Mysterious Shin-gunto

[Marcel]

Hi, I have a mysterious "shin-gunto" here. It has all the elements of a type 98 when stored in its sheath.
But it turns out it's not that simple. The blade resembles that of a type 95. However, this one isn't numbered and doesn't have an arsenal stamp.
According to Google Lens, the characters on the tang are Chinese characters (I hope Google Lens is wrong). If I combine two of the three characters, it would say (in Chinese) "made in the workshop." I can't decipher the middle character.
The tsuba and seppa are all numbered "10."
One of the menuki was removed at some point.
The sarute is made of leather!?! The saya is of the type 98 but with a coarse texture.
In a post by Butch on July 16th of last year, I see a similar type but without the three characters.

[Marcel]

And some more pictures

[Conway S]

The sword is authentic. It is what is referred to as a zohei-to and the mei reads “Zoheisho.” See the below link with good information. 

 

http://ohmura-study.net/206.html

 

Per forum guidelines you should also sign posts with a first name. 
 

Conway 

 

 

 

 

[Marcel]

Thanks so much for your quick response and link!  I'm glad it's not a Chinese replica. It was also virtually impossible because it had been in the previous owner's family for over 50 years.

 

Marcel

[Marcel]

It looks like the menuki was removed deliberatly. What could be the reason for this?

[Bruce Pennington]

My dad got our sword when he was in the Marines after Korea.  It was missing several parts.  He said guys would steal parts and pieces because they thought they were real gold, or had jewels.

 

@SteveM or @Kiipu - could we get a translation on the nakago?

 

Marcel,

The fittings look like the original officer paid for upgrades.   It was likely quite nice, originally.

[Kiipu]

5 hours ago, Conway S said:

It is what is referred to as a zohei-to and the mei reads “Zoheisho.”

 

造兵廠 zōheishō

How much should I spend?

[Marcel]

45 minutes ago, Bruce Pennington said:

My dad got our sword when he was in the Marines after Korea.  It was missing several parts.  He said guys would steal parts and pieces because they thought they were real gold, or had jewels.

 

@SteveM or @Kiipu - could we get a translation on the nakago?

 

Marcel,

The fittings look like the original officer paid for upgrades.   It was likely quite nice, originally.

Thanks Bruce, that could indeed be a logical explanation.

[Scogg]

I recently picked up a sword, that similarly has what appears to be an intentionally/selectively removed menuki.

 

I suspect Bruce is correct, especially if the missing menuki had the family mon on it (in my case, a possibility). Which would increase its perceived value. 
 

Just a theory about missing menuki.

-Sam 

[ROKUJURO]

On 9/17/2025 at 4:49 PM, Marcel said:

.....According to Google Lens, the characters on the tang are Chinese characters (I hope Google Lens is wrong)....

Marcel,

GOOGLE is correct in this case. Japanese KANJI are basically Chinese symbols that are used in Japanese script. However, they are differently pronounced

[Marcel]

28 minutes ago, ROKUJURO said:

Marcel,

GOOGLE is correct in that case. Japanese KANJI are basically Chinese symbols that are used in Japanese script. However, they are differently pronounced

Thanks Jean, I learn something everyday!