Born in 1992, Masato Taguchi brings a younger perspective to the Takefu forging tradition without breaking from it. He trained under Yoshimi Kato, absorbing the technical foundation that defines serious work in that workshop, and has since developed a parallel craft in custom hunting knives - giving him an unusually deep understanding of edge geometry and blade performance across different formats. His interest in agricultural tool-making is also expanding his forging vocabulary in ways that will continue to shape his knife work over time.
The bunka is a multi-purpose Japanese kitchen knife with a distinctive reverse-tanto tip that gives it exceptional point control alongside the efficiency of a tall, flat blade. At 180mm it covers the same range of tasks as a santoku - vegetables, proteins, fine prep work - while the aggressive tip angle makes it particularly well-suited to detail work and scoring. Taguchi-san forges this bunka in Ginsan (Silver #3) semi-stainless steel with Damascus outer cladding. Ginsan is an excellent choice for a working kitchen knife: it sharpens to a fine, keen edge with genuine cutting performance while offering corrosion resistance that makes daily use and cleaning considerably more forgiving than a pure carbon steel.
Care Instructions: Hand wash and dry immediately after use. Ginsan steel is semi-stainless and highly corrosion resistant, but hand washing and prompt drying will preserve the finish and blade condition over time. Store on a magnetic strip or in a blade guard. Do not put in the dishwasher.
The bunka is a multi-purpose Japanese kitchen knife with a distinctive reverse-tanto tip that gives it exceptional point control alongside the efficiency of a tall, flat blade. At 180mm it covers the same range of tasks as a santoku - vegetables, proteins, fine prep work - while the aggressive tip angle makes it particularly well-suited to detail work and scoring. Taguchi-san forges this bunka in Ginsan (Silver #3) semi-stainless steel with Damascus outer cladding. Ginsan is an excellent choice for a working kitchen knife: it sharpens to a fine, keen edge with genuine cutting performance while offering corrosion resistance that makes daily use and cleaning considerably more forgiving than a pure carbon steel.
Care Instructions: Hand wash and dry immediately after use. Ginsan steel is semi-stainless and highly corrosion resistant, but hand washing and prompt drying will preserve the finish and blade condition over time. Store on a magnetic strip or in a blade guard. Do not put in the dishwasher.
- Maker: Masato Taguchi
- Location: Takefu Village, Echizen, Japan
- Born: 1992
- Steel: Ginsan (Silver #3) Damascus
- Handle:
- Ferrule:
- Blade Length: 180 mm
- Total Length:
- Weight:
- Spine Thickness at Base:
- Blade Height:




