Choyo: Sakai Kikumori's Premium Line

What is Choyo?

Choyo is the top-tier knife line of Sakai Kikumori (堺菊守), the brand of Kawamura Hamono Co., Ltd. of Sakai, Osaka. The company gives the line its own dedicated catalogue and website, and describes Choyo and its sibling Kikuzuki plainly as "the highest-peak quality knives Sakai Kikumori offers." Within a catalogue that runs from affordable stainless kitchen knives to professional carbon-steel wa-bocho, Choyo is the showcase: the best materials the house buys, finished by the most skilled hands it commissions.

The name is written 重陽 and pronounced roughly choh-yoh. It refers to the Chrysanthemum Festival (Choyo no Sekku) held on September 9, one of the five traditional festivals of the classical Japanese court calendar: the ninth day of the ninth month doubles the largest yang number, an auspicious pairing associated with longevity. The choice is deliberate. Kikumori (菊守) can be read as "guardian of the chrysanthemum," and the sibling flagship Kikuzuki (菊月, "chrysanthemum month") is the classical name for September. The three names form a set, and Choyo, the festival itself, sits at its center.

Choyo is also a relatively young flagship. The designer who created the line's brand identity dates its development to 2013, and the company's own site hosts a Choyo catalogue from 2016, so the line has been Kikumori's showcase for roughly a decade. In 2021 the company extended the concept with the sibling Kikuzuki series, discussed below.

A note on scope: this page covers Choyo the line, its models, steels, and market standing. The company behind it, Sakai's division-of-labor system, the SAKAI WAZASHU certification, and full care guidance are covered on our maker profile, Sakai Kikumori: Traditional Sakai Craftsmanship. The two pages are designed to be read together.

The maker behind Choyo

Choyo belongs to Kawamura Hamono Co., Ltd. (河村刃物株式会社), founded in Sakai in 1926 by Sutezo Kawamura and led today by representative Toshio Kawamura. Kawamura Hamono is not a forge. It is a cutlery house in the classic Sakai mold: it designs knives, selects steels and geometry, commissions the city's independent blacksmiths and sharpeners, applies quality control, and sells the finished work under its Kikumori brand. In 2011 the company earned the SAKAI WAZASHU certification, a Sakai quality mark recognizing superior traditional craftsmanship.

That coordinating model matters for understanding what Choyo is. When a house like Kawamura creates a flagship line, it is not inventing a new workshop; it is choosing, from Sakai's pool of specialist forgers and sharpeners, the combination it considers the city's best, and putting its own name and reputation on the result. Choyo is Kawamura Hamono's answer to the question "what is the finest knife we can commission?"

We keep the company story short here deliberately. For the full history, the Sakai division of labor, steel-by-steel care guidance, and how Choyo fits into the wider Kikumori range, read the dedicated maker page: Sakai Kikumori. For the wider context of the city itself, see our Sakai guide.

The Choyo lineup

The official Choyo lineup is compact and deliberate: nine shapes, most available in more than one steel. It splits into two families, traditional single-bevel knives for Japanese cuisine and double-bevel knives for general kitchen work. If you are new to that distinction, our single vs double bevel guide explains what it changes.

One absence worth flagging: there is no budget tier inside Choyo. The line starts premium and stays there. Kawamura's more accessible knives live elsewhere in the Kikumori range, which the maker page maps in full.

Steel and construction

Kikumori's official materials state that Choyo knives are made from three types of Yasugi Specialty Steel: White #2 (Shirogami), Blue #1 (Aogami), and Silver #3 (Ginsan). The blades are laminated, a hard cutting core forge-welded to softer, tougher cladding, and the company describes quenching in water from around 800 degrees Celsius, the sharper-but-riskier route that Sakai's traditional smiths favor over oil.

White #2: the purist's edge

Shirogami #2 is the refined, low-impurity Hitachi carbon steel that defines classical Sakai sharpness: a very keen, fine edge that sharpens quickly and beautifully on water stones. It is reactive and will patina, and its edge retention is honest rather than heroic. Full profile: our Shirogami guide.

Blue #1: keenness plus endurance

Aogami #1 adds tungsten and chromium to the white-steel base, buying noticeably longer edge life and a touch more toughness while keeping most of the keenness. In the Choyo range it is the connoisseur's carbon option and typically the most expensive. See our Aogami guide for the metallurgy.

