Japanese Swords Under $1500 to $3000

bAntique Swords $1,500 to $3,000

Available	Late Koto/Early Shinto Katana
Click to see Images	Signature: Mumei. Year Made: Koto/Shinto Forging Pattern: Itame Tempering Pattern: Suguha Dimensions: Nagasa: 25 3/8", Nakago: 7", Mihaba: 1", Sakihaba: 11/16", Kasane: 7/32", Sori: 9/16" Mountings: The sword is mounted in an older shirasaya with dents and dings and splitting along the seams. All these can probably be repaired but it will always look fresh. The habaki that is solid with the remains of a gold plating and it does shows it age. Overall Condition: This blade has been buffed. There are some grain openings and one rust spot. What little work can be seen in the blade is very attractive and a good polish would greatly enhance it. It appears to be Mihara den work.
$1500		508kat5

Available	Very Nice Shinto Wakizashi
Click to see Images	Signature: Mumei. Year Made: 1700s Forging Pattern: O-Midare with Gonome Tempering Pattern: Itame Dimensions: Nagasa: 15 9/16", Nakago: 5 1/8", Mihaba: 1 1/16", Sakihaba: 27/32", Kasane: 1/4", Sori: 3/16" Mountings: Very attractive period mountings. The tsuba is namban iron and the seppa are gold foiled. The fuchikashir and menuki are a very nice shakudo with gold utori highlights. Overall Condition: The blade has a very nice active hamone and the hada is very tight but there are areas of old surface rust that have largely been cleaned. There is no active rust. It appears that someone has used this blade for /whacking trees or something but there is no damage to the edge and it is sharp. The saya is solid with some lacquer chipping, abrasions, scrapes etc. There is a kojiri of a feather that appears to be made of shakudo. The kirikata shitadome are made of silver and very nice. The tsuba is dirty and shows some traces of rust. The tsuka is a little dirty but in very good condition.
$1850		608wak1

Available

Koto Katana in Gunto Koshirae

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Signature: Mumei
Year Made: Muromachi Period 1400-1500s
Forging Pattern: Itame
Tempering Pattern: Suguha
Dimensions: Nagasa: 26 1/4", Nakago: 9", Mihaba: 1 3/16", Sakihaba: 3/4", Kasane: 5/16", Sori: 1"
Mountings: WW II Gunto with two piece habaki.
Overall Condition: The blade has no condition problems except for surface stains, scratches and scuff marks. The handle wrap is damaged but could easily be restored.. There are some remnants of an old label just below the koiguchi. The fittings are in excellent condition. The habaki is gold plated and a bit dented but serviceable in this mounting. Not the custom menukis with a family crest. Most likely the officer's ancestral sword remounted for use during WW2.

$2500

608kat2

Sold	Custom Ordered with Owner's Name Inscribed
Click to see Images	Signature: Mino Kuni Makita Kaneyoshi Saku and on the other side Oyu Nakai Shigeru Shi Tukuru Kore, meaning Kaneyoshi of Mino province made this for Mr. Shigeru Nakai (once again thanks to Afu of afuresearch.com for help with translation). Year Made: 1930s/40s Forging Pattern: Very tight hada almost muji. Tempering Pattern: Different on both sides, one side subdued low suguha midare in nie with nijuba, temper near the shinoji-ji and much bright chikei and the other side a wilder midare with tobiyaki in nie. Dimensions: Blade Length: 25 inches Nakago: 7.375 inches 6 mm thick and 32 mm wide at Hamachi Mountings: Shirasaya with habaki being part of the tsuka in good condition. Overall Condition: Very good, it is covered with a haze of fine scratches, there are a few very small nicks and a tiny piece is broken from the tip of the kissaki. The sword should should have at least a finish polish to get rid of the haze that obscures much of the activities, and there is plenty to see; much bright chikei, nijuba and sanjuba, inazuma and tobiyaki. It's rare to find a sword custom made for someone and signed as such and this sword looks like it was never mounted. The nicks and scratches were probably the product of post war abuse by the souvenir collector.
SALE $1950		905gendai1

