Nihonbashi Kiya

Kiya's roots lie with Kyubei Hayashi, who ran a medicine business in Osaka. Later invited by Tokugawa Ieyasu to set up shop in Edo's Nihonbashi, first-generation Isuke Kato — permitted to branch off from that main family — founded the cutlery store "Kiya" in 1792 (Kansei 4). Since then, walking alongside Edo's townspeople culture, it has expanded its offerings from swords to knives and tools for living.

Its head office is still in Nihonbashi-Kobuna-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, and the "Nihonbashi Kiya flagship store" in Nihonbashi-Muromachi / Coredo Muromachi 1 is the face of the brand. At the flagship, diverse tools gather in one place — Kiya original knives, as well as pots, cookware, scissors and nail clippers made by production regions and artisans across Japan. Its gallery space "Honten izutuki" also holds exhibitions that carefully show Japanese traditional techniques and artisans' work.

Online, while sharing the products it carries, maintenance information and the knife reading content "Hamono-ko" on its official site, it operates the official online store "Nihonbashi Kiya — Online Shop for Knives and Kitchen Tools." It supports knife selection by use and level — from an everyday knife to professional, left-handed and made-to-order special knives.

"Good tools change the user's life." With this in mind, Nihonbashi Kiya seeks to support the kitchen work and daily life of the future by conveying not only the tools themselves but also the materials and techniques behind them and the relationship with the user.

Founded in 1792, a long-established lineage continuing as "Kiya of blades"

Kiya is a cutlery store founded in 1792 (Kansei 4) in Edo's Nihonbashi. Descended from the line of Kyubei Hayashi, who ran a medicine business in Osaka, it has handled blades and tools for living for over two hundred years — ever since founder Isuke Kato was permitted to branch off from the main family and became independent under the name "Kiya." It still keeps its head office in Nihonbashi-Kobuna-cho and its flagship store in Nihonbashi-Muromachi, known as "Kiya of blades."

The Nihonbashi-Muromachi flagship and "Kiya shops" expanding nationwide

The Nihonbashi Kiya flagship store is on the 1st floor of the commercial facility "Coredo Muromachi 1" in Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Tokyo — a space where Japanese and Western knives and cookware are neatly arrayed. In addition, it operates stores across the country, including shops within department stores — Tokyo Midtown, Daimaru Shinsaibashi, Takashimaya Nihonbashi, Daimaru Tokyo, Daimaru Kobe, Daimaru Fukuoka Tenjin, the Outlet Kisarazu store and more. Committed to spatial design at each store, it creates sales floors where the beautiful forms of the tools stand out.

A selection supporting all of life, from knives and cookware to tools for living and grooming

Its main knives span a wide lineup — Western, Japanese, bread and Chinese knives. Furthermore, it handles cookware such as pots, frying pans and kettles; tools for living such as scissors and nail clippers; grooming supplies such as hair clippers; and even textiles and crafts such as Nihonbashi Kiya original Kokura-ori and Hakata mizuhiki. It is a comprehensive store of tools for living, premised on "using good tools for a long time."

A long relationship with your tools, supported by sharpening, repair and "Hamono-ko"

Kiya offers maintenance services for the products it carries — knife sharpening, handle replacement, cutting-board re-planing, grater re-cutting and more. Its "Hamono-ko" corner carefully introduces knife types, the history of Japanese knives, blade structure, explanations of steels, manufacturing processes, differences in handle materials and more, publishing content where you can learn the background of the tools and how to use and care for them correctly.