The wife and I took the train into Hiroshima again today. She wanted clothes, I wanted another shot at a little knife shop I had seen that was closed last time.
So we got off the train, made our way to the shop, and I fell right in love. A tiny place, packed to the RIM with stuff. The wall displays of knives were hidden by boxes of every shape and size, holding all manner of tools, trinkets and unidentifiable whatnots.
We winded our way to the back of the shop, where a kindly faced older woman was behind the counter. In my broken Japanese, I asked about the possibility of natural stones, and she said "Of course! What kind? How much are you thinking?"
And my wee little heart went BUMP.
She explained that her husband, who ran the shop, makes frequent trips to Kyoto to get stones for their customers, mostly carpenters, and she knew there were some around but wasn't really sure what.
Her husband was out for a bit, so we decided to wait a while, and apparently she felt we were serious customers because she went "upstairs" to check on the stones.
While she was gone, I found the artificial hone section, and they had some real beauts...and a box of Nagura...and a razor sized natural hone with an unreadable stamp.
Another BUMP!
Then she came downstairs, and my eyes started to dance.
She was carrying an armful of boxes, wooden and (quite old) cardboard.
She laid out her burden, and I took a little trip to dreamland...
A gorgeous Narutaki. The paper wrapping was crumbling with age.
Two massive oohiras. The prices were WAY beyond me...but so much fun to look.
This beauty is a Narutaki Gokujou (Absolute top class)...very vintage, very retro.
This one just said "Maruka Shohonzan". That's all it really NEEDS to say. this one was over US$1000. I tried not to caress it too lovingly.
Then her husband came, and we talked, and he brought down ANOTHER armfull of stones, and I couldn't take pictures anymore. I was just too damned excited.
We talked about stones, and he told me a little but he had other customers so I couldn't ask to many questions. I was able to find out that the place I had wanted so much to visit last time actually DOESN'T stock natural hones--the sign is just a holdover from days past, so that saved me a trip.
It was a fantastic, if short, conversation, and the couple were lovely as all get out. So friendly and helpful, if busy...they had been running their shop for over 40 years, having inherited it from his father, and it felt right. They open at 6:30 to serve the professional users before work (carpenters, sushi chefs, etc.) and are open on Saturdays to serve their regulars. It's a place I will DEFINITELY go back to.
So, the question on everyone's mind, of course, is WHAT DID YOU TAKE HOME!?!
The answer is, nothing.
They're coming in the mail tomorrow. Hones are heavy, you know!
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