Sold	Gendaito by Miyaguchi Kunimori
Click to see Images	Signature: Miyaguchi Kunimori Saku Kore Wo (Also known as Toshihiro and Yasuhiro). Year Made: WW II era Forging Pattern: Impossible to tell Tempering Pattern: Very hard to see, possibly gunome midare Dimensions: Blade Length: 25.625 inches Nakago: 8.375 inches 7 mm thick and 33 mm wide at Hamachi Mountings: Mixed un-matched shin-gunto saya in good condition. Kai-gunto tsuka with no ito or menuki. Artificial samé and missing one seppa. Overall Condition: Good, The sword has been buffed to a mirror-like shine, impossible to photograph any detail. This sword was made by a highly ranked smith who studied under his father Masatoshi and also under Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu. He was appointed master smith at the Nihonto Tanren Kai and later became head instructor at the Okura Tanrenjo (under the name Yasuhiro). He is rated in Slough's as making High to superior grade gendaito and was awarded a Special Honor Noted Seat at the 1941 sword exhibition. This sword probably should be professionally polished and put in a shirasaya. Too bad it doesn't have a window polished in it so one could go on more than the man's reputation. The sword is quite thick and hefty for it's length.
$3000		Item: 1106gunto8

Sold	Rare Murata-to, Kogarasumaru-to Dress Saber in Shin-Gunto Mounts
Click to see Images	Signature: Murata-to, Kanemasa. Year Made: Meiji Niju Rokunen Nigatsu Hihatchi (1893) Forging Pattern: Tight masame Tempering Pattern: Polished on, suguha Dimensions: Blade Length: 26.75 inches Nakago: 5.875 inches 6 mm thick and 24 mm wide at Hamachi Mountings: Very good quality '34 Pattern Shin-gunto mounts in good condition, matching numbers, no dents and little paint loss on the saya. Handle wrap is dirty but all there and tight. Plating on fittings is very good and has large nodule samé. There is also a fine silver foil covered copper habaki with a "rain" pattern. Very well done and probably part of the original mounts. Overall Condition: Excellent, Murata-to were swords made by General Murata Tsuneyoshi to supply the military with needed swords for their colonial expansion and growing modern army during the reign of Emperor Meiji. It was basically the first attempt to mass-produce swords for military use where they were now mostly symbolic. This sword was made to go into a form of kyu-gunto or western style saber mountings. The odd shape of the blade is a copy of a famous sword, the Kogarasu-Maru, traditionally the precursor to the Tachi and katana we are familiar with. This sword is very well made but the edge has not been hardened, as it was probably used as part of an officer's or diplomat's dress or parade uniform. It would have been one of Murata's more refined efforts, most likely made by the general himself. There is a similar sword in Fuller and Gregory's Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks, which is shown in mounts used by a senior member of the Imperial Household. It appears to have been artificially tempered as well. The sword is very well made and in excellent condition for a 100+ year old sword. There are some scratches and small (very) dings to the cutting edge but other than that it is new looking (the camera tends to exaggerate the appearance of the scratch due to reflection, in the hand it does not appear scratched at all). The WW II era mounts show signs of use but no major flaw of any kind and the conversion to the then "modern" mounts was done very professionally (surprisingly unusual to have the nakago preserved with intact threads). All in all a great piece of history for both the collector of Japanese swords and the collector of militaria.
		Item: 1106gunto7

Sold	Gunto in Naval Mounts with SameZaya
Click to see Images	Signature: Mumei Year Made: Showa Forging Pattern: Masame Tempering Pattern: Suguha Dimensions: Nagasa: 23 15/16", Nakago: 8 5/8", Mihaba: 1 3/16", Sakihaba: 13/16", Kasane: 11/32", Sori: 9/16" Mountings: WW II Naval. Overall Condition: There are no forging defects in the blade but there are some small chips along the edge, scuff marks. The saya and tsuka are in sound condition and the fittings are good. The tsuba is dirty but in good shape, carried and used but well taken care of by the officer. Overall, it is a solid example of the WW II naval mount that are becoming increasing scarce to find in any condition.
	306KAT3

Sold	Koto Wakizashi in Shirasaya
Click to see Images	Signature: Mumei Year Made: Koto-Muramachi Forging Pattern: Itame Tempering Pattern: Midere with nioi Dimensions: Nagasa: 21 3/8", Nakago: 5 1/2", Mihaba: 1 1/16", Sakihaba: 13/16", Kasane: 7/32", Sori: 1/2" Mountings: Shirasaya with one copper habaki Overall Condition: The blade is in fresh polish with only a small blister in the shinogi-ji. The shirasaya and habaki are in very good condition.
$2100	909wak2

