Original Item. Only One Available. This is a very nice all-original WW2 Imperial Japanese Army Korean Occupation Officer's sword with a knot. This sword was issued to an official that was assigned to occupation duty in Korea during World War II, which was one of the six colonial territories that Japan captured and held during the war. Not much is known about the structure of the colonial administration, but we do know that officials were given ranks Hannin, Sonin, and Chokunin, in ascending order. These officials were given swords, which were very similar to the Naval officer type, featuring a fold down guard that acted as a scabbard lock. However, unlike the naval swords, the grips had side tabs, which in this case were marked with the insignia of the specific Colony.

In addition to this, the rank of the official was also indicated on the sword, with the Hannin level sword being relatively plain, while the Sonin and Chokunin swords had floral insignia on the top of the guard, the hilt back strap, and on all of the scabbard fittings. Sonin level swords would have a single floral insignia, while the Chokunin would have two, and the specific type of insignia used varied on the specific colony. For Taiwan, the flower was a cherry blossom with foliage around it, while on the Korean swords it was the same 5-7 Paulownia crest (五七桐, Go-shichi (no) Kiri) used as the colonial insignia. For more information please see the book Swords of Imperial Japan 1868-1945: Cyclopedia Edition by Jim Dawson, pages 338-358, where Japanese Colonial Empire swords are discussed, including this specific type on pages 342-345.

The sword is in great shape overall, with a beautiful ray-skin covered handle and brass fittings. The pommel carries the scared Japanese Chrysanthemum, while the sides of the backstrap have a Kiri emblem with a 5-7 Paulownia flower arrangement signifying Korea. This Kyu Gunto style sword also has a folding leaf that is part of the crossguard that serves as a catch for securing the sword in the scabbard. The scabbard is a beautiful sharkskin-wrapped wood example with very few flaws. The knot is a beautiful gold-colored example in near-mint condition.

As you can see from the pictures, all of the brass fittings and crossguard on this sword are very nicely made with lots of detail. There are no markings on this sword that we can find. The blade, which is a samurai sword styled blade, is just a little under 28.5" inch long. It has a blood groove or fuller running almost the entire length of the blade. Near the hilt you can see the artificial temper line on the blade, but due to sharpening it is no longer visible on most of the blade. The blade on this Japanese sword is straight and very sharp, with the original tip still fully intact. The original scabbard is very attractive and in great all-original condition. It is constructed of wood with a beautiful shark-skin wrap.

This is a very attractive and ornate WW2 Imperial Japanese occupation sword and would be a great addition to any WW2 militaria collection.  This Japanese Korean occupation officers’ sword would display very nicely, particularly in the scabbard on a stand.

Dimensions:-
Overall length: 32 ¾”
Blade length: 26 ⅝”
Hand guard: 4” width x 5” length
Scabbard length: 28”

The Japanese Occupation of Korea

From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (朝鮮), the Japanese reading of Joseon.

Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under policies of isolationism, with Joseon being a tributary state of Qing China. However, in 1854, Japan was forcefully opened by the United States in the Perry Expedition. It then rapidly modernized under the Meiji Restoration, while Joseon continued to resist foreign attempts to open it up. Japan eventually succeeded in opening Joseon with the unequal Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876.

Afterwards, Japan embarked on a decades-long process of defeating its local rivals, securing alliances with Western powers, and asserting its influence in Korea. Japan assassinated the defiant Korean queen and intervened in the Donghak Peasant Revolution. After Japan defeated China in the 1894–1895 First Sino–Japanese War, Joseon became nominally independent and declared the short-lived Korean Empire. Japan then defeated Russia in the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War, making it the sole regional power. It then moved quickly to fully absorb Korea. It first made Korea a protectorate with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, and then ruled the country indirectly through the Japanese Resident-General of Korea. After forcing the Korean Emperor Gojong to abdicate in 1907, Japan then formally colonized Korea with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910. The territory was then administered by the Governor-General of Chōsen, based in Keijō (Seoul), until the end of the colonial period.

Japan made sweeping changes in Korea. It began a process of Japanization, eventually functionally banning the use of Korean names and the Korean language altogether. Tens of thousands of cultural artifacts were looted and taken to Japan, and hundreds of historic buildings like the royal palaces Gyeongbokgung and Deoksugung were either partially or completely demolished. Japan also built infrastructure and industry. Railways, ports and roads were constructed, although in numerous cases workers were subjected to extremely poor working circumstances and discriminatory pay. While Korea's economy grew under Japan, many argue that many of the infrastructure projects were designed to extract resources from the peninsula, and not to benefit its people.

These conditions led to the birth of the Korean independence movement, which acted both politically and militantly sometimes within the Japanese Empire, but mostly from outside of it. Koreans were also subjected to a number of mass murders, including the Gando Massacre, Kantō Massacre, Jeamni massacre, and Shinano River incident. While the international consensus is that these incidents all occurred, various Japanese scholars and politicians, including Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, either deny completely, attempt to justify, or downplay incidents such as these.

Beginning in 1939 and during World War II, Japan mobilized around 5.4 million Koreans to support its war effort. Many were moved forcefully from their homes, and set to work in generally extremely poor working conditions, although there was a range in what people experienced. Some Japanese politicians and scholars, including now Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, deny that Koreans were forced laborers, and instead claim that they were "requisitioned against their will" to work. Women and girls aged 12–17 were infamously recruited, according to the international consensus, forcefully by Japan into functional sexual slavery. They are now euphemistically referred to as "comfort women", and are a continuing source of controversy. A number of modern Japanese scholars and politicians, notably from the far-right nationalist group Nippon Kaigi, of which Fumio Kishida and 57% of his cabinet are members, deny that they were forced to work at all, and claim that even the pubescent girls consented to sex work and were compensated reasonably. After the surrender of Japan at the end of the war, Korea was liberated, although it was immediately divided under the rule of the Soviet Union and of the United States.