:Aritsugu

{{Short description|Japanese knife and cooking utensil producer and store}}

File:Kitchen tools store by matsuyuki in Nishiki Ichiba, Kyoto.jpg

File:Aritsugu_knife_blade_identifying_mark.jpg

Aritsugu is a Japanese knife and cooking utensil producer and store, founded by Fujiwara Aritsugu in 1560. It is one of the oldest knifemakers in Japan and one of the oldest companies in the World.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-10-tr-1420-story.html |title=In Samurai Tradition, Kyoto Knifemakers Ply Sharp Trade |author=Amanda Mayer Stinchecum |date=10 January 1993 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=31 January 2010}}{{cite book|first=Diane|last=Durston|title=Old Kyoto: A Guide to Traditional Shops, Restaurants, and Inns|publisher=Kodansha International|year=2005|page=114|isbn=978-4-7700-2994-2}}{{cite web|url=http://fxcuisine.com/Default.asp?language=2&Display=36&resolution=high |title=Nishiki Ichiba Food Market |publisher=FX Cuisine |date=2006-12-01 |access-date=2010-05-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206140922/http://fxcuisine.com/Default.asp?language=2&Display=36&resolution=high |archive-date=2010-02-06 }}

Aritsugu was involved in the production of swords and was appointed a supplier for the Imperial House of Japan, before the requirement for new blades diminished due to a more peaceful era emerging through the influence of the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period in the 17th and 18th centuries. During this period Aritsugu switched its primary production from swords to the pointed knives that were used to carve statues of Buddha.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/25/travel/shopper-s-world-from-swords-to-knives-in-kyoto.html |title=SHOPPER'S WORLD; From Swords to Knives in Kyoto |author=Amanda Mayer Stinchecum |date=25 January 1987 |work=The New York Times |access-date=29 January 2010}} In the late 19th century Meiji period, there was strong growth in demand for kitchen knives and cooking utensils developing in Japan because of stable government and improved living conditions. Aritsugu used its experience in blade production to focus on this emerging market.{{cite web|url=http://www.j-kyoto.ne.jp/j_kyoto/koe/39go/39a/39a.html |title=京都の声 - Kyoto Magazine 7 November 1998 Issue 39 |language=ja |publisher=J-kyoto.ne.jp |date=1998-11-07 |access-date=2010-05-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331120207/http://www.j-kyoto.ne.jp/j_kyoto/koe/39go/39a/39a.html |archive-date=31 March 2009 }}

The current proprietor of Aritsugu is Shinichiro Terakubo, who took over from his father in 1956 when Shinichiro was 17 years of age. He is the 18th generation to be involved in the running of the store since its inception.{{cite web|last=Salat |first=Harris |url=http://www.japanesefoodreport.com/2008/02/japanese-chefs-knives.html |title=Japanese Chefs Knives |publisher=Japanese Food Report |date=2008-02-05 |access-date=2010-05-18| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100417044105/http://www.japanesefoodreport.com/2008/02/japanese-chefs-knives.html| archive-date= 17 April 2010 | url-status= live}} Shinichiro teaches cooking, knife sharpening and use classes through the store.{{cite web|url=http://www.in-shoku.info/foodyell/vol5.html |title=In-Shoku FoodYell Volume 5|language=ja|publisher=In-shoku.info |access-date=2010-05-18}}

The main store has been located at the Nishiki Market in Kyoto since it moved in 1781{{cite web|url=http://www.kyoto-saga.ac.jp/ukyokan/kyoto/extension26.html |title=Kyoto Saga University of Arts |language=ja |publisher=Kyoto-saga.ac.jp |access-date=2010-05-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003191805/http://www.kyoto-saga.ac.jp/ukyokan/kyoto/extension26.html |archive-date=2011-10-03 }} from Sakaimachi Street, where the shop was located for almost 200 years and where the company's offices are still based.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/25/travel/shopper-s-world-from-swords-to-knives-in-kyoto.html |title=SHOPPER'S WORLD; From Swords to Knives in Kyoto |author=Amanda Mayer Stinchecum |date=25 January 1987 |work=The New York Times |access-date=29 January 2010}}