KOTO WWII Japanese Samurai Sword NIHONTO KATANA Shin Gunto SHUMEI YUKIHIRA. SWORDS AND WHOLE COLLECTIONS! The sword is a rare Koto tachi , ca. The blade and the mountings are in Excellent condition. The sword has a blade length of 29.5 inches (75 cm). The sword shows a deep koshi-zori curvature and ends in a small ko-kissaki , indicating the sword is a tachi , the old long sword used on horseback ca. The blade also features horimono carvings in the form of koshi-hi , or short grooves, that were common to tachi. The blade shows a well-grained itame wood grain hada. The hamon is an active choji gunome of overlapping peaks that is present the length of the blade through the kissaki where it ends in a midare boshi. There are a couple weak spots in the nioi guchi. There are activities like sunagashi and yubashiri in and along the hamon. The tang shows a red lacquer shumei attribution signed Bungo no Kuni Yukihira Saku. Bungo Yukihira was a very famous swordsmith working ca. 1200 from Bungo province. His workmanship was well-known and he was one of the chosen swordsmiths to work for Emperor Gotoba. The shumei is a type of attribution applied to a sword whose signature has been lost. Swords by Yukihira are very rare and it is hard to estimate if this sword is actually made by him. However, the sword does look to be an early Koto tachi dating to the late Kamakura or Nambokucho periods. A shinsa would need to be consulted as final authority. The blade comes in original Samurai mountings. They are in Excellent condition. The tsuka features a brown silk ito and custom menuki. The wrapping shows a few spots of light fraying. The tsuba is iron with three accompanying seppa. The saya (scabbard) is lacquered black and in excellent condition. It shows a few small areas of missing finish. Retaining roughly 95-97% of original finish. The blade is in Excellent condition. There are no nicks, some scattered small spots of rust, and some scratches along the blades length. There are a couple small ware and a weak spot in the nioi guchi. There are no major flaws like hagire. Given this swords history, age, condition, and workmanship, I think this piece would be an outstanding addition for a collector of WW2 militaria or Japanese swords. Here are detailed measurements for the sword. Sori: 2.6 cm. Motohaba: 2.9 cm. Sakihaba: 1.8 cm. Kissaki Nagasa: 3.2 cm. Nakago Nagasa: 20.3 cm. Kasane: 0.5 cm. Terms and additional items: This item is original and not a knockoff or fake. I can send additional detailed photos upon request. This item is not for sale where prohibited. The item “KOTO WWII Japanese Samurai Sword NIHONTO KATANA Shin Gunto SHUMEI YUKIHIRA” is in sale since Tuesday, October 27, 2020. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Militaria\WW II (1939-45)\Original Period Items\Japan\Edged Weapons”. The seller is “sohei_swords” and is located in Richmond, Virginia. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Country/Region of Manufacture: Japan