Tanegashima knives are famous to Japanese chefs as a high quality knife. But it is unknown to the public. Usually many people know Sakai, Seki and Nigata in Japan is popular as producing center of Japanese knives.
Tanegashima is an island lying to the south of Kyūshū, south Japan. It is famous island the Europeans had arrived to trade guns in 1543. But fundamentally Tanegashima is production center of sand iron and there were skillful engineers to make scissors and knives since Kamakura period (1192-1333). So edged tools made in Tanegashima are said to be the highest quality in Japan. Recently knives factories in Sakai, Nigata or Seki become commercialism gradually. As a result, some old Japanese chef saying the quality is degraded recently. So they order their knifes from a small factory of Tanegashima recently. It is less-famously.
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