[Sakana AI](/ai-gateway/models/labs/sakana) # Sakana Namazu Sakana Namazu is Sakana AI's Japanese-specialised model, adapted from an open base for Japanese business context and honorific speech, with a context window of 256K tokens and built-in tools. Your use is subject to Sakana AI's [Terms](https://console.sakana.ai/terms-of-service) & [Privacy](https://console.sakana.ai/privacy-policy) Policies. Vision (Image)File InputImplicit CachingReasoningstructured-outputTool UseWeb Search [Use with AI Gateway](https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Futm_source%3Dgateway-model-page%26utm_campaign%3Dai-gateway-models&title=Get+Started+with+Vercel+AI+Gateway) [View docs](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway) AI SDKChat CompletionsMessagesResponses ``` 1import { streamText } from 'ai' 2 3const result = streamText({ 4 model: 'sakana/namazu', 5 prompt: 'Why is the sky blue?' 6}) ``` [Read docs](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/sdks-and-apis/ai-sdk) [Overview](/ai-gateway/models/namazu) [API](/ai-gateway/models/namazu/api) [About](/ai-gateway/models/namazu/about) [Providers](/ai-gateway/models/namazu/providers) [Throughput](/ai-gateway/models/namazu/throughput) [Latency](/ai-gateway/models/namazu/latency) [Uptime](/ai-gateway/models/namazu/uptime) [Status](/ai-gateway/models/namazu/status) [Similar](/ai-gateway/models/namazu/similar) [FAQ](/ai-gateway/models/namazu/faq) ## [Copy link to heading](#playground)Playground Try out Sakana Namazu by Sakana AI. Usage is billed to your team at API rates. Free users (those who haven't made a payment) get $5 of credits every 30 days. ![sakana logo](/vc-ap-vercel-marketing/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2F7nyt0uhk7sse4zvn.public.blob.vercel-storage.com%2Fdocs-assets%2Fstatic%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Flogos%2Fsakana.png&w=48&q=75)Sakana Namazu ![sakana logo](/vc-ap-vercel-marketing/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2F7nyt0uhk7sse4zvn.public.blob.vercel-storage.com%2Fdocs-assets%2Fstatic%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Flogos%2Fsakana.png&w=96&q=75) Sakana Namazu ## [Copy link to heading](#providers)Providers Route requests across multiple providers. Copy a provider slug to set your preference. Visit the [docs](/docs/ai-gateway/provider-options) for more info. Using a provider means you agree to their terms, listed under Legal. | Provider | | --- | | Context | Max Output | Latency | Throughput | Input | Output | Cache | Web Search | Capabilities | ZDR | No Training | Release Date | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ![sakana logo](/vc-ap-vercel-marketing/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2F7nyt0uhk7sse4zvn.public.blob.vercel-storage.com%2Fdocs-assets%2Fstatic%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Flogos%2Fsakana.png&w=48&q=75) [Sakana AI](/ai-gateway/models/providers/sakana) Legal:[Terms](https://console.sakana.ai/terms-of-service)•[Privacy](https://console.sakana.ai/privacy-policy) | 256K | 256K | 0.7s | 255tps | $0.95/M | $4/M | Read:$0.15/M Write:— | — | +3 | | | 08/03/2026 | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ## [Copy link to heading](#throughput)Throughput24 hours 1W 1D P50 throughput on live AI Gateway traffic, in tokens per second (TPS). Visit the [docs](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/models-and-providers/metrics) for more info. ## [Copy link to heading](#latency)Latency24 hours 1W 1D P50 time to first token (TTFT) on live AI Gateway traffic, in milliseconds. View the [docs](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/models-and-providers/metrics) for more info. ## [Copy link to heading](#uptime)Uptime24 hours 1W 1D 1H Direct request success rate on AI Gateway and per-provider. Visit the [docs](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/models-and-providers/uptime) for more info. 1W 1D 1H ## [Copy link to heading](#more-models-by-sakana-ai)More models by Sakana AI All Text Code | Model | | --- | | Context | Latency | Throughput | Input | Output | Cache | Web Search | Capabilities | Providers | ZDR | No Training | Release Date | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ![sakana logo](/vc-ap-vercel-marketing/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2F7nyt0uhk7sse4zvn.public.blob.vercel-storage.com%2Fdocs-assets%2Fstatic%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Flogos%2Fsakana.png&w=48&q=75) [sakana/fugu-ultra](/ai-gateway/models/fugu-ultra) | 