths developed in response, forming the origins of Chiba Koshogu. By the late Edo period, production centers for hand tools had already formed in various parts of the Boso region.
History
From the Meiji Restoration onward, production of Western-style scissors for the livestock and textile industries began there ahead of the rest of the country, and as the decree encouraging short hairstyles spread, the manufacture of barber and beauty scissors also flourished. The blade-edging skills cultivated through exchange between swordsmiths and farm-tool smiths were put to use in making these new kinds of blades as well. On November 30, 2017, following Boshu Uchiwa, the craft was designated the second Traditional Craft Product in Chiba Prefecture under the name 'Chiba Koshogu.' Today, workshops across the prefecture that belong to the Chiba Prefecture Forged Blade Association carry on the tradition.
Features
A defining feature of Chiba Koshogu is that it covers a wide range of blades and hand tools closely tied to daily life and livelihoods, from farm tools such as sickles and hoes to kitchen knives and Western-style scissors. Careful blade-edging inherited from swordsmithing achieves both sharpness and durability. Rather than being limited to a single production area or a single item, blacksmiths across the prefecture continue to make products in their own areas of specialty, and in recent years women blacksmiths have also become active. The clean, functional forms shaped by a focus on practicality embody the beauty of function in a tool.
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Artisans & Workshops
有限会社高梨製作所
A blade specialty workshop based in Tateyama City that hand-makes sickles, kitchen knives, and other tools one by one. It is considered one of the few remaining workshops that continues to pass down the traditional 'Tobi Suzume Gama' (flying sparrow sickle) technique.
Official site →有限会社正次郎鋏刃物工芸
A workshop in Narita City that makes tailor's shears and kitchen knives using 'sohi-zukuri' (all fire-forged construction), the same technique used for Japanese swords. Founded by Chojiro Ishizuka, a swordsmith by trade, the workshop's techniques have been passed down through the generations ever since.
Official site →How to Buy
- 高梨製作所 手作り刃物専門店
- An online shop operated by Takanashi Seisakusho. It offers Chiba Koshogu products such as handmade sickles and kitchen knives.Where to buy →PR
- 正次郎鋏刃物工芸
- The official website of Shojiro Hasami Hamono Kogei, introducing and selling tailor's shears and kitchen knives made using the sohi-zukuri (all fire-forged) technique.Where to buy →PR
Hands-on Experiences
包丁作り体験（正次郎鋏刃物工芸）
千葉県成田市
A hands-on workshop at the studio of Shojiro Ishizuka, the sixth-generation craftsman carrying on the skills of a swordsmith, where participants can learn kitchen knife-making using the fire-forging technique. Held at a workshop built in 1963 (reservation required).
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