Aonami Tanto (青波) – Blue Wave

Aonami (青波): the blue wave

The wave (nami) is one of the most iconic motifs in Japanese art, brought to worldwide renown by Hokusai’s Great Wave off Kanagawa. Blue (ao), it evokes the ocean, its power, its restless, eternal movement.

This tanto places that image at the heart of its blade: a white wave rising against metallic blue steel. The blue saya with its golden sheen extends the marine vision further still.

A blue blade with a great white wave

The blade is forged from 1045 steel, a robust and widely used carbon steel that is straightforward to maintain. It features a bevelled point and no bo-hi.

The finish is two-tone: a metallic blue ground set against a great white wave running along the edge in polished steel. This notare-style line is a decorative hamon achieved through chemical treatment, not a quench line, it replicates the appearance of a traditional hamon without its metallurgical properties.

A bronze-toned floral mounting

The round (maru-gata) tsuba in bronze-patinated alloy features a pierced floral design (ji-sukashi) of flowers and leaves in raised relief (takabori), two hitsu-ana openings and a rounded rim (maru-mimi). A gilt brass seppa accompanies it.

The fuchi in bronze-patinated alloy is engraved with flowers in relief, and the kashira matches. The handle combines wood with a faux white rayskin, bound in black tsuka-ito in hineri-maki, with patinated copper menuki. The ichimai habaki in gilt brass is engraved with a geometric sayagata motif.

A metallic blue saya with golden bands

The saya is crafted from hardwood, finished in a metallic blue lacquer traced with diagonal golden bands. The koiguchi and kojiri are lacquered in high-gloss black. The blue lacquered kurikata with its golden ring holds a black cotton sageo.

Dimensions and handling of the tanto

With a blade of 33 cm and an overall length of 55 cm, Aonami is a tanto of considerable presence. Its 17 cm handle sits firmly in one hand. At 0.7 kg, it remains light and well-balanced. It measures 57 cm within its saya, a format that shows its colours to their finest advantage on a display stand.