Kyoto Katsugu (京都活具) is a specialist kitchenware shop established in 1950 in Kyoto's Nishiki Market (錦市場) — the narrow, 400-year-old arcade known as 'Kyoto's Kitchen.' Rather than manufacturing directly, Katsugu curates and commissions tools from the city's network of blacksmiths, woodworkers, and fibre craftsmen, selecting each item for balance, durability, and everyday practicality. Their philosophy is to preserve good traditions whilst adapting thoughtfully to how people actually cook today.
The range spans hand-forged knives — including 17-layer Damascus steel santoku and stainless petty knives — Japanese cypress (檜 hinoki) cutting boards, stainless steel pan covers, and the Kitayama Tawashi (北山たわし): a hemp palm kitchen brush handmade by craftsmen in Kitayama Village, who twist and bind mountain palm fibres into resilient, gentle brushes suited to pots, pans, and root vegetables. Kyoto's knife-making tradition is closely linked to the broader ecosystem of Japanese blade craft, and Katsugu's role is that of an informed curator — knowing which workshop produces the best edge geometry, which timber yields the kindest cutting surface, and which tools will endure years of daily use.
At iromizu, Kyoto Katsugu's tools form our Kitchen Ritual collection — knives that feel purposeful in the hand, boards that smell of cypress when wet, and brushes that make washing up feel less like a chore. These are the quiet essentials of a kitchen that works well. Browse them below.
