WWII Katana - Return to Rightful Owner

[Stephen]

Not much...not koto looks WW2 blade.

Id guess showato. Non-traditional blade made for world war II. 

[M04]

Gotcha, thank you!!  That what my expectation initially.  Really appreciate you taking the time

[ChrisW]

In the case of it being a showato, there is no reason to do anything further about trying to return it to its WWII era owner as ownership of a showato is illegal in Japan. The moment it arrives in the country, it would be seized by police and cut into little pieces and disposed of. I'd say you could either hold onto it as a family heirloom or perhaps consider selling it to someone who'd take care of it! Not being biased, but NMB (here) would be the best place to do that. You could also consider the Show of Shows, which is coming up in Kentucky in February.

[Lareon]

I agree with Chris, keep it as an heirloom - it's part of your family history now. Or someone here will most likely take it off your hands for a fair price. 

[Bruce Pennington]

Mike, thanks for the extra photos!  It was worth a try, checking for a mei (smith name).  The smiths didn't always sign their blades, don't know why.  Likely had to do with haste, efforts to meet high production demands.  I have a navy gunto with an unsigned (mumei) blade estimated to be from the 1500-1600's, a time with a lot of warring and high demand.  By the looks of the light, reddish rust, my guess is this is a WWII era blade, probably made in the last year of the war, based on the fittings.  In spite of the fact that we had almost bombed their sword production out of existence in that last year, they manage to practically double sword production.  The wooden, black-painted saya (scabbard), less-detailed tsuba (hand guard), and unsigned blade point to one of these swords made in a rush in the last year. 

 

It is a pretty blade with a nice hamon (temper line), so even with all that, the smith worked hard to produce a blade of quality.  Take care of it, as it deserves, and it will last for centuries.  Here's some care tips: https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/faq/

[M04]

Thank you all again very much. The wealth of knowledge and perspective here is impressive!

 

I appreciate everyone’s thoughtful guidance.

 

regards,

Mike