Signed WWII Shin Gunto Japanese Army Officer Sword

The shin gunto sword has an overall length in the scabbard of approximately 40 inches, with a blade length of approximately 25 inches. The blade exhibits some relatively minor signs of age, with scratches and spots of old dried grease or oil, but it is generally clean and quite bright, while displaying a striking and distinct temper line. The tang has a single mounting hole and it is signed “Yamada Toshichika”. The legal name of the swordmith “Toshichika” was “Yamada Shūzō”. Yamada Toshichika signed this sword with his legal surname followed by his art name, which made it much easier to identify a sword when there might be multiple smiths using the same swordsmith name. He was born on May 28th 1895, and he entered the Seki Guild Log on June 28 of 1942. He died in 1973. The opposite side of the tang bears a stamped assembly number. The grip is covered in light sharkskin, and it is tightly wrapped in the traditional manner with golden brown fabric which shows some soiling from handling. Beneath the fabric on each side of the grip are the standard military menuki of three cherry blossoms, with a toned and intact gilt finish. The tsuba guard is the solid style with four raised cherry blossoms in relief. The scabbard shows external brown paint which is largely intact and shows typical signs of age and use. Overall the sword is in very good condition. We photographed the sword with the retaining peg removed and it will be replaced when the sword is shipped.