10 Best Tried and True Japanese Kitchen Shears in 2023 (Remy, Kiya, and More)

Mimatsu Kitchen Shears are available both as detachable and screw-on, and are made by Kaneshika Tool, a manufacturer that specializes in scissors.

Over anything, these scissors were incredibly sharp, and were able to cut through chicken thighs as if cutting a piece of paper. While weighing 145 grams, meaning they're heavier than other products with plastic handles, their unrivaled cutting ability made them easy to use.  

The smooth, curved handle fits comfortably in the hand, adding stability. The detachable shears can also be washed thoroughly, making them easy to maintain. All of these points makes this a pair of kitchen shears that can easily replace a knife.

The Nocturne Cooking Shears are an ambidextrous pair of kitchen shears made by Kiya, a Tokyo-based company that has been in the knife business for over 220 years.

With a 3.14-inch blade, this pair of kitchen shears was able to cut through food of all sizes, slicing through chicken and leeks with ease. This pair of cooking shears is capable of both cutting big chunks and finer snipping.

The blades opened and closed smoothly, allowing for a direct transfer of energy, making it easy to cut through hard objects. However, since they aren't detachable, you'll need to thoroughly wipe these shears down after washing them, particularly around the joint and the bottle opener. If you want a versatile pair of kitchen shears, look no further.

Misuzu Hasami uses high-grade stainless steel for their blades of Silky Multi-Purpose Shears. Misuzu Hasami is a manufacturer specializing in scissors for various uses such as handicrafts, sewing, and cooking.

The heavily tapered blade tips makes these shears ideal for delicate work.  While its 1.96-inch blades makes it difficult to cut through large ingredients at once, our testers didn’t feel stressed about that because they could snip through everything smoothly.

Cutting hard ingredients little by little with the shears helped make things easy, and the rubber handles keep your fingers from getting hurt. Although they can't be taken apart, the smaller shears can be washed quickly and easily. These shears will shine in situations where you need to cook for a long time, such as when eating crab or making cute bento boxes!

remy's Knife Scissors are produced by culinary expert Remi Hirano. As the name implies, these shears can be disassembled to be also used as a knife.

The curved blades made it easy to cut through food even when on a plate and can snip through various foods at ease, regardless of size or softness. While the shears have slimmer blades in comparison to other products, our testers needed to use a little extra muscle to cut through the seaweed, but with the proper amount of force, they were able to cut through without any issues.

However, those with large hands might find the handles on these shears too small. Furthermore, since they can be easily disassembled, you'll also have to be careful they don't come apart while using them.

Hailing from Sanjo City, Niigata Prefecture in Japan, a region famed for its knife-making, Toribe Manufacturing's Kitchen Sputter is a dishwasher-safe pair of shears.

These shears are made of rust-resistant stainless steel, making them light while giving them a hygienic feel. When disassembling, parts are pushed back into place with an audible and satisfying click, eliminating the potential for loose parts to come off during use.

The sharpness of the shears enabled it to cut through hard foods with ease, but the stainless steel handle made it uncomfortable to use for extended periods of time. Finally, its thicker blades make it less suited for finer cutting work, so it's best to reserve this for bigger cuts.

The Seki Magoroku Regular Curve Kitchen Shears are made by Kai, a company famed for its many cooking products.

Being smaller and thus easier to move around, our testers were able to cut green onions into 2 mm pieces without issue. Its light weight and smooth blades make them suited for detailed work. Additionally, the shears were easy to clean, and the fact that they can be disassembled for a quick wash is also a plus.

The blades were able to cut into the softer sections of the chicken thigh, such as the skin, but our testers struggled to cut the stacked kelp. If you want to cut through hard bones and shells, this may not be the pair for you.

The Takuminowaza Stainless Steel Kitchen Shears are a part of Green Bell's popular Takuminowaza series, renowned for their sharpness.

The thick and solid blades allowed our testers to firmly apply pressure that enabled them to cut through soft food like chicken thighs as well as leeks smoothly. While they're not the best for delicate cutting that requires using the tips of the blades, they can handle smaller ingredients as well.

On the other hand, it was difficult to cut hard foods without putting in a lot of effort, and it felt more like we were breaking them, rather than cutting them. Finally, the shears weren't as easy to clean, due to their complicated shape.

Kai's Chef's Curved Shears feature curved blades that easily hold the ingredients, allowing you to cut in one go. 

Its simple design not only makes it easy to clean but also transfers power directly, enabling you to cut hard ingredients with ease.

Although they could cut the ingredients with no problems, it wasn't exactly a smooth cut. We also had to be careful when cutting leeks into small pieces. Finally, with its 5.51-inch blade, these aren't the best for those with smaller hands, since it requires a strong grip to open and close these shears.

Kai's Select 100 Kitchen Shears are part of Kai's basic kitchen tool series, and feature 3mm-thick blades with micro-serrations.

The blades transfer power well, making it easy to cut through hard food. While it was able to cut the leeks into small pieces, its thicker blades made it harder to move around, so this may not be the pair you should grab when doing finer cuts.

Our testers were able to cut through soft chicken skin, but it wasn't exactly as smooth of a cut as would be with a knife. These shears can be disassembled, making it easy to give them a thorough cleaning, but it doesn't open and close smoothly, making it uncomfortable to use for extended periods.

Shimomura Kogyo's Verdun All-Stainless Steel Kitchen Shears have a comfortable round grip and extremely sharp blades.

While the blades made quick work of the leeks, they struggled with softer foods, with the blades slipping before they could cut.

Since they're made entirely of stainless steel, they should be rust-resistant. The biggest drawback, however, is their weight of 6.7 ounces. Testing this made our hands tire out quickly.