Original Item: Only One Available. Purchased recently at a large military show, this is a very nice service used high grade Japanese Naval officer Katana in the Pattern 1937 Kai-Gunto setting. It comes with a very rare and desirable Sa-Me (Stingray) Shagreen covered scabbard. We sometimes see these with sharkskin, but Ray Skin is far more rare, as well as being much more difficult to execute due to being much harder to bend. Like sharkskin, it was coated with black URUSHI lacquer and sanded down, but it requires much more sanding due to the thicker denticles. A Kai-Guntō (海軍刀, naval sword) is a weapon and symbol of rank used by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the WWII Period. This is a very nice example, and features a traditionally made and maker signed blade, something we rarely see in Naval fittings. It still has the original brown tassel, which was used for all Naval officer grades.

The blade on this example was hand forged in the traditional manner, and the tang of the blade is signed (Mei) with the characters 濃 州 住 大 杉 石 原 兼 直 作, read as NOSHU JU OSUGI ISHIHARA KANENAO SAKU. This translates to "Made by Kanenao Ishihara in Mino Province (Noshu) by the Cedar". This is a known smith, and signed their signature in several different ways. They also used some variations in the type of 直 (Nao) character they used. Research indicates that this smith's real name was 石原 金直 (Ishihara Kinnao or Kane Nao), so in this case "Ishihara" was their family name, and "Kanenao" their "swordsmith name." We have seen many other smiths sign their swords in this fashion, and in this case they just changed one of the kanji in their given name. Their name appears in the Seki Tanrensho Booklet printed in 1939.

Kanenao was active during the Showa Period and worked at Seki arsenal in Gifu, Mino Province (美濃国), and is stamped 関 (SEKI) on the tang. They look to have made both arsenal forged and traditional blades. We have confirmed the signature (Oshigata) with other examples of his work.

The blade is handmade and was expertly crafted by a sword maker, which is indicated by a few tell-tale characteristics that include:

- Hole in the tang is punched and not drilled.

- Visible temper line ("hamon") with crystallization visible (Nie and Nioi)

- Blade is signed on the tang by the maker ("Mei")

- Hada or Grain is visible throughout the blade surface.

- Blade has a proper geometric Yokote at the tip (kissaki) with a Boshi (tip temper line)

The blade is in very good condition, with the edge still in very good shape, though it does show scattered oxidation staining on both sides, but no real deep rust. We can see signs of past cleaning with uchiko powder, made from dust of the finest polishing stones, which has cleaned away oxidation but also made the blade aspects harder to see. This type of oxidation is very common in Naval swords, especially when they have seen the amount of service this one has. Blade length is 24 ⅝ inches and overall length 36 ⅜ inches.

Unlike most Kai-Gunto swords we see, this blade of this example was made in the traditional fashion from folded steel made from TAMAGAHANE steel. It features a Futsu 普通 (regular) shaped Nakago (Tang) with an Iriyamagata (asymmetrical pointed) nakago-jiri (tang tip). It has a vibrant temper line (刃文- HAMON), which is visible along the entire edge of the blade. The shape is a very attractive YAHAZU MIDARE (矢筈乱れ - irregular arrow notch shaped) type, which shimmers in the light with some small irregularities at the transition. There is visible NIE crystallization at the edge of the temper line easily visible, as well as the correct NIOI cloudiness in the hamon. The blade body (JI) also has a very tight MASAME HADA (柾目肌 - straight grain pattern) texture which can be early seen in the light, typical for WWII produced traditional blades.

The blade has a proper geometric KISSAKI (切先 - point of blade) with a mostly clear YOKOTE (横手 - line between ji and kissaki). The BOSHI ( 帽子 - tip temper line) is of the YAKIZUME (焼詰め- no turnback) shape, with a mostly visible transition. It is a bit hard to see due to staining on the blade in that area however. Japanese Kai-Gunto naval officers swords are somewhat rare, given that they usually went down with the ships. This particular example is definitely high grade, with a hand made blade, and high end fittings.

It has a heavy round tsuba (cross guard), with 6 Seppa (spacers) and two O-Seppa (Large spacers) around the tsuba that are large and highly stylized, correct for the Kai-Gunto pattern. All of these are non-magnetic, a mixture of blacked copper and blacked brass. The tsuka (handle) has two Cherry-Blossom menuki (grip decorations), and a nice brass Kabuto-Gane (End Cap). There is a single wooden securing peg still present, which is a fabricated replacement. The grip has black stingray skin (Sa-Me) under the complete brown colored Ito (cloth binding) with a fine brass decorative collar (fuchi). This set of fittings (koshirae) has 2 2 stamped on most components, which indicates they are a matched set made to fit this specific blade. We did note that the scabbard lock itself is not matching.

Condition of the blade, scabbard and fittings indicates that this katana saw a good amount of use, and was probably in service until the end of the war. When originally made, the blade fittings would have all been blacked, many with gold highlighting, but they now show a lovely mustard patina from age and use. The grip wrapping shows a dirt and oil worked into the material, though there is no fraying or major wear. As typical of the pattern, Cherry Blossom motifs appear on many of the fittings. The handle is relatively tight to the blade, with just a bit of wobble. The brown rank tassel attached to the end loop is in very good condition, showing light to moderate wear.

The wood scabbard is wrapped with lovely Ray Skin shagreen, which as mentioned previously was lacquered and then sanded down, and is fitted with two hanger loops. Due to age and use, a good amount of the lacquer has fallen off the ray skin, and it also is lifting at the edges, with some parts missing. The ray skin is more delicate, and once the lacquer is gone, chunks can easily be knocked off during service. All of the fittings are non-magnetic brass, and are a bit patinated and worn just like the hilt fittings. As we often see, they are a bit loose on the blade due to the original glue deteriorating. The KOIGUCHI scabbard mouth fitting is present, and still locks securely onto the hilt, however it is no longer attached securely to the end of the scabbard due to the wood deteriorating at the end.

Really a nice service used example of a high end Imperial Japanese Navy Kai-Gunto, handmade by a known smith and complete with its original ray skin shagreen covered scabbard. These are getting hard to find in any condition, even when they have seen service such as this one. Ready to research and display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 24 ⅝"
Blade Style: Shinogi-Zukuri (鎬造)
Overall length: 36 ⅜"
Scabbard length: 28 ¼”

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.