Kogetsu / Goko Hamono 五香刃物

Gokou Hamono is a tiny knife making workshop located in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture that is run by Norihiko Yamakawa (八間川憲彦) and Yoshito Yamakawa (八間川義人), the father and son team. Norihiko Yamakawa (the father) first founded Gokou Hamono in 1990 as a cutley wholesaler, before turning it into a knife making workshop in 1995 with the help from blacksmith Moriei Seki (関守永). Yoshito Yamakawa (the son), a high school student at that time, shadowed his father and eventually became a blacksmith himself. “Telling no lies” and “Dedication” are Gokou Hamono’s philosophy. The father and son team would not call themselves “masters”, because they think one will always have room to improve, and self-pride would hinder self-reflection. As a result, Gokou Hamono’s knives can only get better and better in the future. Only knives made by Yamakawa-san are engraved Kogetsu Made (光月作)