Yujiro Hinoura, born in 1922 was the 2nd president of the family business. He was the third son in a family of 6 sons and 3 daughters. He was draed as a combat medic during WWⅡ but the war ended before he was dispatched.He started to train as a blacksmith under his father, the rst president of the company, Mr. Shintaro.Later he married and had a daughter and a son who would become the company’ s third president Mr. Tsukasa.His salary was just enough to support his family of four so he requested a raise from his father, though his father turned him down and he was oered rice instead. Because of this he made a decision to build his own business. Although he was very nearly cut o by his parents, he founded his own company by buying a spring hammer grinder with the support of his sister and was introduced to wholesalers by his brother. Fortunately because of the high economic growth in Japan at that time, he was able to start with only a few facilities and customers and still managed to sell his products easily. He worked so hard, from sunrise to midnight, that people called him “the Crazy Blacksmith”. He fullled his duty until the age of 85 and passed away at 99.

Tsukasa Hinoura, born in 1956, was the 3rd president of the family business.He moved to Osaka to work in an oce, but aer four years he moved back to his hometown at his father’ s request and started to work as a blacksmith. He researched forging technology and techniques, such as heat treatments and metallurgy. He was the rst to admit that his high-quality ‘ Uchihamono’ (Knife) was the product of his countless failures. His products have been shown in exhibitions overseas and received much recognition. In the new era of Japan, there has been a higher demand for small batch high quality products than in
the past. He has pursued traditional techniques to have a true product of passion, handmade with warmth and integrity. He kept challenging himself to produce not only for Mikataya Inc. for 4 generations but also focusing on his new brand ‘Echigotsukasa’ thus holding them in an established position.