Creating Culture: Volume One

Hello, everyone.

I'm Ryo Tanaka, the third generation president of Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide.

I started working here in 2016, and took over the family business as president in March, 2022.

Have you been able to visit our store recently?

I almost miss how cluttered it was here back in the past.

Through trial and error though, we've been improving while constantly asking ourselves "How do we better communicate to everyone?"

Thanks to the team here, who I consider family, I think we've been able to make an amazing place.

In just these seven years, so much has changed.

I'm sure there's much that my seniors, who have been in the industry since I was walking around the store as a baby couldn't fully agree with.

However, it's precisely thanks to that concern for the future that those individuals have been able to advise us, support us and patiently watch over us.

It's absolutely something we cannot afford to take for granted.

I'm filled with so much gratitude for those people, both past and present.

Today, information from the world over come to us at the pace of a raging waterfall through our smartphones, and AI technology judges our videos, photos and articles about traditional kitchen knife culture as "dangerous", restricting or blocking this content as a matter of course

(Naturally, this is quite infuriating, but when you read about it, it almost sounds like a science fiction story.)

Japan is losing its ability to make things, and while Osaka is in the spotlight as a popular tourist destination, what kind of "good" can we create in this city through knives, tools, shopping streets and production areas?

The question we need to ask ourselves more than anything is simple, yet at the same time has many answers:

What do we do from here?

My thoughts on this question are simple: "Create culture."

But that's way too vague, isn't it?

Therefore, I hope through these little snippets I can share these thoughts and processes with you all.

Thank you for joining us in this journey.

Ryo Tanaka - 3rd Generation President
Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide