Original Item: Only One Available. Purchased directly from a collector, this is a very nice late production Japanese Naval officer Katana in the Pattern 1937 Kai-Gunto setting, with an ancient brass family TSUBA (Cross Guard). 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 a very nice example, complete with scabbard, and shows little to no use.

The blade is very good condition with only a few light scuffs on the edge, and it is still quite sharp, with no nicks or other edge damage.

Blade length is 25 inches and overall length 35 3/4 inches. It has a factory forged blade, with a single mounting hole (Mekugi-ana) in the standard long tang, which has an straight cut (kiri) tang tip. The tang itself is marked a Naval ANCHOR stamp, indicating manufacture at Toyokawa Naval Arsenal (豊川海軍工廠, Toyokawa kaigun kōshō). There is no signature (MEI), as is usual for later war pieces. There is however the number 一 九 (Ichi Kyu) or 1 9 painted onto the tang.

The blade retains all of the original factory finish, with a simulated temper line. With the near total absence of rust, even on the tang, we are fairly certain that this is a stainless steel blade, but we have not been able to verify this. Japanese Kai-Gunto naval officers swords are somewhat rare, given that they usually went down with the ships.

This example is a bit different than most, in that instead of the usual large oval tsuba (crossguard) and decorated O-Seppa (Large spacers), the sword is fitted with an ancient round iron tsuba. It is engraved with what look to be waves on the sea around the edge, and is brass highlighted in places. It has great age to it, and we can tell that more of it used to have brass highlights, but those faded long before it was fitted to this blade.

The tsuka (handle) has two brass Cherry-Blossom menuki (grip decorations), and a nice gold highlighted brass Kabuto-Gane (End Cap), with the wooden securing peg still present, though it is loose and can fall out. It has black oilcloth faux sharkskin with complete olive-colored Ito (cloth binding), and a nice with fine decorative collar (fuchi). Condition of the blade, scabbard and fittings is excellent, indicating little to no use. The plating / gilding on the fittings is still very bright, and testing with a magnet shows that they have a brass or alloy base metal. As typical of the pattern, Cherry Blossom motifs appear on many of the fittings. The handle is tight to the blade, with a single secure spacer (seppa).

The Wood scabbard (saya) is painted with lovely black gloss enamel paint, and has all brass fittings, with fully intact plating. The fittings however are a bit loose, as the glue dries out over the years. A single hanging loop are present, and the condition is very good, with only a few dents and chips through the enamel. There is also a bit of splitting between the lower part of the scabbard on one side.

The inside of the scabbard throat is marked with western number 1 9, which is also present on the fuchi and the single Seppa (spacer). The end of the tsuka is marked 一 九 (1 9). This indicates that this set of KOSHIRAE (fittings) were all made for this specific blade, which has the matching number on the tang. Mixtures of Japanese and Western numbers are typical. They all fit perfectly with the ancient iron crossguard, so they were fitted with it in mind.

Really a great example of a Imperial Japanese Navy Kai-Gunto with a Stainless Steel blade and ancient crossguard, ready to display!

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.