Tsukiji Masamoto

A slender wooden shopfront sits on a corner, marked by a sign displaying the name Tsukiji Masamoto in bold, crisp characters. Inside, rows of steel blades line the walls, ranging from thick cleavers to delicate, needle-thin sashimi knives. Since the late nineteenth century, this family has forged steel for the chefs working the nearby fish market. When a young apprentice bought their first yanagiba knife here, they often returned decades later to have the same blade professionally sharpened, thinning it down over time.