Takefu Knife Village

The Takefu Knife Village is a workshop, shop and museum dedicated to the craft of forging knives and cutting tools. It is located about 20 kilometers south of Fukui City in Echizen City.

The village consists of multiple buildings. A cylindrical building houses a small museum about the history of knife making in the area as well as an observation platform that overlooks a large workshop and lets visitors watch craftsmen at work.

Separate buildings with distinctive triangular roofs contain a shop with many kinds of bladed tools available for purchase, a knife-related art installation and smaller workshops, where a range of hands-on experiences are available if booked in advance, from factory tours to a 6-hour course that covers all aspects of making a kitchen knife (see links below).

Echizen's tradition of metalwork is said to date to the 14th century, when a master sword maker settled there and adapted his advanced forging techniques to create high quality farming tools rather than weapons. Over the centuries, Echizen steel continued to grow in reputation, with the region becoming something of a knife making powerhouse.

Following the Second World War, the local industry went into decline due to the proliferation of cheap, machine-made cutlery and tools. In response, many of the local smiths banded together to share their processes and brainstorm new designs. The project would become a great success, as Echizen established itself as a leading region for traditional knife production.

Just a five minute walk from the Takefu Knife Village is Manyo Ajimanoen, a large landscape garden made to commemorate the area's connection to the Manyoshu, Japan's first book of poems, compiled in the Nara Period (710-784). The park contains many of the plants and flowers referenced in the collection and is especially known for its plum and cherry trees, which bloom in early to late March and late March to mid April respectively. In addition, it features an old, relocated farmhouse, which can be entered.