Original Item: Only One Available. Purchased directly collector, this is a nice condition katana, most likely used in the early 20th century, and into WWII. This is a great sword with some honest wear, with real signs of field use, and the fittings have a lot of features we haven't seen before. The blade is handmade and expertly crafted by a master sword maker due to a few tell tale characteristics that include:

- Single-hole tang

- Tang is signed by the maker YOSHIMITSU (mei)

- Holes in tang are punch not drilled.

- Folded steel blade: fold lines are evident with some blade inclusions.

- Visible temper line (hamon) at the edge of the blade with crystals visible.

- Clear Grain (hada) in the blade body

Offered in very good condition with some small areas of discoloration, the blade is still  sharp and only has a few tiny nicks on the edge. Blade length is approximately 25 5/8" and overall length 36". The blade is hand made, with fold lines and inclusions visible, and a clear "wave" (hamon) temper line. It is of the GUNOME (Zig-Zag) type, and runs all the way to the tip, as it should. The Yokote, the line indicating where the tempered tip (boshi) starts, is visible, but somewhat worn. Overall polish is good, making this a very attractive blade.  The tang is of the "normal" (futsu) style with a straight (kiri) tang tip (Nakago-Jiri). This is usually seen on blades that have been cut down, but some smiths did use it.

The tang is signed by the maker on one side with the characters 吉 光, read as YOSHI MITSU. From what we can tell, this smith worked 1935 to 1970 during the SHOWA period. His civilian name is Fukuda Mitsuo 福田光雄, born 1912, he studied from 1932 under Koyama Nobumitsu 小山信光, he worked as kaigun-jumei-tōshō.

The handle (tsuka) is well-fitting, with only a little bit of play, and has ornate brass menuki (grip decorations), and a nice Kashira (End Cap), with the wooden securing peg still present. It also has an excellent faux stingray Sa-Me (grip) with complete Ito (cloth binding), which shows significant wear and discoloration from use. The fittings on this katana are all brass, typical of the Pre-WWII Period. The Tsuba (cross guard) on this blade is the typical "Quince" shape (Mokko gata), with the cherry blossom emblems of the Imperial Japanese Army. Most likely this was a civilian blade, pressed into service at the last need during the war. There are four seppa (spacers) surrounding the cross guard, which is loose.

The Scabbard (saya) is wood, but it has a brass end fitting in the 20th century military style. The scabbard is covered in the standard leather field cover used during WWII, but is black lacquer underneath, a relatively common type of finish for scabbards of the period. Originally there would have been a leather strap coming through the Tsuba to hold the blade in, however this is missing, as is the leather washer that would go around the blade tang. The holes cut in the tsuba and Seppa show that it definitely did once have one. This also explains why the fittings are loose.

A leather strap with a hanger ring has been added around the scabbard, with a hole cut in the cover so it can fit. The condition of the field cover definitely shows some wear, especially around the hanger. This is traditionally where a soldier would hold the scabbard has he was ready to draw the katana for use. Many Japanese would even hold the sword the traditional way, edge up, which was the quickest way to draw the sword and have it ready to strike.

A very nice example of a personal katana that was pressed into military service. Ready to display!

It has been over one thousand years ago that the art of making swords appeared in Japan. The swordsmiths of the time may not have known it but they were creating a legendary sword. The Samurai sword has seen combat in many battlefields. From the early days of the Samurai warrior to the fierce battles in the South Pacific during WWII.

Each hand-made Samurai sword is unique because it is forged from steel stock. A tremendous amount of work is dedicated to creating these pieces. They were an instrument of war as much as a beautiful artifact to adorn a room.

The Samurai sword has grown to be one of the most highly desired military antiques.