Hideo Kitaoka

Hideo Kitaoka je član kooperative Takefu Village. Rođen je 1950. godine u Echizenu u kojem je sve od ranog djetinjstva izučavao kovačku obrt. Poznat je po tradicionalnom kovanju i izradi jednostrano brušenih noževa od čelika sa visokim postotkom ugljika. Echizen je uz Seki centar kovačke djelatnosti u Japanu. Ta djelatnost daje mjestu poseban pečat još od doba Muromachi (1392 – 1573).

Hideo Kitaoka is a member of Takefu Village Cooperative. He was born in 1950 and learned his craft from his father in Echizen as a child. He is know for traditional style knife making with single grinds and does excellent work in a variety of carbon steels. In 1980, Echizen was the first production centre for forged blades to be awarded the nationally recognized Traditional Craft Product accolade. Blades have been hand forged there since Muromachi period (1392-1573).