Original Item: Only One Available. Purchased from a recent private auction, this is a very nice wartime production high grade Japanese officer Katana in a 98 Shin-Gunto (九八式軍刀 kyūhachi-shiki guntō) scabbard. The fittings for the blade itself definitely predate the WWII period, and the crossguard may be hundreds of years old. The blade tang is both signed by the maker, and is handmade in the traditional fashion. A Shin-Guntō (新軍刀, new military sword) is a weapon and symbol of rank used by the Imperial Japanese Army between the years of 1935 and 1945. This is a very nice example, though it does show mild service use and oxidation on the blade.

The blade on this example was hand forged, and the tang of the blade is signed (Mei) with the characters 義 宗 作 - YOSHI MUNE SAKU, which means "Yoshimune Made This". The tang is also marked with 昭 inside a cherry blossom, the Showa Era military acceptance stamp. Research indicates that this is a known Showa Era sword smith, whose real name was 古川 栄一 - Furukawa Eiichi. We have checked the signature with known oshigata from the showa era, and it is legitimate. 

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

- Holes in the tang are punched and not drilled.

- Two Holes in the tang, indicating it was refit at least once.

- Clear Yokote with faintly visible Boshi (tip temper line)

- Visible temper line ("hamon")

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

Offered in very good condition, the blade is still mostly sharp, with just a few tiny nicks/chips on the edge (HA) of the blade. Overall the polish on the blade is good, though there is wear and oxidation to the blade overall. It does not look to have been properly stored after the war, however the temper line is still quite vibrant. The blade length is approximately 26 3/8 inches and overall length 37 3/4 inches.  The katana has a handmade arsenal made blade with an asymmetrically rounded (haagari) tang, and a proper geometric kissaki (tip) with a fair yokote (division between body and tip). Temper line (hamon) is visible, and is a very attractive GUNOME (zig-zag) pattern.  The kissaki still has a boshi, but staining makes the shape hard to see.

The blade mountings are the classic pre-war style with a very old round Iron Tsuba (cross guard), which has some brass natural wooded scenes on one side. The menuki (grip decorations) are stylized dogs, and not the standard Army Cherry Blossoms. The Kabuto-gane (pommel cap) is simplified, and the sarute (end loop) is missing, or was never installed. This has the hallmarks of a wartime blade that was outfitted with some family supplied material for the tsuka (handle). There are 4 Seppa (spacers) around the cross guard to keep the fit tight, though the tsuba is now a bit loose.. The blade collar (habaki) looks to be bronze alloy, with a partly blacked finish.

The handle (tsuka) has an nice stingray skin (Sa-Me) grip, which is fully intact. It has a complete Green Ito (cloth binding), which does show wear and age. There is a bit of wear, with some light overall staining and dirt. There is a single wooden securing peg (mekugi) still present, which looks to be a post war replacement. With the sword came a small piece of paper, which looks to originally have been wrapped around the nakago (tang), though we do not know if it has information about the sword, or whether it was just used to make the tsuka fit better.

The Scabbard (saya) is steel and in very nice condition, and the paint is very well retained, with the expected wear on the edges. It has only a few small dents, and has the correct single hanger loop of the Type 98 style. The top fitting is inleted for the scabbard lock on the hilt, though there is no scabbard lock on the hilt. 

Overall in lovely gently used condition, with a very old cross guard, a real USGI-bring back from WWII, ready to research and 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 folded 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.