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A decent Type 94 Shingunto with a blade signed as made by “Noshu ju Kunihiro”. Seki was (and still is) a major manufacturing point for tools and swords for over 400 years. Prior to and during World War Two, arsenal factories turned out tens of thousands of swords for the Imperial Japanese Army. Ironically enough, nicer examples are now getting scarce after the attrition of war and decades of post war neglect and apathy. Militaria collectors now actively seek out nicer ones.

Even though this blade has no arsenal markings, the blade is without a doubt in my mind an industrially manufactured example from oil quenched monosteel. It is not a hand forged blade. The mounts are in very good condition, as is the company grade tassel which has a bit of thread fraying on one tassel end. The handle wrap is loosend up and the sharkskin panels have shifted a bit. This could be restored quite easily for a couple hundred dollars, and make the rig that much nicer. There is also an attached cloth identifying this as belonging to Tetsuo Nomiyama at 67 Matsuseoka-men, Sasebo-city. Sasebo is located in Nagasaki Prefecture.

The blade is hazed and scratched over a wartime factory polish, but the midare hamon stands out visibly. This style of hamon is a bit of a hallmark of factory production blades. The edge has some very minor nail catching chips, but not deep or even very noticeable. There is no major damage to the blade.

It’s easy to discount these swords as general mass produced military side arms, but the reality is that they had a fair amount of labor involved in their construction. Many are marked with assembly numbers stamped or painted on the nakago to keep parts together with respective blades during manufacture. The blades were still individual and unique to a greater or lesser degree, so parts were “married” and not interchangeable. The wood liners of the scabbard (saya) and the handle (tsuka) were also individual to the blades and required individual hand fitting. The hilt binding (tsukamaki) also was done by hand. Given the many thousands of these that were produced, it’s remarkable to think of the thousands of workers it took to make what was essentially an obsolete weapon in it’s time.

A nice, complete bit of military history and a great Imperial Japanese Army collectable.

Offered on Consignment: SOLD