Tsuki no Fude Tanto (月の筆) – Moon Brush

Tsuki no Fude (月の筆): the Moon Brush

In Japan, calligraphy (shodō) and the way of the sword share a single demand: a precise, controlled gesture, executed in one movement. The moon, for its part, is the celestial companion of poets, contemplated during the tsukimi festival. The moon brush, tsuki no fude, unites the art of writing with the poetry of the night.

This tanto brings both themes together: gilded calligraphic inscriptions across the saya, and a habaki whose openwork reveals the lunar phases, full on one side, crescent on the other.

A T10 steel blade with a genuine midare hamon

The blade is forged from T10 steel, a high-carbon alloy prized for its hardness. It has been clay-tempered, which gives rise to a genuine midare hamon : its irregular, undulating line standing in sharp contrast against the mirror-polished steel.

The geometry follows a shinogi-zukuri profile, without a groove.

A buke-zukuri mounting with a lunar habaki

The tsuba, in polished blackened alloy, is cast in a mokkō-gata form and pierced (sukashi) with quatrefoils and scrollwork. Its surface is mirror-finished (migaki) with a rounded edge (maru-mimi). A gilded brass seppa accompanies it.

The fuchi and kashira in polished blackened alloy are plain. The handle combines a wooden core with a faux black rayskin, bound in a hineri-maki brown tsuka-ito, with black menuki. The ichimai habaki in gilded brass is sculpted with wave relief and pierced to reveal a full moon on one face and a crescent moon on the other.

A black saya with gilded calligraphy

The saya is crafted from hardwood and covered in a textured black lacquer finished in the ishime-nuri manner, evoking the grain of stone. It bears gilded calligraphic inscriptions painted in the maki-e tradition, as well as longitudinal gilded pinstripes. The koiguchi and kojiri are lacquered in matching textured black, in seamless continuity with the scabbard. The kurikata, also lacquered black, holds a brown and blue cotton sageo.

Dimensions and handling of the tanto

With a blade of 33 cm and an overall length of 55 cm, Tsuki no Fude is a tanto of fine proportions. Its 17 cm handle sits firmly in a single hand. At 0.7 kg, it remains light and responsive. In its saya, it measures 57 cm, a format that showcases its calligraphic decoration to full effect on a display stand.