A Superb Choice For This Christmas, And a Special Price Too! A Very Good World War II Imperial Japanese Army Officer's Katana. Signed Munetada & Dated. Super Leather Combat Cover & A Beautiful Polish Blade With An Amazing Curvature.

Signed; Ni Ti Nampo {made at Southern Area South East Asia} Hokkushu {North Province} by Munetada, in the reign of Showa, in 1945 Hatchi Gatsu in an auspicious month. Be aware, it is undoubtedly the equivalent owazamono {incredibly sharp}

Exceptionally signed in great detail on both sides of the nakago tang, describing it was made in the South East Asian Japanese Empire, in Showa 1945, by Munetada. It is a beautiful blade with all its original shingunto jungle combat wooden saya and tsuka mounting, completely bound in jungle combat leather, with a brass mokko form tsuba. This super sword is an amazing souvenir of the War in the Pacific, and would be an excellent start to a collection, or a fine compliment to an established collection

These late war katanas are probably the most interesting of all the wartime made Japanese officers swords due to the exigencies of late war supplies to the IPA in their declining last year, facing the greatest amount of combat against the allies that they had ever experienced. The Imperial Japanese armed forces occupied massive territories captured from the British, Dutch and Chinese. During this time of the beleaguered Japanese Army sergeants, that were promoted in the field to officer's, often had to have swords such as this. The reputation of Imperial Army troops during the Pacific War of refusing to surrender was established by the low number of Japanese survivors in numerous battles throughout the Pacific Campaign; 921 captured out of a garrison strength of 31,000 in the Battle of Saipan, 17 out of 3000 in the Battle of Tarawa, 7,400–10,755 out of 117,000 in the Battle of Okinawa, with a high number of battlefield suicides sanctioned by the Imperial Army. In the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) just over 1,000 surrendered in each of 1942 and 1943, around 5,100 in 1944, and over 12,000 in 1945, and might have been greater except for disease. Propaganda through leaflet drops by the Americans accounted for about 20% of surrenders; equating to about one POW for every 6,000 leaflets dropped; while the Japanese objected to the "unscrupulous" leaflets, which contained some truth with regard to the willingness of American forces to accept surrenders from the Japanese. This was in contrast to Imperial Japanese Army practice of depicting American troops as cruel and merciless, referring to them as Kichiku Beihei, (Demonic Beast) and informing their own troops that Americans would rape all captured women and torture the men, leading directly to brutal treatment of Allied POWs in incidents such as the Bataan Death March and the mass suicide of Japanese soldiers and civilians during the Battle of Saipan and Battle of Okinawa. It was from Japanese officers such as these that these swords, were taken at the surrender or termination in combat of the officers, and the 1945 made swords were the rarest to survive of all. This sword was originally purchased by a collector from our late friend, neighbour and local dealer, located in the old Armoury, at the House of Correction, in the Lanes, Paul Grafton, in around 1962.

The leather cover on the saya has shrunk a little at the top, and the habaki blade collar mount is a little bruised from use, but the blade condition is remarkably well preserved. The combat leather has incredible aged patina

Code: 25569