Yu Kurosaki is a young blacksmith operating in Takefu, a small and unassuming town in western Japan. Kurosaki has been apprenticed to Hiroshi Kato for many years. When he became an independent blacksmith, he was given the opportunity to continue working in Takefu Knife Village alongside Kato, Shiro Kamo, Kitaoka and others. However, the lack of space was stressful and therefore Kurosaki's very own forge was built, directly adjacent to the large Takefu Knife Village factory premises. After just over a year in this premises, Kurosaki already began to feel cramped, and in the summer of 2016 they began pouring the foundations for another complex next to his forge, all in order to hire staff and meet the high demand for his knives. Yu Kurosaki has gained a lot of appreciation in a short time. His knives are innovative in their design and he works exclusively with the finest raw materials on the market. The knives have good weight and balance distribution and many see Kurosaki as a future star in Japanese craftsmanship. One notices that Kurosaki is younger than other blacksmiths in that he is constantly looking for new inspiration and is receptive to other people's thoughts and ideas about design. This makes his knives exciting as they divert from the template of how a knife 'should' be designed according to the old school.
