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, and shows only mild use, without much damage or wear. It still has the original brown tassel, which was used for all Naval officer grades, and has a faded and torn "Capture Tag" from when it was turned in after the war.

The blade is very good condition with some minor scuffing, and it is still sharp and almost nick free. Blade length is 25 1/4 inches and overall length 37 1/2 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 is marked a Naval ANCHOR stamp, however it also bears a signature (mei), something we usually don't see on these blades. It is signed 清 重 作 - KIYO SHIGE SAKU, which means "Made by Kiyoshige. The real name for this smith is 小 見 山 清 (Kiyoshi Omiyama), 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 is a bit worn and dirty. 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 crossguard, and all 4 of the spacers are marked with western number 2 7 3, indicating an original matched set made for this specific blade. The blade itself, as well as the handle (tsuka) and scabbard (saya), are marked with  二  七 三, the Japanese characters for 2 (ni) 7 (nana) and 3 (san). Combinations of Japanese and Western numbers are very common on sword fittings.

Really a great example of a Imperial Japanese Navy Kai-Gunto, complete with a tassel and capture tag, 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.