The best Japanese
tweezers come down to one thing: two tips that meet with no gap at all. At the top is
Kurata, a small workshop in Tokyo that has hand-forged tweezers since 1875 and grinds each tip until no light shows
between them. For tweezers you can order today, Green Bell's Takumi no Waza set, KAI's Seki Magoroku set and SEKI
EDGE's SS-518 are all made in Japan.
Japan has used metal tweezers for a very long time. Around the year 1000, Sei Shonagon listed "silver tweezers
that pull hair well" in The Pillow Book among the things that are rare to find. The shapes that
tweezer smiths settled on in the Edo period are still made by hand in Tokyo.
This guide explains what to look for in a pair, tells the story of the Kurata workshop, and gives three you can
buy, with a warning about labels.
Quick Reference: Japanese Tweezers at a Glance
| Tweezers | Made | Why pick it | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kurata Factory | Hand-forged, Arakawa, Tokyo (since 1875) | Edo shapes, hammered by hand, tips ground until no light shows | Its online shop in Japan, from ¥3,000 |
| Green Bell Takumi no Waza | Japan (Green Bell, Osaka) | A set of two, the easy first upgrade | Amazon |
| KAI Seki Magoroku HC1834 | Japan (KAI, Seki) | A set with a pouch, from a Seki blade maker | Amazon |
| SEKI EDGE SS-518 | Japan | Slant tip with a stopper that keeps the tips from shifting | Amazon |
1. What Makes a Good Pair: Tips That Meet With No Gap
Hold Them Up to the Light
Squeeze the tweezers shut and hold the tips up to a bright light. If you can see light between them, there is a gap, and a fine hair will slip through it. Kurata, the Tokyo workshop in this guide, finishes every pair this way: it presses the tips together, holds them to the light, and keeps grinding until no light leaks through. In the workshop's own words, if the two tips do not meet perfectly, fine hairs like peach fuzz simply cannot be pulled.
Why It Matters
Tips that meet flat hold a hair across their whole width, so it comes out in one piece on the first try. Tips that touch only at one point pinch the hair at that point, and it either slips away or snaps, and you go back for it again. Most of the frustration of tweezing is that second and third attempt.
Then Pick the Tip Shape
Slanted tips are the all-rounder for eyebrows. Flat, wide tips hold several hairs at once. Pointed tips reach very short hairs and splinters. Rounded tips are the gentlest choice near the nose and eyes.
2. Why Japanese Tweezers? Edo Shapes, Still Hammered in Tokyo
Tweezers are older in Japan than scissors or razors. Kurata traces them back to a pair of clam shells, and by the Heian period they were metal: in The Pillow Book, Sei Shonagon counts "silver tweezers that pull hair well" among the rare things in life. They spread to ordinary people around the Muromachi period, and by the Edo period they had taken the shapes still made today.
By the Meiji era, many tweezer smiths worked in Asakusa, Tokyo. The traditional shapes have names: iroha, komaru ("rounded back") and hyotan ("gourd"). They were passed down through shops like Ubukeya, a blade shop in Nihonbashi Ningyocho founded in 1783, whose forged blades are now listed as a cultural property by Tokyo's Chuo City. Most of those smiths were lost to the 1923 earthquake and the war. One family kept going.
3. Kurata Factory: Hand-Forged Since 1875
Four Generations of Tweezer Smiths
The founder, Yonekichiro Kurata, was apprenticed at eleven to Kakuhisa Osawa, a fifth-generation tweezer smith
in Asakusa, and set up on his own in 1875. All six of his sons became tweezer smiths. The second generation,
Fukutaro, learned the top Edo shapes, iroha, komaru and hyotan, from the master of Ubukeya, and worked until he
was 88. His standard was simple: "If a pair of my tweezers ever hurts you, I'll cut off a finger."
His son Yoshiyuki, born in 1933, started helping at the bench in his early teens. In 2015 the workshop described
him as the only craftsman still carrying on the Edo hand-forged tweezer technique. His son Seiji has been
learning it since 1990.
How a Pair Is Made
Kurata hammers every pair by hand. A machine press would be faster, but the workshop says hammering makes the
metal denser and stronger and gives the tweezers just the right spring. The ends of a strip of 18-8 stainless
steel are hammered out, the middle is hammered to make the spring, and the whole piece is hammered flat again.
After cutting, filing and three stages of buffing, the smith bends it into shape, engraves the maker's name, and
sets the gripping edges with three grades of file. Last of all, the tips are matched against the light until no
gap remains, and finished on a whetstone.
Kurata also makes tweezers to order. One customer with ingrown eyelashes sent drawings of the tip they needed;
after six months of letters and prototypes, the customer sent back a thank-you note with the eyelash, root and
all.
