Kin’uzu Tanto (金渦) – Golden Whirlpool

Kin’uzu (金渦): the golden whirlpool

The spiral (uzu) is an ancient motif in Japanese art, a symbol of energy and perpetual motion. Adorned with gold (kin), it becomes an image of light in movement, like a ray of sunlight caught in a spin.

This tanto brings it to life through its guard, where a gilded dragon coils to form a ring. The gold-and-black saya, threaded with blue, and the yellow handle carry that sense of brilliance and motion across every surface.

A two-tone T10 steel blade

The blade is forged in T10 steel, a high-carbon steel prized for its hardness. It follows a shinogi-zukuri geometry and tapers to a compact ko-kissaki point, without a bo-hi.

The finish is two-tone: a satin coppery-brown body contrasts with a mirror-polished edge and spine. The undulating gunome line between the two zones is a decorative hamon produced by chemical treatment, not differential hardening, it reproduces the appearance of a traditional hamon without its metallurgical properties.

A gilded mounting with a coiled dragon

The round kawari-gata tsuba is cast in gilded alloy. A coiled dragon forms its ring, with openwork (sukashi) and scales sculpted in relief and engraved (takabori and kebori). A gilded brass seppa accompanies it.

The fuchi and kashira in gilded alloy are lightly chiselled, matching the guard. The handle combines a wooden core with yellow faux ray skin, bound under a hineri-maki black tsuka-ito, with menuki in the form of gilded dragons. The ichimai habaki in gilded brass is carved with waves and pierced to reveal a full moon on one side and a crescent on the other.

A gold-and-black saya brushed with blue

The saya is crafted from solid wood and finished in a high-gloss kawari-nuri lacquer: a gold and metallic-black ground, brushed with blue for a swept, textured effect. The koiguchi and the rounded kojiri (maru) are lacquered in high-gloss black. The black-lacquered kurikata with a gilded shitodome holds a black cotton sageo.

Dimensions and handling of the tanto

With a blade of 33 cm and an overall length of 55 cm, Kin’uzu is a tanto of generous proportions. Its 17 cm handle sits firmly in one hand. At 0.7 kg, it remains light in the grip. The piece measures 57 cm in its saya, a format that shows its colours to their full advantage on a display stand.