By Diogo Yamada
The history of Katsuichi Co., Ltd. (Decoy) began when Konosuke Nakagawa opened the “Nakagawa Needle Factory” in 1920 in Kamae-cho, Nishiwaki City.
Despite the repeated shortage of iron and other materials before and after the war, he continued in the needle manufacturing industry and was renamed to “Nakakawa Yukichi Shoten” in 1964.
When it became a company organization, the Katsushi-go took a major step toward a new course from the hair processing industry to the production of fishing hooks.
In 1994, they developed their own custom-made fishing hooks and processed them using a “dedicated furnace” instead of a general-purpose furnace. A more complete non-oxidized state in the furnace, digital control of decarburization, and distortion of steel material that is likely to occur by heat treatment, structural change of material, etc., realized dramatic improvement in quality and allowed further quenching of large hooks.
It begins with digitizing the craftsmanship that has been passed down for many years with the latest technology. Instead of “craftsmanship” and “digital” conflicting within our company, we created a mutually beneficial relationship, successfully drawing out the advantages of each other and dramatically stabilizing production efficiency and accuracy. Instead of relying on outsourcing or fabless, the attitude of “rationalizing in-house production by ourselves” created a new production trend, and “possibility” changed to “possible”.
Decoy continues to produce many products that can be called masterpieces that are loved and supported by their customers, and they are able to receive such evaluations, which is one of the proofs of their technological capabilities.
In addition to the domestic evaluation mentioned above, Decoy’s products are beginning to reach anglers around the world.It`s amazing that all of Decoy’s official overseas distributors are now business relationships that started with inquiries from buyers. Exported to over 30 overseas customers around the world, the hooks made by our small needle shop with the patronage of everyone have become hook brands recognized by anglers around the world.
 Regardless of the world region, Decoy continues to be close to the angler. Because it is an era when various information flies and options are limitless, Decoy does not just focus on mass production and cost reduction, they uses products carefully. In the digital world, the unchanging analog steel soul of in-house production connects us with fish and continues to connect with anglers.
In United States, The Fisherman’s Hut in Bradenton, FL, is an official Katsuichi Decoy dealer. Check out www.thefishermanshut.com