Oh man, I'm glad you clarified that. I'm still confused on who forged this and would love to know. I was familiar with Minomo Kajiya and could not figure out for the life of me how they made the Minamo out of the same hamono. They came out around the same time on Carbon's site and that somehow clicked in my head that it was the same maker.
As a mini-side review, the Minamo is an excellent knife. Probably the flashiest looking I own now. It is incredibly good looking in person, that damast is absolutely gorgeous. Excellent cutter all around too. I haven't put an edge on but the ootb edge was decent enough. Good convex grind that cuts really well and has surprisingly great food release. Kaeru level food release but a better cutter and lighter. I think It will ultimately not be as good as the Kaeru, but initially, it is, and I'm here for it.
To stay somewhat on topic, one of my first Japanese knives was a Minomo Kajiya Tsubaki Hakata. I really enjoyed the grind and the forging, the blue 2 got stupid sharp and kept it well. I shouldn't have sold it. It's a touch brittle but crazy smooth on the stones. I think I went a little too far and that's why it chipped. It was taking such sweet edges that I pushed the thinness too far, but his Blue 2 is legit.
