To make the best knife

ABOUT US

The challenge:
to make the best knife possible

Yoshikin was never afraid to challenge, and has always pioneered the future of cooking knives.
In the past, kitchen knives were always made of carbon steel and wooden handles were the norm.
GLOBAL is the one that turned those conventions upside down.

Honing the stainless steel processing technology resulted in sharpness rivaling carbon steel coupled with rust resistance and easy maintenance.
It was what the ideal kitchen knife that customers all over the world were looking for.
Cooking starts by cutting food.
Better cutting skills lead to more attention on processes such as stewing and grilling, improving one's cooking as a whole.
Through these stage, there will be happiness full of smiles.

For this reason, to fulfil the purpose of kitchen knives, it should not be just about sharpness,
but to inspire people to cook with creativity.
We strive to offer the best knife possible that satisfies in terms of design, sharpness, and handling.
This will always be our unchanging mission.

CORPORATE HISTORY

  • Dec. 1954
    Established Yoshida Metal Industry Co., Ltd. with a capital of 2 million yen.
    Set up headquarters and the factory for stainless steel products at 5432 Yoshida, Yoshida-machi, Nishikanbara-gun, Niigata Prefecture.
  • Oct. 1956
    Relocated the factory to 203 Yoshida of the town.
  • Jun. 1959
    Yuzo Watanabe assumed the presidency.
    Relocated headquarters to the same property as the factory.
  • Oct. 1960
    Set up another factory for specific stainless steel kitchen knives at 206 Yoshida of the town.
    Introduced “Bunmei Gincho ” , a brand of authentic Japanese kitchen knives series.
  • Mar. 1961
    Factory certified as “quality goods factory” by Niigata Prefecture.
  • Apr. 1961
    “Bunmei Gincho” designated as the one and only among its recommended goods on kitchen knives by the Japan Food Sanitation Association.
  • Dec. 1965
    Increased capital up to 4 million yen.
  • Mar. 1966
    Relocated headquarters and the factory to 50-4 Matsuoka-Shinden of the town.
    Consolidated manufacturing function of high-quality stainless steel cutlery and kitchen knives.
    Set up the only forge processing facility of continual manufacturing in Japan.
  • Dec. 1966
    Opened Tokyo office.
  • 1983
    Introduced “GLOBAL” , all stainless steel knives of one-piece structure, which has integrated handle and blade.
  • Nov. 1986
    Relocated headquarters and the factory to 1447-3 Shimonakano of the town.
  • Mar. 1987
    Increased capital up to 20 million yen.
  • Oct. 1990
    “GLOBAL” received the “G-Mark” award, established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
  • Jan. 1991
    “GLOBAL” appeared in the International Design Yearbook.
  • Sep. 1992
    “GLOBAL” received the “Cooking Utensil Award 1992” presented by the Kookguild, a cooks’ association of the Netherlands.
  • Jul. 1995
    “GLOBAL” selected as “Best Knife” by the “WHICH?” magazine in the UK.
  • Oct. 1998
    Increased capital up to 40 million yen.
  • Jul. 1999
    Opened directly-managed store, “YOSHIKIN SHOP ROPPONGI” in Tokyo.
  • Jan. 2001
    “GLOBAL” appeared in “The New York Times.”
  • Mar. 2002
    “GLOBAL” appeared on a high-definition special TV program broadcast by NHK.
  • Mar. 2002
    Participated in the WACS World Congress in Kyoto as one of the supporting sponsors representing the cutlery industry.
  • Oct. 2002
    “GLOBAL” received the “Long Life Design” award, established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
  • Mar. 2004
    Participated in the WACS World Congress in Dublin as one of the supporting sponsors representing the cutlery industry.
  • Jan. 2005
    Participated in the “Bocuse d’Or” the 10th World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France as one of the supporting sponsors representing the cutlery industry.
  • Mar. 2005
    Hideyo Watanabe assumed the presidency.
  • Mar. 2006
    Participated in the WACS World Congress in New Zealand as one of the supporting sponsors representing the cutlery industry.
  • Oct. 2006
    “GLOBAL” selected as one of the “Japanesque Modern Collection” , a nationwide campaign encouraged by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
  • Jan. 2007
    Participated in the “Bocuse d’Or” the 11th World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France as one of the supporting sponsors representing the cutlery industry.
  • Nov. 2007
    Appeared in “100 Japanese Small and Middle-sized Companies with Global Focus” in “Newsweek Japan” .
  • Jan. 2008
    Selected as one of “300 of Japan’s Dynamic Monozukuri (Manufacturing)” by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency.
  • Aug. 2008
    Opened Osaka office.
  • Oct. 2008
    Kiyoshi Ujita assumed the presidency.
  • Dec. 2008
    Relocated headquarters and the factory to 2078-3 Nishiota, Yoshida, Tsubame-city, Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
  • Jan. 2009
    Participated in the “Bocuse d’Or” the 12th World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France as one of the supporting sponsors representing the cutlery industry.
  • Mar. 2010
    Appeared as suceed case in “Challenging Regional Companies and Universities”, which is within the jurisdiction of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
  • Jun. 2010
    Appeared in “Condition of Best Selected Company” from “DECIDE” magazine, published by Tanabe Management Consulting Co.,Ltd..
  • Aug. 2010
    Chuji Kamekura assumed the presidency.
  • Jul. 2011
    “GLOBAL” selected as “Best Knife” by the “WHICH?” magazine in the UK.
  • Oct. 2012
    The Swedish team which used the “GLOBAL” knives has won at Culinary Olympics at Erfurt, Germany.
  • Jan. 2016
    Masahito Watanabe assumed the presidency.
  • Oct. 2018
    “GLOBAL-IST” received the “G-Mark” award, established by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion.
  • Dec. 2021
    Obtained ISO9001:2015 certification.
  • As of November, 2022