Thread: Japanese Straights

Kamisori does indeed mean razor even an electric razor.
It's written 剃(shave)刀(sword/blade). But originally it was written 髪(hair)剃(shave), a Buddhism term of course.

If you want to be accurate, the asymmetrical blade on a stick is correctly called Wa Kamisori.
Wa, 和 , means Japan or Japanese, like Wa-gyuto (Japanese chefs knife), Wa-fu (Japanese style), Wa-fuku (Japanese clothes, i.e. Kimonos), Wa-shoku (Japanese food/cuisine), etc.

So Wa-Kamisori means, Japanese Hair Shaver.

Credit to So Yamashita for the explanation.