Sold GS

Gendaito in Civilian Mounts

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Signature: Bishu ju KaneNobu
Year Made: Probably early 1940's
Forging Pattern: Itame
Tempering Pattern: Gonome
Dimensions: Nagasa: 26 1/8", Nakago: 7 3/4", Mihaba: 1 1/4", Sakihaba: 7/8", Kasane: 1/4", Sori: 1/2"
Mountings: All the koshirae appears to be modern except for the tsuba which may be shinshinto. The ito is nice, tight and well done with good same. The fuchikashira are Omori style waves. This would be a good Iai practice sword.
Overall Condition: The blade is in good shape, no damage at all with a very decent polish.

608kat7

Sold	Gendai Tanto Made from the Steel of Battleship Mikasa
Click to see Images	Signature: Mikasa HoKo Hide Aki, Showa Roku nen Hitsuji Haru. Made from Mikasa Canon Steel by HideAki, lucky day in 1931. Year Made: 1931 Forging Pattern: Dense Hada, almost Nashiji. Tempering Pattern: Suguha Dimensions: Blade Length: 8.9 inches Nakago: 3.6 inches 5 mm thick and 21 mm wide at Hamachi Mountings: Shirasaya with copper habaki. Overall Condition: Excellent. A very interesting tanto made from the recovered steel from the Battleship Mikasa which was decommissioned in 1921. The steel is surprisingly nice and is very koto looking.
		1206tanto2

Sold JK	Early WW2 Mint Kai Gunto with Samesaya
Click to see Images	Signature: Fujiwara Akimitsu Year Made: Showa 14 (1940), September Forging Pattern: None Tempering Pattern: Saguba Dimensions: Blade Length: 34 1/2", Nagasa: 26 11/16", Mihaba: 1 3/16", Sakihaba: 7/8", Kasane: 5/16", Sori: 13/16" Mountings: World War II Navy koshirae with a very nice shark skin covered saya that is in perfect condition. The rest of the koshirae is in very good condition. The habaki is a one piece solid silver that is in very good condition. Overall Condition: The blade stainless steel and in very good condition with only minor scratch and scuff marks from normal handling. Very hard to find Kai Guntos in this condition for any price these days. This one is from my personal collection.
	306kat4

Sold CL	WW2 Kai Gunto with SameZaya
Click to see Images	Signature: Ban Shu Himeji Ju MoriTaka Kio NagaSakuYear Made: Circa 1940s Forging Pattern: Ko-Itame Tempering Pattern: Gunome Midare Dimensions: Blade Length: 31 15/16", Nagasa: 23 11/16", Mihaba: 1 1/4", Sakihaba: 7/8", Kasane: 1/4", Sori: 11/16" Mountings: World War II Navy mounts with what looks like a shark skin covered saya. The habaki is one piece brass. Overall Condition: The blade has quite a bit of surface rust that can be seen in the pictures, but there does not appear to be any problems that a good polish will not remove. The temper line is bright and runs the full length of the nagasa. When polished, a lot of activity will be seen. The boshi has lost about a 1/31" but this will also disappear in a new polish. The koshirae is somewhat rough condition. The pictures pretty much tell the story. There is no major damage to the saya. A set screw in one of the hangers is missing and someone has glued it to the saya in the wrong place. Most of the patina has corroded off the metal fittings but otherwise they are in good condition. The ito is still in one piece and in relatively good condition but it and the same has sunk back from the fuchi.
	807KAT14

Sold JA

Mumei Shinshinto Sword

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Signature: Mumei
Year Made: Shinshinto
Forging Pattern: Tight Itame
Tempering Pattern: Suguha/Gonome groups of three
Dimensions: Nagasa: 26 1/4", Nakago: 7 7/8", Mihaba: 1 1/4", Sakihaba: 7/8", Kasane: 1/4", Sori: 7/8"
Mountings: There is no koshirae, shirasaya or habaki for this sword.
Overall Condition: The blade is solid with no significant defects and will be quit a show piece after polishing.

