Original Item: Only One Available. Purchased directly from a collector, this is a very nice wartime production Japanese Naval officer Katana in the Pattern 1937 Kai-Gunto setting. 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, though it does show some use as well as issues resulting from mishandling, such as the paint fingerprints on the scabbard and grip.

The blade is very good condition, with a good polish, though it does have some edge nicks/dents and the very tip of the blade has been bent over. It looks like some where along the line someone attempted to cut an object with it. We have left the marks on the blade intact, as they are part of the history. The blade length is 25 1/4 inches and overall length 36 inches. It has a factory forged blade, with one mounting hole in the standard tang, which has an asymmetrically rounded (haagari) tang tip. The tang itself does not have any "anchor stamp", and bears a signature (mei), something we usually don't see on these blades. It is signed 光 永 作 - MITSU NAGA SAKU, which means "Made by Mitsunaga". The real name for this smith is 野口 平一 (Noguchi Heiichi), as sword smith's at the time did not use their real names when signing blades.

The blade retains most of the original factory finish, with a simulated temper line. With the near total absence of rust, even on the tang, it is possible this is a stainless steel blade, but we have not been able to verify this. Japanese Kai-Gunto naval officers swords are somewhat rare, given that they usually went down with the ships. This particular example has the higher grade 1937 Pattern fittings with the lacquered sharkskin wrapped scabbard, indicating this may have been made for a front line naval officer.

It has a heavy brass tsuba (cross guard) and the large brass Seppa (spacers) and O-Seppa (Large spacers) around the tsuba are large and highly stylized. The tsuka (handle) has two gold highlighted Cherry-Blossom menuki (grip decorations), and a nice gold highlighted Kabuto-Gane (End Cap), with the wooden securing peg still present, though it is broken. Excellent oil-cloth (grip) with complete olive-colored Ito (cloth binding) with fine decorative collar. Condition of the blade, scabbard and fittings is very good, indicating light use, though the wrapping on the grip has a bit of white paint on it. There also is some oxidation on the various metal fittings. As typical of the pattern, Cherry Blossom motifs appear on many of the fittings. The handle is tight to the blade, with secure spacers.

The Wood scabbard is wrapped in lacquered sharkskin, and has gilt brass fittings, though they are now faded, and all of the fittings are a bit loose, as the glue holding them in place has degraded over the years. Two hanging loops are present, and the condition is very good, with only a few dents and slight splitting of the sharkskin. The major issue is the white paint which was apparently splashed onto the scabbard at some point, which then got on someone's hand, whose fingerprints are still present. We have not attempted to remove these, though they probably could be addressed.

The crossguard, tang, fuchi, tsuka, tsuba and all 4 of the spacers are marked with western number 4 4 1, indicating an original matched set made for this specific blade. We often see combinations of Western and Japanese numerals, but not in this case.

Really a very nice example of a Imperial Japanese Navy Kai-Gunto, even with the small issues. These are getting hard to find in any condition.

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.