1M | 4.3s | | $5/M+1 more | $30/M+1 more | Read: $0.50/M+1 more Write: — | — | | ![sakana logo](/vc-ap-vercel-marketing/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2F7nyt0uhk7sse4zvn.public.blob.vercel-storage.com%2Fdocs-assets%2Fstatic%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Flogos%2Fsakana.png&w=48&q=75) | | | 06/21/2026 | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ## [Copy link to heading](#about-sakana-namazu)About Sakana Namazu Sakana Namazu is Sakana AI's Japanese-specialised model, exposed as an API on August 3, 2026. Sakana AI is explicit that it is a localisation of an existing open model rather than a new pretrain: the base is Kimi K2.6 from Moonshot AI, adapted with in-house data for Japanese and Japanese business contexts. The adaptation targets three things. Japanese business register, including honorific speech, is the headline. Beyond that, Sakana AI tuned the model to reduce unnecessary refusals on ordinary topics and to limit bias in outputs, reporting a 22.2 point improvement on FairPoliticsQA over the base while broadly holding its performance on maths, general knowledge, and coding. Capabilities cover image understanding, function and tool calling, structured JSON output, extended reasoning, web search, and streaming, within a context window of 256K tokens. Web search and code execution are available as built-in tools. The API is OpenAI-compatible, so existing code often needs only a base URL change. Through AI Gateway you get that compatibility alongside unified billing and failover across providers. You can integrate Sakana Namazu through AI SDK, Chat Completions API, Responses API, Messages API, or other API formats, from TypeScript or Python. ## [Copy link to heading](#what-to-consider-when-choosing-a-provider)What To Consider When Choosing a Provider - Configuration: Regional availability is the first thing to check. Sakana Namazu is blocked in the EU and EEA, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland pending GDPR compliance, and Sakana AI states it cannot currently guarantee that data processing completes entirely within Japan. If either constraint touches your deployment, resolve it before you build. - Configuration: Sakana Namazu is a localisation rather than a frontier pretrain. On general maths, knowledge, and coding it largely matches the Kimi K2.6 base rather than exceeding it, so the reason to choose it is Japanese-language quality and business register, not raw capability. - Configuration: Sakana AI has since shipped a newer generation of the model and a separate orchestrator, Sakana Fugu, which coordinates multiple frontier models. Sakana Namazu works on its own as a single model, which is the simpler integration but not the strongest configuration Sakana AI offers. - Zero Data Retention: Zero Data Retention is offered on a per-provider and model basis. See the [documentation](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/security-and-compliance/zdr) for details. - Authentication: AI Gateway authenticates requests using an [API key](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/authentication-and-byok#api-key-authentication) or [OIDC token](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/authentication-and-byok#oidc-token-authentication). You do not need to manage provider credentials directly. ## [Copy link to heading](#when-to-use-sakana-namazu)When to Use Sakana Namazu ### Best for - Japanese Business Writing: Honorific register and formality handled correctly - Japanese-Market Products: Native-quality output for Japanese users - Reduced Over-Refusal: Fewer unnecessary declines on ordinary topics - OpenAI-Compatible Migration: Often only a base URL change - Tool-Using Japanese Agents: Built-in web search and code execution ### Consider alternatives when - EU, UK, Or Swiss Deployments: The model is currently blocked in those regions - Guaranteed Japan Residency: Processing location cannot currently be guaranteed - General Capability Needs: The Kimi K2.6 base performs comparably outside Japanese - Multi-Model Orchestration: Sakana Fugu coordinates several frontier models ## [Copy link to heading](#conclusion)Conclusion Sakana Namazu is a Japanese localisation of an open base model, tuned for business register, honorific speech, and fewer unnecessary refusals. Point `sakana/namazu` at AI Gateway when Japanese-language quality is the requirement, and check the regional restrictions before you deploy.