Every August 13 is International Left-Handers Day.
It began in 1992 as a day to celebrate being left-handed — and to help more people notice what it means to live in a world where many everyday objects are designed with the right hand in mind.
At HIDARI, we think it is also a good day to look again at the tools around us. A pair of scissors, a kitchen knife, a soup ladle, a planner, a can opener — things we use without thinking much about them. But sometimes, changing one small tool changes the way an everyday action feels.
To celebrate International Left-Handers Day, all items at HIDARI will be 10% off from August 13 through August 17, Japan Standard Time. If there is a left-handed tool you have been curious about, we hope this is a good chance to give it a try.
The world is mostly made for the right hand
Many everyday tools have a direction. With scissors, the way the blades overlap affects what you can see and how the blades meet when you cut. With some Japanese kitchen knives, even a knife described as double-beveled can have an asymmetrical edge that favors the right hand. A side-pour ladle may pour naturally from one side, but awkwardly from the other. Even planners and rulers can have layouts that are easier to use from one direction.
None of these things is a very big problem by itself. Left-handed people are used to adapting. You turn something around, change your grip, move your hand so you can see, or learn a slightly different way of doing it. Most of the time, you may not even notice you are doing it.
And then, sometimes, you use a tool that was actually made for your left hand and think, “Oh. So this is what it’s supposed to feel like.”
That small moment is what interests us.
A left-handed tool is more than a reversed handle
When we started looking carefully at left-handed products, we found something interesting: a product called “left-handed” is not necessarily designed for the left hand all the way through.
Scissors are a good example. Some scissors have symmetrical handles but the same blade orientation as ordinary right-handed scissors. They may be comfortable to hold in either hand, but they do not cut in exactly the same way for a left-handed user. A true pair of left-handed scissors reverses the blades themselves.
The same is true for many other tools. Sometimes handedness lives in a very small detail — the direction of a blade, the side of a pouring spout, the placement of a scale, or the way your hand moves across a page.
That is why we do not simply look for products labeled “left-handed.” We look at how they actually work.
Left-handed tools, from Japan
HIDARI is a small shop in Gifu, Japan, run by Aya and Shingo. Aya is left-handed.
Since opening our shop in Japan in 2018, we have searched for tools that feel good to use with the left hand. Many come from Japanese makers we have worked with for years — scissors and knives from places with long traditions of blade making, everyday kitchen tools, stationery, gardening tools, and other objects we have discovered along the way.
Some are made specifically for the left hand. Some work equally well in either hand. And a few are products we have created ourselves because we could not find what we wanted elsewhere.
We do not believe that everything a left-handed person uses needs to be a special left-handed product. Many tools work perfectly well in either hand. What matters to us is whether handedness actually changes the way a tool feels or functions.
Sometimes it does. Scissors are an obvious example. Knives can be another. The same can be true of peelers, ladles, can openers, planners, and other everyday objects.
So we do not choose products simply because they are labeled “left-handed.” We look at how they actually work, and whether they make everyday actions easier or more natural for the left hand.
Today, we send these tools from our small shop in Gifu to left-handed people around the world.
Happy International Left-Handers Day
International Left-Handers Day is a chance to celebrate left-handed people. But for us, it is also a day to notice the objects around us.
Who were they designed for? Which hand do they expect you to use? And what changes when a tool actually fits the person using it?
Cooking, writing, cutting paper, opening a can — ordinary things, done every day. We hope the tools we find in Japan can make some of those small moments a little easier, and a little more joyful.
Happy International Left-Handers Day from HIDARI in Gifu, Japan.
International Left-Handers Day — 10% OFF All Items
August 13–17, 2026 (JST)
Maybe this is the right time to find a tool that feels right in your left hand.
