Mister Gunto

That Bo-Hi is a dead giveaway. Definitely not Japanese make.

Congrats on a great first purchase! You did better than I did with my first.

Nice find, and now it'll always have a cool story to go with it.

Bubba Strikes Again. *sighs*

Closer shot...

I had originally thought the black overpaint on the Kyu was also period, maybe to cover the chromed scabbard for field use? But the scabbard ring was on upside-down when I got it. I took it off and flipped it, and you can see where the shiny metal is underneath. So, perhaps an old postwar repaint by some vet or earlier collector?

I think the Type 99 paint is original, possibly done when the blade was arsenal refurbished.

Here are my two with black painted sayas. First is a Type 99 Otsu, matching numbers on blade and scabbard. (Ignore the repro strap, just had to put it somewhere) Second is Kyu-Gunto with what's probably a koto ( muromachi) shortened Nihonto blade. Trying to upload from my phone, so please bear with me...

Looks like a really fantastic collection!

Fantastic pics! Love the Japanese light tanks.

Yikes! Makes me wonder if it's a wartime Showato with the Showa date and 2-Mei signature removed. As well as the end of the nakago ground away, and a fake "semi mekugi-ana hole" added to make it look as if it's a suriage older blade.

Beautiful blade! You can tell it's got some heft to it.

Hi Noah, and welcome to NMB! That sword is not a typical Japanese setup. The rattan-wrapped wooden handle is definitely not Japanese make. However, the tsuba (guard) and brass habaki look like they may be Japanese. The saya (scabbard)....possibly? But without better photos of the blade, not much else can be told at this point. With Japanese swords, a lot of information can be gleaned from looking at the tang. Not sure if it's possible to remove this handle or not? It may be a damaged Japanese WW2-era sword that was captured and later "dressed up" for sale by the locals in whichever country it was left in. It could also be a locally made copy of a Japanese sword with a few actual Japanese sword parts added on to make it look better. Collectors often refer to these as "Island Swords". American GI's brought a lot of these home after the War.

Beautiful blade!

Hi Den, that stamp is called a Showa Stamp. It's a WW2-era marking that simply indicates that the sword was not traditionally made. The majority of swords made in Japan during WW2 were not traditionally made, so these are very common to find. Your sword is still an original Japanese Type 98 officer's sword with a leather covered saya. A very typical set-up.