Japanese Type 3 Army Officer Sword

Axis Powers > Japanese > Edged Weapons >

Very nice later (1944) example often called Marine Landing Swords. This has a very nice -machine made with hand finished 26" blade which is signed and dated as you can see in the below images Yoshimune is the two character mei as read vertically with blade tip uppermost. The date (similarly read) is Showa ju kyu nen san gatsu or Showa era year 19, third month ... or 1944-March. Showa started 1926 so if the date is Showa 19 that's 1925+19=1944.It retains its original polish which is still quite fine even with the odd surface scratch. The blade has no nail-catchers and no chips, it's very clean. With a close visual inspection using a jeweler's eye loupe, no fatal flaws can be detected nor is it bent. There is no evidence of attempts at sharpening. The scabbard has a few small marks but no dents. It retains original paint. The fittings on this are your typical late war blackened steel. The original wrap is tight without fraying or looseness. The push button retention clip has a nice ?click?, but does not hold the scabbard. I know that these can be tweeked with a small adjustment but I do not mess with that. It does have some play in it.