Ginsan #3: the stainless traditional

Ginsan (Silver #3) is the steel that makes Choyo practical for cooks who do not want carbon-steel maintenance: a fine-grained stainless that behaves on the stones much like white steel but shrugs off moisture and acids. Retailer-stated hardness for the Ginsan knives runs around 61 to 63 HRC; Kikumori itself does not publish figures, so treat that as approximate. Full profile: our Ginsan guide. Early reports about Choyo sometimes describe it as a "Ginsan or VG-10 line"; the official steel list is White #2, Blue #1, and Ginsan #3, with no VG-10.

The mirror finish

What visually defines Choyo is the kagami (mirror) polish over wide bevels. The company notes, fairly, that a mirror surface is not only decorative: a finely polished blade face gives corrosion less purchase, which matters on the carbon versions. The trade-off is equally real: mirror polish shows scratches and water spots, and keeping it flawless takes attention. Owners who use these knives hard tend to make peace with a few marks; collectors keep the polishing cloth close.

Whose hands make Choyo?

Kikumori's own materials do not name the craftsmen behind Choyo, only "the best materials, the most skilled craftsmen, and the most exacting processes." That reticence is normal for a Sakai wholesaler house, but the enthusiast market has largely filled in the picture: multiple independent specialty retailers and community discussions consistently attribute Choyo's forging to one of Sakai's most respected blacksmith workshops and its grinding and mirror polish to a specialist sharpening house known for wide, even bevels and immaculate finishing.

We phrase that carefully on purpose: the attribution is retailer- and community-sourced rather than official, and the pairing may vary by steel or batch. What can be said with confidence is the result. Chamfered spines, even wide bevels, and a genuinely bright polish are consistent with top-tier Sakai work, and reviewers repeatedly single out the grinding as the line's defining virtue. In Sakai, the sharpener's contribution is at least equal to the forger's, and Choyo is a textbook example of why.

Choyo vs Kikuzuki

In 2021, Kawamura Hamono extended the Choyo concept with a sibling series, Kikuzuki (菊月), developed explicitly as a derivative of the flagship: the same class of materials, the same caliber of craftsmen, different clothes. Choyo is the mirror-polished formal face of the pair; Kikuzuki offers Uzu (swirled damascus-pattern cladding in Blue #1), Kasumi (the classic misty two-tone in White #2), and Kuro (a dark heat-treatment-scale finish in White #2).

Factor	Choyo	Kikuzuki
Position	Original flagship (developed 2013)	Flagship derivative (2021)
Steels	White #2, Blue #1, Ginsan #3	Blue #1 (Uzu), White #2 (Kasumi, Kuro)
Signature finish	Wide-bevel mirror polish	Uzu, Kasumi, or Kuro
Character	Formal, luminous, shows care	Traditional, forgiving of use marks
Maintenance of looks	Higher (mirror shows scratches)	Lower

The honest guidance: choose between them on finish and temperament, not on quality. A working cook who wants the knife to age gracefully may be happier with a Kasumi or Kuro Kikuzuki; a buyer who wants the showcase piece, or the rust-resistance benefit of a polished face on carbon steel, is the Choyo customer.

Market presence and availability

For a flagship line from a mid-sized Sakai house, Choyo travels well. In Japan, it is sold through Kawamura Hamono's own channels and domestic knife retail. Overseas, we found Choyo stocked by authorized retailers and specialty kitchen shops in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Australia, typically in small quantities and often with shop-fitted custom handles. Availability of specific steel and shape combinations varies constantly; the carbon versions in particular tend to appear and sell through in small batches.

Pricing lands firmly in the premium bracket: roughly $400 to $700 for a 210 to 240 mm gyuto depending on steel and handle, with Blue #1 and upgraded-handle examples running higher, and full-length single-bevel knives higher still. Choyo is rarely discounted and rarely appears on mass marketplaces; it is a specialty-shop product, which is also the safest way to buy it.

Okami estimate: we place Choyo in the boutique tier of Sakai export lines: present in most serious Japanese-knife specialty shops' upper shelves across North America, Europe, and Australia, but at a small fraction of the volume of the big Sakai houses' standard ranges. Methodology note: this is an approximation built from public information, chiefly retail assortment observation across Western specialty retailers and enthusiast community discussion; neither Kawamura Hamono nor any third party publishes sales figures for the line.