1006kat2

SOLD	Emura Gendaito
Click to see Images	Signature: Emura Year Made: Showa Forging Pattern: Itame Tempering Pattern: Ko-Gunome with nie and nioi Dimensions: Blade Length: 26 ", Nakago: 7 5/8", Mihaba: 1 5/16", Sakihaba: 7/8", Kasane: 9/32", Sori: 5/8" Mountings: WW II Koshirae with one piece gold washed Habaki Condition: Good. Fittings are in good condition and blade has not been restored since the war and shows some honest wear from use. This is one of the nicer Emura blades that I have seen, the hanmon is vibrant and the hada active. Emura was the warden of the Okayama prison and used prison labor to work on his swords for the war effort. His swords are very sought after and have seen dramatic appreciation over the years.
		807kat13

Sold SM

Long Shinto Katana Signed Hizen YoshiTsugu

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Signature: Hizen Ju YoshiTsugu
Year Made: 1700s
Forging Pattern: Tight mokume hada.
Tempering Pattern: Suguha/midare in very fine ko-nie etc
Dimensions: Nagasa: 27", Nakago: 7 3/8"1 3/16", Mihaba: 1 3/16", Sakihaba: 13/16", Kasane: 7/32", Sori: 1/2"
Mountings: There are no mountings for this blade other than the habaki.
Overall Condition: At some point someone tried polishing this blade with something. You can see the difference between the shinogi-ji/bo hi area where they didn't try to polish it and the hada. This makes it very difficult to get good pictures of the hada and the hamon. The blade is actually in good condition except for a few rust spots that were cleaned out. They can be seen in the fifth picture. These spots should largely disappear with a good polish and the hamon will be very attractive.

806kat2

Sold	Mantetsu-to in "34 Pattern Shin-gunto Mounts hit in the Fuchi by Bullet
Click to see Images	Signature: Koa Issin Mantetsu Saku. Year Made: Showa Mizanoto Hitsuji Haru (Spring 1943) Forging Pattern: Hard to see through scratching, most likely muji hada Tempering Pattern: Suguha in nioi. Dimensions: Blade Length: 26.25 inches Nakago: 8.375 inches 7 mm thick and 31 mm wide at Hamachi Mountings: Good quality mounts typical of the Japanese made Mantetsu-to. Much wear , paint loss and denting to saya, Wrap on tsuka is intact and tight, fuchi destroyed by bullet strike, other fittings intact. Nice fluted copper habaki typical of these swords. No numbers on seppa but some kanji on one (see photo). Company grade tassel in cord sarute. Some fraying but excellent condition for the age. No signs of blood on the ito, must have been his lucky day. Overall Condition: Fair. Aside from the damage by the bullet to the koshirae, it is in good condition except for the saya wear. The blade has much scratching and light pitting, along most of its length. Impossible to see any detail in the hamon but swords signed this way typically had a functional hamon and this one will shave brass easily. The bullet left a dent in the nakago mune but that is all. This would make n excellent example of a mantetsu blade and the war damage adds an extra bit of history to the blade. These blades are also known among martial artists as superior cutting blades although we do not recommend cutting with any blade unless it has been inspected by a knowledgeable person and properly mounted in new mounts made to take the strain of cutting. In our opinion, with the bullet damage and tassel, it is better used as an interesting display piece.
		Item: 1106gunto6

Sold K/NL	Gendai Katana with Bo-Hi
Click to see Images	Signature: Noshu Ju Minamoto Kanehisa saku with hot stamp. Year Made: Showa 17 (1943) Forging Pattern: Ko-Itame Tempering Pattern: Suguha - Dimensions: Blade Length: 26.3 ", Nakago: 8.7", Mihaba: 1 5/16", Sakihaba: 7/8", Kasane: 1/4", Sori: 9/16" Mountings: WW II koshirae and Shirasaya with one piece brass Habaki Condition: This sword has been buffed so there is no detail to photograph; however, under good light the hamon can be seen through the length of the blade. The hamon is clearly visible forward of the hamachi for about eight inches. The blade is in good condition otherwise with no problems, mostly light pitting that a good polish will remove. The shirasaya is nicely made of maple. The gunto koshirae is solid, no notable damage, but much of the paint has flaked off. The ito is coming apart and the tassel is losing some of its threads but the band is in good condition.
		Item: 807kat8