Original Item: Only One Available. The end of WWII marked the beginning of the sword ownership ban in Japan. By law, Japanese citizens were forbidden to own swords. General McArthur did not want the general population to be able to arm again. Most soldiers and citizens surrendered their swords to the American occupying forces. The Americans destroyed a large number of swords by dumping them into the ocean or by melting them. But a small percentage made its way back to the United States and into the collector market.

This service used example is a genuine WWII Japanese Type 95 NCO Samurai Sword or katana, with aluminum handle construction and machine made fullered blade. Blade is 26 3/8 inches long, with an overall length of 36 3/8 inches. The grip wrapping and menuki are cast-formed out of aluminum, and then painted to give the illusion of fabric wrappings and gilt menuki. NCO Katanas were issued to soldiers who did not want to take their family sword to battle or who came from poor families that did not have swords to pass down through the generations.

The design copies the typical WWII Imperial Japanese Army style fittings, known as the "New Military Sword" ( 新軍刀 - shin guntou) style, with a single hanger ring and bolster on the scabbard. It is said that during battle soldiers would not use the ring but rather would stick the sword through the belt the same way as the Samurai in ancient times.

All NCO swords were numbered. This example is numbered 76895, while the throat of the scabbard is numbered 20694. Most swords do not have matching numbers because somewhere along the life of the sword the scabbard was changed. This could either be to to loss, damage, or just being misplaced at arsenal. Next to the serial on the blade is the 東 (To) marking for Tokyo Arsenal.

The Fuchi (grip collar) of the sword is marked with information related to the sword's production and inspection. While holding the sword hilt up, the first symbol on the left is the stylized sword Tsuba logo of Iijima Sword Factory, indicating that they produced the sword. To the right of the logo is 東 for inspection by Tokyo arsenal, and all the way to the right is the "stacked cannonball" logo of Kokura arsenal, where the sword was put into arsenal for issue.

The sword is complete with the metal locking spring tab that secures the blade to the scabbard. This normally prevents the sword from falling when the soldier is running, however something in the bottom of the scabbard, probably dirt, wood, or rust, is preventing the sword from sheathing all the way, so the lock does not currently function. Traditionally this function is assigned to the Habaki (blade collar). But machine made swords like this one do not have the accuracy of manufacturing that enable the Habaki to perform such a function. The metal loop on the end of the pommel is unfortunately missing.

The condition of this sword shows that it saw long use in service, and was definitely exposed to the elements for a long period of time. The inside of the scabbard is lined with wood, which can trap moisture on the inside, leading to rusting of the blade. This blade definitely shows signs of real use in the field, with chips, nicks, and dents on the edge of the blade. It also suffered a good amount of oxidation damage, which was later cleaned away, leaving a lovely peppery worn look on the surface. The brown paint on the pommel is relatively well retained, and correctly does not run off the faux "wrappings". There is also still most of the golden yellow paint highlighting on the "menuki" on the grip and on the cherry blossom on the pommel. The faux "kabutogane" looks to have originally been painted olive, which has mostly worn away.

The tsuba (crossguard) is the early-mid war brass MOKKO GATA (quince) shape, with holes in both sides to reduce weight. Later swords would be fitted with simple iron round tsuba. The blade collar (habaki) is the standard brass. There are seppa on both sides of the tsuba, which look to be plated brass. The scabbard still shows most of the original olive green paint, which is probably retained at around 75%. It looks to have seen moderate service in the field, and there are some dents near the drag of the scabbard.

There are some Chinese replicas of these out there, however this sword is definitely genuine. It has the correct arsenal markings on the hilt collar (fuchi) and blade, indicating manufacture by Iijima and inspection by Kokura Arsenal. The spacers (seppa) are cast and rounded, while the replicas are crudely cut. The scabbard is painted the correct green color, and the spacing from the top to the hanging ring is the correct length. Overall the fit and finish is definitely far above a replica, which can be seen in the photos.

Overall a very nice WW2 Type 95 NCO Katana with a lovely service used blade that will appreciate in value over the coming years. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 26 3/8"
Blade Style: Katana
Overall length: 36 3/8“
Scabbard Length: 29 1/4"