Sources: see the Sources block at the end of this page.

Is Choyo right for you?

Choyo makes sense for a specific buyer, and it is worth being honest about who that is.

• Choose Choyo if you want a certified Sakai house's best work, you value grinding and finish quality as much as steel, and you like the formal mirror aesthetic. The Ginsan versions in particular are among the more practical routes to a true flagship-grade Sakai knife without carbon-steel upkeep.
• Choose the carbon versions if you already maintain reactive steel happily and want the keener, more traditional experience; White #2 for pure sharpening pleasure, Blue #1 for edge life.
• Look elsewhere if you want maximum performance per dollar. Part of Choyo's price buys the polish and the flagship positioning. Kikumori's own mid-range lines, or its sibling Kikuzuki, deliver much of the cutting performance for less ceremony.
• Skip it as a first Japanese knife. A $500 mirror-polished blade is a stressful learning tool. Build stone skills on something forgiving first; our first-knife guide is the place to start.

Whichever direction you go, buy from authorized retailers and specialty kitchen shops, confirm the exact steel (the three variants look similar in photos), and on single-bevel models confirm handedness.

Choyo FAQ

What does Choyo mean?

Choyo (重陽) is the Japanese name of the Chrysanthemum Festival on September 9, one of the five traditional court festivals. The doubled nine was considered highly auspicious and associated with longevity. The name ties into the chrysanthemum theme of the Kikumori brand and its sibling line Kikuzuki ("chrysanthemum month").

Who makes Choyo knives?

Choyo is the flagship line of Sakai Kikumori, the brand of Kawamura Hamono Co., Ltd., a Sakai cutlery house founded in 1926. Following Sakai custom, the company commissions independent specialist blacksmiths and sharpeners; it does not officially name them, though retailers and the enthusiast community consistently attribute the work to top Sakai workshops.

What steel are Choyo knives made of?

The official lineup uses three Yasugi steels: Shirogami (White) #2, Aogami (Blue) #1, and Ginsan (Silver) #3. The first two are reactive carbon steels; Ginsan is stainless. Despite occasional reports, VG-10 is not part of the official Choyo steel list.

Is Choyo a good knife for a professional kitchen?

Functionally yes: the geometry, steels, and edge quality are professional grade, and the single-bevel models are working sushi-bar tools. The practical caveat is the mirror finish, which shows scratches and spots quickly in hard daily use. Professionals who want the same class of blade with a lower-maintenance face often prefer the sibling Kikuzuki line.

How much do Choyo knives cost?

Expect roughly $400 to $700 for a gyuto depending on steel and handle, with Blue #1 versions and retailer-fitted premium handles running higher. Single-bevel models in professional lengths cost more. Prices vary by market and batch.

What is the difference between Choyo and Kikuzuki?

Quality rank: effectively none. Kikuzuki was developed in 2021 as a derivative of Choyo, and the maker describes both as its highest-peak lines using the same materials and craftsmen. The difference is finish: Choyo is mirror-polished; Kikuzuki comes in Uzu (Blue #1 damascus), Kasumi (White #2 misty two-tone), and Kuro (White #2 dark rustic) finishes.

Is the mirror finish just cosmetic?

Mostly, but not entirely. A finely polished surface gives corrosion less foothold, which is a real benefit on the White #2 and Blue #1 carbon versions. The cost is cosmetic vigilance: mirror faces show every scratch and water spot.

Sources

Sakai Kikumori official Choyo and Kikuzuki brand site and lineup pages (Japanese and English), Kawamura Hamono company profile pages, product literature and specifications published by specialty Japanese-knife retailers in North America, Europe, and Australia, and enthusiast community discussion of the line on knife forums. Attribution of individual workshops is retailer- and community-sourced, not official.

Related reading

• Sakai Kikumori: the maker profile, the company and full range behind this line
• Kikuzuki: the traditional sibling line, same craftsmen, different face
• Ginsan (Silver #3) steel, the stainless option in the Choyo range
• Sakai: the traditional capital of Japanese knife-making
• Japanese knife brands and the makers behind them, the full directory

From the blog: The Master Blacksmiths of Sakai profiles the kind of workshops behind lines like Choyo, Sanmai vs Kasumi Construction explains the laminated build these blades use, and Aogami vs Shirogami compares the line's two carbon steels head to head.