WW2 Japanese officer gunto, looking for more information

[Kr1216]

Just inherited this and looking for more information on it. My late uncle said his dad got it off a Japanese officer in the Philippines in WW2. Any other information would help.

[ribendao]

This one looks interesting. The mountings are that of a type 98 army officer’s sword. However, the blade inside looks like a nihonto that’s much older than ww2. I’ll let the more knowledgeable ones take it from here.

[SteveM]

The sword is inscribed with the maker's name and location. This means the sword is older than WW2, perhaps by a few centuries. 

The inscription says 

豊州高田住-  （藤原行長）

Hōshū Takada-jū　(Fujiwara Yuki naga?)

 

the bits in the parenthesis are mostly illegible, but we can make an educated guess based on the preceding bits. In this case it is a really wild guess. The last character may be cut off completely, but that would be a bit weird. 

Hōshū is a province name in old Japan, corresponding to Fukuoka and Oita in present-day Japan.Takada is a city/location name. 

The smith's name is illegible, but Fujiwara Yukinaga was a representative smith from this region, and the inscribed name on this sword looks something like Fujiwara Yukinaga.

 

The scabbard and fittings are vintage WW2. The soldier may have refitted an antique family sword with a ww2 scabbard (rather than use a mass-produced arsenal sword). 

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Jason,

Here is a link to care and handling:

https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/

Scroll down and click on Sword Care and Cleaning.  Do not try to fix anything on the sword.  Restoration should be left to properly trained pros and well meaning amateurs often do serious damage.

Grey

[Bruce Pennington]

Blue/brown tassel is that of a company grade officer (Lt-Capt).

 

Blade looks quite old.