Seki Cutlery Festival 2026: Dates, Events and Tips for Visitors

Researched. We have not attended this year’s festival yet. This guide is based on official information published by the festival organizers, Seki City, the Seki Tourism Association and the Gifu Prefecture tourism board, checked on October 2, 2026. Updated October 3, 2026 to add the museum renovation notice. Schedules can change, so confirm details on the official festival website before you travel. This article contains no affiliate links.

Every October, the city of Seki in Gifu Prefecture holds its Hamono Matsuri, or Cutlery Festival. Seki has made blades since the Kamakura period, and today it is one of Japan’s major knife-making towns. For two days, the town center turns into a large knife market, with sword-forging and sword-polishing demonstrations, a knife show and martial arts displays around town.

Dates and hours

• Dates: Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, 2026
• Hours: generally 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Some events keep their own hours, listed below.
• Admission: free
• Main area: Honmachi-dori shopping street in central Seki, with events at the Seki Traditional Swordsmith Museum (Seki Kaji Denshokan), Sekiterasu, Apise Seki and other venues nearby
• Organizer: Seki City Cutlery Festival Executive Committee

What happens at the festival

The cutlery bargain market

The centerpiece is the Hamono Dai-Renbaichi, a cutlery bargain market along Honmachi-dori. According to the Gifu Prefecture tourism board, about 40 cutlery companies set up stalls selling kitchen knives, scissors, pocket knives and other blades at festival prices. The market runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on both days.

Sword-forging and sword-polishing demonstrations

Traditional Japanese sword-forging demonstrations take place at the Seki City Japanese Sword Forging Hall at the Seki Traditional Swordsmith Museum (Seki Kaji Denshokan). For 2026, Seki City made the forging demonstration a pre-registration event with a lottery if oversubscribed, and the application period closed on September 20, 2026. Without a confirmed registration, you should not expect to watch the forging. Demonstrations of sword polishing and mounting techniques, held in the museum’s skills demonstration area, are free and open to everyone with no registration. Note that Seki City says the museum is closed for renovation from September 7, 2026 to March 31, 2027; the city says the forging area remains in use during the work, but the exhibition rooms are closed.

Seki Outdoors Knife Show

The Seki Outdoors Knife Show is held alongside the festival, with factory knives from Seki makers and custom knives from makers in Japan and abroad, including show-limited and specially priced knives. Hours for 2026 are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on October 10 and 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on October 11.

Martial arts and iaido demonstrations

Demonstrations of martial arts and iaido (sword-drawing) are scheduled from noon to 4:00 p.m. on both days in the parking area on the west side of Sekiterasu, according to the Seki Tourism Association’s festival course guide.

Getting there

• By train: the festival site is about a five-minute walk from Seki Station on the Nagaragawa Railway. Seki City’s travel information lists about 20 minutes on the Nagaragawa Railway from Mino-Ota, or a Gifu Bus ride of about 50 minutes from Gifu Station. Check current timetables before you go.
• By car: temporary parking lots open around the city, and free shuttle buses run from parking areas to the festival site, including from Seki City Hall. Lots and shuttle routes are listed on the official festival website.
• From Nagoya: Gifu Station is about 20 to 30 minutes from Nagoya by JR or Meitetsu, according to Seki City.

Tips if you plan to buy a knife

These are general points, not festival rules. Check them against your own situation.

• Know what you want before you go. With about 40 sellers, it helps to decide on a knife type and budget in advance, such as a gyuto (chef’s knife), santoku or petty knife.
• Ask what you are buying. Ask the seller about the steel, whether the knife is made in Seki or elsewhere, and how to care for it. Not every product sold in Seki is necessarily made in Seki.
• Keep it wrapped. Japanese law restricts carrying blades in public without a legitimate reason. Keep any knife you buy in its packaging and in a bag until you get home or to your hotel.
• Pack it in checked baggage. Knives are not allowed in carry-on baggage on flights. Put them in checked luggage, well wrapped.
• Check your home country’s rules. Rules on importing and carrying knives differ by country. If you ship a knife home rather than carry it, import duties may apply. For example, the United States ended its duty-free treatment of low-value parcels in 2025.
• Do not assume tax-free shopping. Ask each seller whether tax-free purchase is available and what documents are needed.

Official sources

• Seki Hamono Matsuri official website
• Gifu Prefecture tourism board: Seki Hamono Matsuri (Japanese)
• Seki City: sword-forging demonstration registration (Japanese)
• Seki Tourism Association: festival course guide (Japanese)
• Seki City: Seki Kaji Denshokan renovation closure (Japanese)
• Seki Outdoors Knife Show (Japanese)

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