WWII Japanese Navy Officer Shin Gunto Sword with Named Cloth Surrender Tag

The sword has an overall length in the scabbard of approximately 38 inches with a blade length of approximately 24 1/2 inches. Along the length of the blade, the upper section is bright while the lower horizontal section of the blade has some areas of cloudiness and some spots of surface rust. The tang is painted with assembly numbers on each side, and the tang on one side also bears the impressed anchor mark of an Imperial Navy sword. The tsuba is plain, with oval disks above and  beneath the tsuba bearig radiating lines. The handle of the sword is wrapped in the traditional fashion with brown fabric, beneath which the grip is covered in black shark skin. The standard military menuki of three cherry blossoms are located on each side of the handle. The sword tassel of a company grade officer remains tied to the pommel. The scabbard is lacquered wood, which shows a number of chips and scratches. Tied to one of the scabbard rings is a cloth tag on which kanji is written, which provides the name and address of the officer who carried the sword. Some Japanese officers placed their names and addresses on their surrendered swords in the hope that the swords might eventually be returned to them. The officer’s name was “Shinkawa Masao”, and his address was Osaka-fu Sen’nan-gun Sano-cho Nakamachi 4838.