Kikuguruma Wakizashi (菊車) – Chrysanthemum Wheel

Kikuguruma (菊車): the chrysanthemum wheel

The chrysanthemum (kiku), with its radiating petals, has long been associated with the wheel (kuruma) and the sun. The kuruma-sukashi motif (a guard pierced with spoke-like openings) evokes at once the imperial flower, the chariot wheel and perpetual motion.

This wakizashi places that motif at the very heart of its fittings: a chrysanthemum-shaped tsuba, pierced with radiating spokes. The rising sun of the habaki extends the same idea of emanating light.

A 1045 steel blade with a long bo-hi

The blade is forged in 1045 steel, a reliable and widely used carbon steel that is straightforward to maintain. It follows a shinogi-zukuri geometry with a chū-kissaki point.

Carved with a long bo-hi, cleanly defined along its full length and finishing in a rounded maru-dome termination, the blade carries a satin polish that gives the steel a gentle luminosity. No hamon is present.

A black chrysanthemum-form mounting

The kiku-gata tsuba in blackened iron takes the shape of a chrysanthemum, pierced with kuruma-sukashi spokes, with a polished black surface and a rounded maru-mimi rim. A gilded brass seppa accompanies it.

The fuchi and kashira in polished blackened alloy are unadorned. The handle pairs wood with a faux red ray skin, wrapped in a black tsuka-ito hineri-maki braid, with gilded menuki. The ichimai habaki in gilded copper is engraved in relief with an ocean, a rising sun and seagulls.

A black scabbard threaded with orange filaments

The saya is crafted from solid wood, covered in a brilliant black kawari-nuri lacquer interlaced with orange filaments, like embers glowing in the night. The koiguchi and kojiri are lacquered black in keeping with the scabbard. The black-lacquered kurikata, fitted with a gilded brass shitodome, holds a braided black-and-red sageo.

Dimensions and handling of the wakizashi

With a blade of 51 cm and an overall length of 78 cm, Kikuguruma carries the proportions of a wakizashi, the shorter companion to the katana. Its 23 cm handle offers a comfortable one-handed grip, with room for the supporting hand. At 1 kg, it remains entirely manoeuvrable. At 80 cm in its scabbard, it is an ideal format for displaying alone or alongside a katana.