Original Item: Only One Available. Purchased recently from a collector, this is a fantastic wartime production Japanese Naval officer Katana in the Pattern 1937 Kai-Gunto setting. A Kai-Guntō (海軍刀, naval sword) is a weapon and symbol of rank used by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the WWII Period. This is an excellent high grade example, and shows only very minor use, with very little wear. Even better, it comes with a magnificent Ray Skin shagreen wrapped scabbard. We sometimes see these with sharkskin, but Ray Skin is far more rare, as well as being much more difficult to execute.

For the Navy, which usually has black scabbards, the skin is covered with black urushi lacquer, and then sanded down on all sides to remove the bumps on the ray skin. This leaves a fantastic pattern of round flat denticles with a black background. Really a very attractive scabbard.

The blade is excellent condition and is still EXTREMELY sharp, so it should be handled with care. It shows little sign of use, with just a bit of very minor scuffing from cleaning, and the edge is completely intact save for a tiny bend at the very tip of the blade. Blade length is 26 ⅛ inches and overall length 37 ⅛ inches. It has a factory forged steel blade, with a single mounting hole in the standard Futsu 普通 (regular) tang, and a haagari (asymmetrically rounded) nakago-jiri.

Unlike most arsenal forged blades, the blade bears a signature (MEI) on the tang, which reads 天勝山 鍛練場 作, read as TENSHOZAN TANRENJO SAKU, or "Made by Tenshozan Tanrenjo". This was a was a small forge and shrine set up within the precincts of the Komyo-ji temple in Kamakura. It is on the Yokosuka peninsula and in the eastern part of Sagami Bay. The forge made anti-rust and stainless steel swords (KAI-GUNTO) for the Navy. The working group was quiet small so production was limited. Typically these blades have a stamp of a single IKARI (anchor) on the NAKAGO (tang), but this example does not, and has the full name of the forge, possibly because it was most likely bespoke, based on the high grade fittings. For more information please see JAPANESE NAVAL SWORDS WW 2 Swordsmiths & Workshops, compiled by Malcom E. Cox, pages 3, 81-87. Blades by this maker are definitely quite rare compared to the usual Naval Arsenal produced examples,

The other side of the tang bears the date when the blade was produced, in the standard long form indicating years into the current emperor's reign: 昭 和 十 七 年 七 月 日. This would be read: SHOWA (current reigning emperor) Juu-Nana Nen (17th year of reign - 1942) Nana-Gatsu (7th Month - July).

The blade retains all of the original factory finish, with a simulated temper line, and with the total absence of rust and staining, even on the tang, we are certain that this is a stainless steel blade. Japanese Kai-Gunto naval officers swords are somewhat rare, given that they usually went down with the ships. This particular example is in a higher grade Pattern 1937 setting, with gilt non-magnetic bronze fittings and a magnificent Ray Skin shagreen covered scabbard, indicating this may be a bespoke example for a high ranking naval officer.

It has a heavy round blacked brass TSUBA (cross guard), with 4 SEPPA (spacers) and two O-SEPPA (Large spacers) around the tsuba that are large and highly stylized, correct for the Kai-Gunto pattern. Most of these are non-magnetic, except for one of the O-seppa, which has an iron shim on the back of one side. The TSUKA (handle) has two gold highlighted Cherry-Blossom menuki (grip decorations), and a nice brass KABUTO-GANE (End Cap) with a brass loop through the end. There is a single MEKUGI wooden securing peg still present, which looks to be original. The grip has an excellent black lacquered stingray skin (SA-ME) under the complete brown colored ITO (cloth binding), which shows only light wear, with a fine decorative non-magnetic collar (FUCHI). It is possible that the grip was re-wrapped at some point, as it is now the usual width we see on WWII fit swords.

Condition of the blade, scabbard and fittings is excellent, indicating light to moderate use. There is some plating loss on the various metal fittings due to age and oxidation. As typical of the pattern, Cherry Blossom motifs appear on many of the fittings. The handle is tight to the blade, with just a bit of wobble to the seppa and cross guard when the peg is inserted. The hilt is set up for a scabbard lock, with inlets in all the fittings, and the lock is fully functional.

The magnificent wood scabbard is wrapped with lovely Ray Skin shagreen, which as mentioned previously was lacquered and then sanded down, and is fitted with two hanger loops. The ray skin wrapping is still almost completely intact. There is a bit of lifting at the seams, as well as some areas where the lacquer has lifted or fallen out due to age, however it still looks fantastic. All of the fittings are non-magnetic gilt bronze, and most are still relatively tight on the blade, with the upper ring fitting having almost no wobble. The KOIGUCHI scabbard mouth fitting is present, and still looks securely onto the hilt.

The fuchi, tsuba, O-Seppa, and all seppa are marked with aト (TO) inside a cherry blossom insignia over western numbers 1 5. This is even marked on the scabbard lock spring. The end of the tsuka is stamped with 1 5 on the end, all of which indicates that this is a matched set of fittings made for this specific blade, and that no parts have been swapped out over the years. The inside of the saya is worn, so unfortunately any markings that were present are now gone.

A fantastic example of a Imperial Japanese Navy Kai-Gunto in matched fittings with a Stainless Steel blade by a rare maker and a magnificent Ray Skin wrapped scabbard! Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 26 ⅛"
Blade Style:Shinogi-Zukuri
Overall length: 37 ⅛“
Scabbard Length: 28 ⅝"

It has been over one thousand years ago that the art of making swords appeared in Japan. The swordsmiths of the time may not have known it but they were creating a legendary sword. The Samurai sword has seen combat in many battlefields. From the early days of the Samurai warrior to the fierce battles in the South Pacific during WWII.

Each hand-made Samurai sword is unique because it is forged from steel stock. A tremendous amount of work is dedicated to creating these pieces. They were an instrument of war as much as a beautiful artifact to adorn a room.

The Samurai sword has grown to be one of the most highly desired military antiques.