Seki City
Seki City (関市, Gifu Prefecture)
Quick look
- Country: Japan
- Heritage: 1,200+ years of bladesmithing, originally swordmaking
- Output: Estimated 99% of Japan’s professional hairdressing scissors
- Steel standard: High-hardness alloys (58-65 HRC), convex hamaguri edge
- Production model: Division of labour (分業制, bungyosei) across specialist workshops
Why it matters
If you own Japanese scissors, they almost certainly came from Seki. The city sits along the Seki River in Gifu Prefecture, where the combination of clean water, quality iron sand, and charcoal from surrounding forests made it a natural center for blade work going back to the 13th century. Swordsmiths settled here first. When demand for swords declined, the skills transferred to knives, razors, and eventually scissors.
Today Seki is home to over 100 cutlery manufacturers. The city produces an estimated 99% of all professional hairdressing scissors made in Japan, with total production value around 12.45 billion yen. Major brands including Mizutani, Kasho (KAI Group), Joewell, Hikari, Yasaka, and Naruto all manufacture here or source critical components from the region.
The division of labour system
What makes Seki unusual is its bungyosei (分業制) production system. Rather than one factory handling every step, individual workshops specialize in single stages. One shop might handle forging, another grinding, another heat treatment, and another final assembly. A single pair of scissors can pass through five or more independent craftspeople before it’s finished.
This system developed over centuries and allows each specialist to reach a level of skill that would be difficult in a generalist factory. It also means two scissors from different “brands” may share some of the same workshop stages, which partly explains why some mid-tier Seki scissors punch above their price point.
Visiting Seki
The Seki Cutlery Hall (関鍛冶伝承館) offers public demonstrations of traditional forging. Several manufacturers maintain showrooms. Mizutani operates trial showrooms in Asakusa and Omotesando (Tokyo) and Osaka where stylists can test 200+ models before purchasing.
The sharpening distinction
Seki scissors use the hamaguri grind (蛤刃), a convex cross-section named after the clamshell it resembles. This is fundamentally different from the European Konvex-Schliff. Having your Seki scissors sharpened by someone trained only in European methods can cause permanent damage to the blade geometry. Always confirm your sharpener understands hamaguri technique before handing over Japanese scissors.
| See also: Ono City | Solingen | Steel Types |
Related guide: Manufacturing: Seki City Heritage
Sources
- Seki City official tourism information
- KAMIU (kamiu.jp) industry analysis
- More Rejob (relax-job.com) professional resources