IJASWORDS

Bruce, good question. It is definitely Showa period. I am assuming that being the same size, shape, and having the hole for the leather securing tab as the "bamboo" example, pictured, it was.

Mark, to get an idea of values, research MINATOGAWA SHRINE swords. You will find that genuine MINATOGAWA swords are not your run of the mill "WW2 swords" as you call them.

Bruce, I think you can add these to Showa period civilian mounted military fittings. A complete set of pine tree branch motif fittings on a December 1943 HIROMITSU blade.

What is your budget?

The lovely sword with horimono posted by Colin H, triggered a thread that I have been meaning to kick off for a while. It is my personal opinion that a WW2 Gunto with a horimono is (again in my opinion) one of the "Holy Grails" of military sword collecting. I will start with a few of mine, all by the same swordsmith KANETOKI who then changed his name to KANEMICHI. These are all WW2 period blades, that show horimono, Bonji and Kanji. I would hope that others could contribute to this thread, as I think it would add to our knowledge of the art.

This sword could fit into high class Gendai or high class Gunto, and I may have even posted it before. But I am playing with my new phone camera, and thought I would share the photos. HOKKE SABURO NOBUFUSA, rated at 2.5 million, puts him in the very highest echelon of Gendai smiths. This sword appealed to me because of the because of the quality of the workmanship, and near mint 98 koshirae. With a Nagasa of 65cm, it is a powerful and elegant sword.

Bruce, here is one of mine to ponder. RJT smith KANETOSHI with just about every acceptance and arsenal stamp, including a star stamp miss hit 3 times! It is 65cm long, made in 1941, and is extremely well made, including what looks like a Juka-Choji hamon. The stamps are on both sides, and 3 on the mune. Matching assembly numbers on the fittings. It is in original WW2 polish, but every feature is visible.

Thanks Peter, that adds so much more interest to my sword. I feel privileged to own a sword where the family tradition continues.

One of my favourite Kai Gunto (Navy Sword). A 65cm Komiya Shiro Kunimitsu, no date no stamps. This Gendai-to exhibits the features you would expect in a sword this highly rated smith, including abundant NIE. The SAYA is finished in the rare matt finish, the fittings all have matching numbers, and the VERY rare securing lanyard is still attached. It is my belief that his descendants are making knives today using the Shiro name.

Thought I would put up a sword that ticked many of my boxes. Its a (Morita) KANESHIGE, a 1 million Yen award winning RJT Smith. See attached information thanks to Slough. Long 70cm, papered, Mon, nice complete leather combat cover, lacquered ITO, a very special dragon on Ken Menuki, silver foiled habarki, nice hamon, hada, and hataraki. No date.

Bruno, Gendaito collectors do prefer UBU blades, and signatures, sometimes swords of the period are however not dated.

John J, I agree with you. Not every one can afford a GREAT Koto sword however. And there are some fantastic Gendai swords that I think have the "romance" factor of being carried to war by a WW2 Japanese officer. Remember, the Japanese Gunto was the last sword actually used as a weapon of war and not as a ceremonial dress sword. So a nice Gendai in original Gunto mounts is as much a part of Japanese sword history as any other.

There are three really nice Gendai swords currently for sale (in the for sale section) from Ray Singer, MarcoUdin and David Flynn. These are great traditionally made swords in very good WW2 original Koshirai. And at the moment, there doesn't appear to be a lot of interest. They are obviously not in the "bargain basement" price point, but they are not bargain basement swords. As a collector of Gunto/Gendai swords, I think these swords are all worth a serious look. I am seeing far less important swords sell for only a couple of hundred bucks cheaper. As Brian has said, for a bit more cash, you could buy something much better that is worth studying and enjoying. This should be valuable advice to NEW collectors, it is always better to buy quality, one day in the future you may regret not getting the good, a little more expensive sword.

While we are in a YASUKUNI mood, a couple of mine. An early 1938 (Kajiyama) YASUTOKU in leather combat cover, and a 1942 (Kotani) YASUNORI in an aluminium saya. Both in Suya fittings, with pierced tsuba.

When it comes to collecting and studying WW2 Gendai swords, in my humble opinion, a Gunto with Horimono is one of the "Holy Grails" of the era. Here is a 1935 KANETOKI (later to become KANEMICHI). In early gloss lacquered mounts, with some red/brown paint of the time, still evident on the fittings. With a 67cm Nagasa, it is both beautiful and powerful. A special order sword for Lord Tsukaharu, must have cost the Lord a pretty penny in its day.

A (Kawashima) TADAYOSHI, shodai, 1st generation. No date, with a long 67cm Nagasa blade. What is there not to like about a fairly mint blade/koshirae outfit. Blade is ubu ba, with a lot of life left in it. I bet the officer in WW2 got a lot of pleasure every time he pulled it out.

I can remember not so long ago, general Tassels were USD3000 plus! I think I paid something like that for mine. All I can think is that with reproductions coming onto the market, collectors, especially new collectors are a bit "gun shy" when it comes to putting down the cash. These ones of David are certainly genuine, and I recon that a Gunto collector would do well to have a sword with a tassel like these for display.

Bruce, most people miss seeing the stamps, being small. Fairly common, see one of mine.

Bruce, here is another undocumented Star Stamped RJT smith, MASAHARU. The only Mune stamp is a 9.

Bruce, do all the 1938 examples have the Manchurian Railway logo? My 1938 N156 does. Does this stamp show up on any other years?

Bruce, I got no idea about this yellow/gold tassel but seen a few on RS late war.

Hi Adam, well spotted. Here are 2 of mine with Mantetsu blades. They are not Japanese made, but both the blade and Koshirae were made in China by the then Japanese controlled Manchurian Railway Company. Collectors now call them MRS swords. They are extremely rare with around a dozen documented. Both blades and Koshirae were made there from 1938. It is likely these swords were issued to the occupying Japanese troops in the freezing Manchurua province. The blades all have a nice MEI. and MUNE stamps. These swords never made it to the Pacific War, hence none surrendered or captured. Nor are there surrender photos. For a long time, they wrongly referred to as Type 3 prototypes, or home defense swords.

Vittorio, depends on your collecting objectives and the price. It is a good swordsmith, it is a traditionally made sword, but as outlined by others has some issues with polish, and probable acid treatment. In my opinion, buying it because it is a star stamp, is akin to buying a sword for the signature and not the blade, that is if you are buying it for a quality blade. BUT, if you are interested in it as a piece MILITARIA, the mounts are nice, and putting aside the issues with the polish, and if the price is right, it is a reasonable starting point for collecting Gendai-to, provided you are not looking for perfection. Your tastes will change with knowledge and experience.