The Name Yagi Hana Retail is derived from the name of a natural feature called Yagigahana, with a quartz trachyte rock face that looms close to 200m high. Yagigahana can be found in the village of Shitada (下田村, Shitada-mura), Sanjo Niigata in Japan. In 2005 Shitada village was merged with Sanjo City.

Yagigahana towers over Ikarashi River and provides a beautiful backdrop to this tranquil farming region and the face of Yagigahana seems to change according to the season. During spring, the colours seem to be light, and in summer, Yagigahana seems very mighty. And come autumn, Yagigahana gives off a glossy glow and in the winter Yagigahana seems serene, calm, and collected, almost as though it is repainted for each coming season.

A wonderful view for all visitors throughout the year. Yagigahana is also chosen as one of the 100 must see things in Niigata and the slide show below gives you an insight into the changing faces of Yagigahana during the seasons each year.  

Yagigahana is known by the locals as Yagi Hana and the Kanji (八木鼻) means Eight Tree Nose. Yagi Hana is only 10 minutes’ walk from my wife’s family home and every time we go back to visit the family, I enjoy my morning walk past the base of this amazing feature. You can actually walk up a trail to get to the top, but I have to be honest it is not something I have attempted. 

To me Japan is a place of beauty and precision, with the skill of local artisans being of such a high standard in creating product of beauty like the amazing Katana swords. I chose the name for the business as Yagi Hana Retail and used its picture for the logo as it represents the Japan I see every time I visit.

Only 22.5Km from Yagi Hana you will find Sanjo / Tsubame Sanjo and this area's manufacturing history dates back some 400 years to the Edo Period starting with metal nails, venturing into samurai sword production, and now to some of the most sort after metal and kitchenware products in the country and around the world. In fact, the cutlery used at the Nobel Prize ceremony is produced in Tsubame Sanjo.

The region is also the home to Japan’s master blacksmiths, where generations of craftsmen have shaped steel into some of the world’s most sought-after kitchen knives. Some of these that you may know are Tojiro, Hinoura Hamano, Shigefusa (made by Master Blacksmith Tokifusa Iizuka and his two sons) and Tadafusa to name a few.

Every year there is Kouba no Saiten or "Tsubamesanjo Factory Festival" where you have the opportunity to visit the various factories and see the craftsmen at work. The “Festival” runs for a week in early October and is well worth a vist if you are interested in seeing Master craftsmen at work.

Some of the products that can be found here are –

Cutlery, Kitchen knives, Copperware, Scissors, Shears & Pruning shears, Pots and Pans, kitchen tools, carpentry tools, hatchets, Plows, Wood saws & Power saw blades

Photos Courtesy of Tsubamesanjo-trade.com

Our range will be expanding to carry the best of these products.