- Made in
- Arakawa, Tokyo (founded 1875)
- Shapes
- Iroha, komaru, hyotan, eyebrow, eyelash; a slim stick type for carrying
- Price
- From ¥8,500 for a 3 mm iroha; ¥5,000 for 2 mm; ¥3,000 for the stick type (before tax)
Kurata sells through its online shop, WAZAMON, which is in Japanese. If you are visiting Tokyo, Ubukeya in Ningyocho also sells tweezers over the counter.
4. 3 Japanese Tweezers You Can Order
All three below list Japan as the country of origin on their Amazon pages. That is worth checking: some tweezers sold under Japanese brand names are made elsewhere, and two KAI tweezers we looked at list China as the country of origin even though one has "Made in Japan" in its title. Read the "Country of Origin" line, not the product name.
Green Bell Takumi no Waza: The Easy First Upgrade
Green Bell is an Osaka maker of grooming tools, and Takumi no Waza ("the craftsman's skill") is one of its tweezer lines. This set gives you two pairs, so you can keep one at the mirror and one in your bag, or try two tip shapes and see which suits you.
Green Bell Takumi no Waza Tweezers Set
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KAI Seki Magoroku HC1834: A Set With a Pouch
KAI makes blades in Seki, Gifu, a town long known for its blades, and Seki Magoroku is one of its brand names. This set comes with a pouch, so the tips are protected when you carry them, and it lists Japan as its country of origin.
KAI Seki Magoroku Tweezers Set HC1834
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SEKI EDGE SS-518: A Stopper That Keeps the Tips Steady
A slanted tweezer with thick tips and a small stopper inside that keeps the tips from shifting sideways when you squeeze, so they stay lined up. The maker also uses a patented spring. A good pick for eyebrows.
SEKI EDGE SS-518 Slant Tweezers
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5. How to Use Them
Good Light, One Hair at a Time
Work in good light, close to the mirror. Grip one hair near its base, not the tip of the hair, and pull in the direction it grows.
Hold the Skin Still
With your other hand, keep the skin around the hair lightly taut so it does not lift with the hair.
For Fine Hair, Lay the Tweezers Low
For peach fuzz, hold a slanted tweezer almost flat against the skin, so the flat of the tip, not its point, closes on the hair. This is where tips that meet with no gap make the most difference.
6. Care and Storage
Protect the Tips
Everything that makes a good pair is in the last few millimetres. Dropping tweezers tip-first on a hard floor, or carrying them loose in a bag with scissors and clips, can knock the tips out of line. Keep the cap on, or keep them in a pouch or case.
Wipe After Use
Wipe the tips with a tissue after use. Stainless steel tweezers can be rinsed with water; dry them completely afterwards. A wipe with rubbing alcohol cleans them. Don't scrub the tips with anything abrasive.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best Japanese tweezers?
For a pair made by hand, Kurata Factory in Tokyo. For a pair you can order today, Green Bell's Takumi
no Waza set.
KAI's Seki Magoroku HC1834 and SEKI EDGE's SS-518 are also made in Japan. Whichever you choose, the test is the
same: close the tips and look for light between them.
Are KAI tweezers made in Japan?
Some are, some are not.
The Seki Magoroku HC1834 set lists Japan as its country of origin. The Catch Tweezers and the HC2203 cat
tweezers we checked list China. Check the country of origin on each listing.
Where can I buy tweezers in Japan?
In Tokyo, Ubukeya in Nihonbashi Ningyocho, a blade shop founded in 1783.
Kurata Factory sells online through its WAZAMON shop.
Why are hand-forged tweezers so expensive?
Each pair is hammered, filed, polished and matched by hand.
Kurata's process has more than a dozen steps, from hammering the spring to matching the tips against the light,
and a 3 mm pair starts at ¥8,500. The workshop says hammering by hand gives a denser metal and a better spring
than pressing by machine.
What are iroha, komaru and hyotan?
The traditional Edo shapes of Japanese tweezers.
Kurata still makes all three by hand. Komaru has a gently rounded body that rolls easily between the fingers;
hyotan is named for the gourd shape.
Can tweezers be realigned when the tips stop meeting?
Ask the maker.
A hand-finished pair can be worth having looked at by the workshop that made it. For a mass-produced pair,
replacing it is usually simpler. Keeping the cap on is the best way to avoid the problem.
Are Japanese tweezers a good gift?
Yes, especially for someone who tweezes every day.
The Green Bell set is an easy practical gift. A Kurata pair in silver or with a cherry-blossom finish is a gift
that comes with a story.
Final Thoughts: Look for the Light
A pair of tweezers is two strips of metal and a spring. The difference between a good pair and a bad one is a
gap you can barely see.
In a workshop in Arakawa, a family has spent four generations closing that gap by hand: hammering, filing,
holding the tips up to the light, and grinding again. Most of us will start with a pair we can order online,
and that is fine. Just close them, hold them to the light, and make sure none comes through.
