Kaigunto230

Thanks, gents. It's just so odd to see a sword term and not be able to find any hits on this forum, what I consider to be the experts. @Bugyotsuji Interesting! So probably a modern term retroactively applied to Gunto? Weird that enough sellers are using "Ryaku" instead of "Rinji" / "rinjisei".

In researching a couple swords, I've come across several sales pages recently that use the term "Ryakushiki" or "Ryaku Shiki." In context, it seems like these sales pages mean prewar Nihonto using civilian tsuka paired with additional gunto koshirae, or separately, late-war swords. Presumably, the latter half of the word is easy - SHIKI (式), type, like Type 99 Arisaka, Type 97 kaigunto etc. But I’ve never seen “Ryaku” in any of the literature and most tellingly, I tried searching it here on NMB, and there’s only a couple hits as part of longer mei, back in the early 2000s. Yet, I keep seeing it, so I figured I’d make a quick post asking if others have stumbled across and then tripped over this wording. The typical AI overview slop on Google gave me: “Ryakushiki guntō (略式軍刀) is the Japanese term for the simplified, late-war version of the gunto sword, which was used by the Imperial Japanese Army. As World War II progressed and resources became scarce, the production of standard military swords was simplified to conserve metal and speed up manufacturing….. The ryakushiki guntō is often confused with other military sword types from the same period, but its distinctive simplified features are a key identifier for collectors.” Some quick examples from Googling: Ryakushiki-GUNTO 略式軍刀, WW2 Japanese Army Officer Sword | eBay Japanese SWORD WW2 army gunto officer sword ryakushiki signed $2,000.00 - PicClick WWII Japanese ARMY Showa 刀 Katana Ryakushiki Gunto Sword Signed 'Idohiromitsu' $1,395.00 - PicClick https://www.instagram.com/p/C9LMmF2S2e8/?img_index=3 Anyone have any insight to share?

I think this is good advice. I’m in no rush and anticipate they’ll probably still be there in a few months. In the meantime, there’s always more studying to do. Half the fun of any acquisition, Nihonto or Gunto, is the research along the way. Thank you and everyone for this little pawn shop jaunt; I’ll probably stop back in the shop in early 2026 and see where we are.

Ha ha, this is all great stuff! And you're right on the psych game - if I'm being objective, I don't have a great poker face. We'll see if he follows up in the next few months, and if not, I'll swing back and try again eventually. Honestly, even at $3000, seems like a pretty good deal, doesn't it?

Sure could be on seeing my interest when I took photos, but I'm positive I didn't get a "Douche Bag tax". I very much ascribe to "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar." He's shrewd, I'm sure, but he also didn't have them displayed even on the wall; they were in the back of the store in a rifle case. He only brought them out when I showed a passing interest and identified a refinished Type 32 he had listed for, gulp, $899. Because they were tucked away in the back plus the fact that he's had them for three years means he probably honestly doesn't care about selling them. I could tell he thought they were cool pieces too. Your last point on sending someone else is sneaky, I love it, and it might just work!

It went exactly as I thought it might but hoped it wouldn't. Me: "I'll give you $1300 for them." Him: "No, I need $3000." Me: "What?? You said $2000 last week." Him: "Welllllll, I said I couldn't take less than $1000 each, so I'm not." He's got me there.....

Honestly, with them having sat there forever, there's a weaselly part of me that's already thinking about an early 2026 purchase, even at his full price. I certainly could do worse for the condition. And who knows, maybe he'll call me back and accept my best offer or at least haggle a bit/at all.

Hmm, that's interesting. Yes, I think the thicker one with the chu-kissaski (Sword 2 above with the stuck mekugi) is longer. In the photos above, the blade looks longer but its blacker saya looks shorter than the redder saya belonging to the Tenshozan Tanrenjo sword. I'm pretty sure it was longer, but it's hard to remember. On the suspected Takayama-to, the first time I picked it up, I do distinctly remember being surprised at the length of the tsuka. It very comfortably fit my two medium/large hands. I wonder if there are custom variations on Takayama-to made longer for taller Officers. Again, so much I would like to study more about them - measurements, getting the mekugi off in particular, and on and on.

I made my case, gently arguing he's owned them for three years and they haven't sold and that I've got cash in hand (literally, in an envelope) and I'm ready to deal. He said, "I don't need cash, really." I wanted to ask what the point of running a store is then but held off. And gosh, I got so focused on the leather on the tsuka that I also missed the second hanger and just focused on it being a Rinji. Doh! The blades themselves had some scratching, but even at $1500, they're still attractive pieces. I'm intrigued by both and need to read up more about Takayama-to.

And lastly, this was especially fun, getting to study them for a second side by side. Sword 2 has a powerful, thick chu-kissaki as compared to Sword 1. The Rinji was longer and thicker generally as well. I don’t know enough about it, but I’d love a look from @PNSSHOGUN and @Conway S to see updated thoughts on this being a Takayama-to. Regardless, I certainly enjoyed the sugata on the Rinji. But since I own a Rinji already, I’d love an early-war sword. So maybe I’ll just have to get both eventually (if the pawn shop ever lets them out of their evil clutches, that is). Bummed to not have been able to close the deal yesterday, but I frankly didn’t have high hopes. I’ll have to do some thinking on paying $1500 each and see where we are in a few months.

Sword 2 - Rinji with stuck mekugi

Sword 1 - February 1942

Overall, swing and a miss. I went back to the shop with $2000 cash and probably would’ve paid that much. I started at $1300 for the pair, and he countered at $3000 and wouldn’t budge. I learned he’s had them for three years, so maybe he just doesn’t care to sell them; they’re not even displayed on the wall. Frankly, $1500 each wouldn’t be a bad price at all, but I have a lot of other priorities going, so if I’m going to pay that much, I need to think about it more. I left my contact info for if he decides to drop his price at all. I figure those swords aren’t going anywhere. They’ve been there for years and probably will continue that way. But, like every potential purchase, it’s an opportunity to handle a sword in hand, take reference photos for later, and learn more. And so I was happy to snag some additional photos. I’ll upload them below.

Thank you very much! I had downloaded the updated 2024 edition a few months back but hadn’t made time to dig through yet, until this morning! My toddler interrupted so I didn’t get as far as I wanted but tomorrow morning with some coffee, I’m going to keep digging! Those and your Kyushu books have been invaluable to me (and so many others), so thank you!