Where to Buy Japanese Knives Outside Japan: Maker Policies

Where to Buy Japanese Knives Outside Japan: Maker Policies

ByYayoi

Researched. This guide is based only on the official websites of the makers named, checked on October 4, 2026 and rechecked on October 7, 2026. We have not bought from any of them for this article, and we link to no shops. Policies change; check the maker’s page before you order. This article contains no affiliate links.

Most of our guides quote Japanese makers’ own pages, which are written for buyers in Japan. If you live elsewhere, the practical question is different: can you get the knife at all, and from whom? Here is what each maker says on its own site.

Four boxed Japanese kitchen knives: a gyuto, a yanagiba, a santoku and a nakiri
From left, as described by the photographer: a gyuto, a yanagiba, a santoku and a nakiri. Photo: Benlisquare, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The short version

Diagram of three routes: makers that ship from Japan, makers that sell through local distributors or subsidiaries, and makers whose sites give no overseas information, with a note on fake-product warnings.
Diagram: Shokunin Journal, from the maker policies below.
  • Makers that ship direct from Japan: Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide (international site, EMS/DHL/FedEx) and Jikko (overseas orders through a proxy service or its Japanese cart).
  • Makers that sell abroad through local companies or dealers: Tojiro (authorized distributors by country), KAI (its own subsidiaries in the US and Europe, with dealer lists), Global by Yoshikin (no direct shipping; buy from a local store).
  • Makers whose sites give no overseas information: Misono, Masamoto Sohonten, Sakai Takayuki (Aoki Hamono) and, for whetstones, Suehiro.
  • Three makers warn about fakes: Tojiro (unauthorized Amazon sellers), Kai USA (counterfeit Shun knives) and Masamoto Sohonten (imitations). Aoki Hamono warns about scam accounts impersonating it.

Knife makers

Tojiro (Niigata)

Tojiro’s English site has a distributors page listing authorized sellers by country, including the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Australia and Singapore. The same page says: “We have detected some sellers on amazon.com are unauthorized. Our products sold by those unauthorized sellers can be counterfeit and we do not either guarantee their authenticity or offer warranty of any type.” Tojiro’s Japanese online shop publishes shipping rates for Japanese regions only.

KAI: Shun and Seki Magoroku (Gifu)

KAI sells abroad through its own subsidiaries. Kai USA runs the Shun site, with a store locator; its shop says it does not ship outside the US, including US territories. Its warranty page says Kai USA will not honor Kai or Shun products bought from unauthorized sources, and that it accepts warranty and sharpening requests only for products bought in the USA, Canada or Mexico. Kai USA also has a page on counterfeit Shun knives, advising buyers to use its website or authorized dealers. KAI Europe (Solingen, Germany) lists dealers and online stores by country, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, the UK, Austria, Poland and Norway. Our Shun vs Seki Magoroku guide explains the two brand names.

Global by Yoshikin (Niigata)

Yoshikin’s English FAQ says: “We are sorry, we do not do international shipping.” For re-sharpening, which it says is limited to Japan, it tells overseas customers to ask the store where they bought the knife. For buyers in Japan it names retail channels such as department stores, Tokyu Hands (now Hands) and Loft, and its own shop in Roppongi.

Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide (Osaka)

Its international site says it ships internationally via EMS, DHL or FedEx, that some countries and regions cannot be served, and that import duties, taxes and customs fees are charged separately by the courier. It also states that by law it cannot undervalue shipments or mark them as gifts.

Jikko (Osaka)

Jikko’s Japanese site has a page for overseas customers saying it accepts purchases from overseas and ships overseas. It offers two routes: a proxy service (WorldShoppingBiz) with a 10% service fee plus domestic and international shipping, or the Japanese cart with international shipping quoted separately. The site has an automatic translation function.

Misono (Gifu), Masamoto Sohonten, Sakai Takayuki / Aoki Hamono (Osaka)

Misono’s site names only Japanese retail channels (knife shops, cookware shops, department stores and Hands). Masamoto Sohonten has Japanese and English sites; neither gives overseas shipping or distributor information, but its Japanese home page warns buyers to beware of imitations and counterfeits and to specify Masamoto Sohonten products when buying. Aoki Hamono, maker of the Sakai Takayuki brand, has an English site with contact details but no distributor or shipping information; it has published a warning about scam accounts impersonating the company and the Sakai Takayuki brand.

Whetstone makers

  • Naniwa: its site says products designed for the Japanese market are not suitable for use overseas, and that it cannot handle returns, exchanges or inquiries about them through overseas retailers. Its overseas lineup uses different names from Japan: NANIWA Pro (formerly Professional Stone and Diamond Stone), NANIWA Advance (formerly Super Stone), NANIWA Standard (formerly Traditional Stone) and NANIWA Basic (formerly Multi Stone). If a listing abroad uses the old names, it may be a Japanese-market product.
  • Suehiro: its English site’s catalog pages (Cerax, Debado, Dual Stone series) give no distributor or shipping information.
  • King (Matsunaga Stone): the home pages of its Japanese and English sites show a product catalog and contact details but no distributor or shipping information.
  • Shapton: its site could not be reached when we checked. We will update this section.

A US-based importer

Korin, in New York, says it offers “the finest Japanese knives, kitchen products and tableware”, and its order policy says international customers may order online, with customers responsible for customs duties. Tojiro lists Korin Japanese Trading among its US distributors. We mention Korin because a maker names it; we have no relationship with it.

Before you order from Japan

  • Duties and taxes are yours to pay; Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide and Korin both say so explicitly. Depending on the route, they are collected on arrival by the carrier or, for US-bound mail since 2026, prepaid through Japan Post before dispatch. For US readers, our guide to buying a knife in Japan explains the end of the de minimis exemption.
  • Buy from the maker’s listed dealers where a list exists. Two makers in this article say outright that they give no warranty on knives from unauthorized sellers: Tojiro (for unauthorized sellers on amazon.com) and Kai USA.
  • Japanese-market and export-market products can differ in name and support, as Naniwa states for its stones. Ask the seller which market the product was made for.

Sources

We check facts against the sources above, as described in our Editorial & Accuracy Policy. If you spot an error, please tell us through our contact form.

Yayoi is the editor of Shokunin Journal, based in Tokyo. She cooks for her family every day with a Japanese kitchen knife, and its sharpness is what got her interested in Japanese knives. Yayoi reads makers' catalogs and Japanese-language sources, compares the published facts, and reports what she finds in plain English.

Similar Posts