Kinnami Tanto (金波) – Golden Waves

Kinnami (金波): golden waves

Kinnami describes the gilded waves, those reflections of sun or moon that set the surface of the sea ablaze. In Japanese art, the wave is a defining motif: a symbol of strength, perpetual motion and resilience.

This tanto carries that imagery across its entire mounting: an openwork guard of golden waves, fuchi and kashira engraved with waves, and a habaki sculpted into wave forms. On the saya, a nacreous dragon rises through clouds, sovereign of the seas, above the waters.

A T10 steel blade with a genuine gunome midare hamon

The blade is fashioned from T10 steel, a high-carbon steel prized for its hardness. It has been clay-tempered, a process that creates two distinct zones of hardness and gives rise to a genuine hamon.

Its temper line forms a gunome midare pattern, whose irregular undulations echo the waves of the mounting. A bo-hi groove runs the length of the blade, reducing its weight.

A gilded wave mounting

The round tsuba in gilded alloy is openworked with waves, which appear to break and surge around the blade. The fuchi and kashira in gilded alloy are engraved with waves, in keeping with the guard. The engraved brass habaki is likewise sculpted into wave forms.

The tsuka pairs a wooden core with a faux white ray skin, wrapped in a diamond-pattern black tsuka-ito, beneath which gilded menuki are visible.

A black saya with a nacreous dragon

The saya is crafted from hardwood, finished in a black lacquer speckled with blue, across which a nacreous and gilded dragon unfurls among clouds. Its iridescent reflections shift with the light, like the shimmer of water. The koiguchi and kojiri are black, and a black sageo completes the ensemble.

Dimensions and handling of the tanto

With a blade of 33 cm and an overall length of 55 cm, Kinnami is a tanto of fine proportions. Its 17 cm tsuka sits with assurance in a single hand. At 0.7 kg, it remains light to carry. Sheathed, it measures 57 cm, a format that presents its nacreous dragon to full effect on a display stand.