PNSSHOGUN

Keep it safe and oiled, proper WW2 artefacts like this are more important than the sword alone. Shame there was no story, I imagine the one behind it would've been remarkable.

Get a refund.

Many of us have either modern production or custom swords we use for iai, tameshigiri or reliving our favourite Zatoichi scenes. Use that to get it all out of your system before investing in fine Nihonto. It's a miracle alot of these swords have survived to this day, don't be the guy who enters his factory condition Boss 429 into a demolition derby.

I don't see any significant damage from a bullet strike, there is a large forge opening which can be common on older swords. If you can get some close up pictures of the damaged areas we can give you a better idea. My guess is late muromachi to mid shinto, which is very vague but without a signature and the condition of the blade it's difficult to really pin it down.

Best to keep it as a momento Amanda, the sentimental value is probably much more than you would ever hope to get selling it. I wish you the best of luck with your situation.

From those photos it sadly looks more likely to have been made in china from the fittings. Close up, in focus shots of the tip and sections of the blade will help us identifying your sword.

A shinsakuto sounds more in line with what you are looking for.

Some great deals for sure. That Kunisuke didn't go too high afterall.

Doesn't seem to follow the sori of the blade and is a bit stubby. Not uncommon to find, tips easily broke.

Looks a bit rough for kirikome, but hard to tell from the pictures though.

Looks like the same sort of urushi covered canvas as the handle doesn't it. I'm thinking either low weight combat saya version or late war material shortage. The Sadayuki is mid 44 so not sure about material shortages considering the high quality of the other fittings and sword in general. The naval sword falls in with late war material shortages though. Very intriguing.

It might just be my eyes but it looks like the kissaki has been reshaped at some point.

Really nice package you found there, the belt and box do make a nice display piece. Rare to come across an original presentation box.

Do you know what era it came from? This is definitely the last polish it will ever take. edit: muromachi is very vague but that seems ok considering the number of polishes and suriage.

I think the confusion comes from the term "Railway Steel" which has been used and misinterpreted over the years to be railway tracks. I know in the early days of Paul Chen swords they used this railway steel and most people thought it was literally old railway tracks. Manchurian railway whispers if you will!

I doubt it, from all we seem to know Mantetsu swords were all made in the same way. Beyond cutting one in sections or new information we simply don't know if there was a real difference. This example from ohmura states the different signatures are just that, different signatures used for different times of production. http://ohmura-study.net/913.html

This lovely story about gimei and Admiral Yamamotos sword still makes me smile. http://www.nihontocraft.com/Yamamoto_NBTHK.html

Sorry I should've clarified that Emperor & The Wolf is a book. https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Wolf-Kurosawa-Toshiro-Mifune/dp/0571211526

I wouldn't be so fast sell them all if your friend specifically willed them to you. Best of luck.

I highly recommend "The Emperor & The Wolf" if you want to learn more about Mifune and Kurosawa.

That's the trick with these Kamon, many families use or are associated with a single Kamon. Fascinating business, hope to see some more photos of that Kyu Gunto!

Take a browse through this list: https://doyouknowjapan.com/symbols/ Also please sign your posts with your first name as per forum rules.

If you can get one of these cheap for exactly what it is then I see no issue, but we need to make sure that collectors are aware the mounts are most likely of post war assembly.

Even though it is wartime it's still of interest. Alot of Kai Gunto are regarded as Showato due to them being made with various stainless steel elements for increased resistance against corrosion. I didn't see any arsenal stamps on the tang so you may have gotten lucky with a Gendaito, but I wouldn't keep all my fingers and toes crossed.

I don't see what any of these arguments have in relation to collecting or proper togishi. You don't need to explain your justifications as to why you think a high level service should be available for pennies on the dollar or why us, as a forum dedicated to the proper collecting and care of Japanese swords, would get irritated at someone asking us to recommend someone to do the exact opposite. If you have no interest or respect for what we are trying to achieve here I'm not sure why you are registered as a member.