The traditional A blade ground to an edge on only one side, with a flat or hollow back; it cuts straighter and finer but takes more skill to sharpen than a double bevel. kiritsuke is historically the knife that could be worn only by the executive chef in a traditional Japanese kitchen, a status symbol as much as a tool. It is a combination knife capable of both vegetable work (like an usuba) and protein slicing (like a yanagiba) in trained hands.
Its single-bevel construction and angular tip demand significant skill, and the geometry is unforgiving of poor technique. In traditional Japanese professional kitchens it is reserved for the head chef.
Critical distinction: do not confuse it with the modern double-bevel "kiritsuke gyuto" widely marketed in the West. Most kiritsuke sold outside Japan are double-bevel gyuto with a kiritsuke tip; see the Kiritsuke Gyuto entry. The visual identifier is the K-tip (an angled spine drop at the front). If a knife is not specified as single-bevel, assume it is double-bevel.