Sumatra Shin-Gunto

[sturgis]

Hi all
Am calling in from the Germen forums!
Have just aquired a Japanese Officers sword and want some info.
It seems to be a very late war model, not a single marking to be found.
Wooden scabbard with leather covering, the usual officer silk handle wrapings are not present in this case, but replaced with a tough pierced leather sheath to simulate the style of the usual wrapings. Rough brass cast hilt and Tsuba, machine made blade and white simulated rayskin core to the handle. No peg vivible to take handle off so havnt a clue how it comes off.
I was given it last night direct from a veteran friend who was with the 6th battalion South Wales Borderers and he picked it up in Sumatra just before they returned in 1945.
Can anyone post any pictures of this type of late war sword with the leather grip handle ??
Thanks
Richard

[Bob Coleman]

Leather wrapped handles are not unusual to find on combat worn swords. They can be stitched over the hilt or held on by tied laces. A picture of your sword will be of assistance in giving you an accurate opinion. Over the years, I have seen several crudely manufactured swords that have the appearance of a Japanese officer's katana but are in fact local native made souvenirs sold to soldiers.
This was common not only in Southeast Asia but also in various Pacific Isles. I well recall many years ago when conducting a motel buy having a man walk in with a rattan covered sword and scabbard. I said "I bet you were in the Navy and bought this in the Philipines." He responded "I guesss I do not have what you are looking for." We both had a laugh and he concured that he had bought the sword in Manila from a vendor.

[sturgis]

I do know that he picked it out of a large crate that had another 100 or so swords in it that were being taken back to the UK. His mate picked out a particularly nice officers by the description he gave, and I often joked with him that he picked the worse one! The blade although machine made is pretty well done and does not look like a back street job. The brass tsuba has decorative washers on both sides which look good.
I will get photos as soon as I can.
Richard

[sturgis]

some pics, not the best but can do some more in dayligh if wanted.

[sturgis]

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[sturgis]

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[Bob Coleman]

Richard-
I have seen a few similar swords over the years. They all have thin handles and fairly crudely forged blades. There as always been some debate over what these are. Some think they were made as souvenirs for the conquering soldiers by native people. The other theory, to which I subscribe, is these are non Japanese production swords that were issued to non Japanese officers serving with non Japanese troops serving in conjunction with the Japanese military. The known examples I have seen have all come out of Southeast Asia or there about. I have never seen one with a pedigree to the Pacific Island campaigns.

[sturgis]

Makes sense... I would not say that the handle is thin or the blade crudely made though. Maybe this type is a 'local contract', the supply lines being as they were 'Tokyo arsenal' swords etc had to come a long way so a local source was precured. I showed it to another collector friend of mine who said it was the same as one he had seen belonging to another veteran who had brought his back from Java.
Richard

[Bob Coleman]

Richard-
Another possiblity is that these swords were locally made to serve as temporary replacements for swords destroyed in battle. By using the tern "crude," I was comparing the workmanship with that of a true Japanese sword.

[sturgis]

I understand. I appreciate the quality issue, my mate has 3 swords, 1 nco and 1 officer from Japanese arsenals and an officer sword with blade made in 1520! the quality is esaily noticed among these. I have also had 3 Kris daggers which were made as souviners and brought back by an officer in 1945 from the Java area. The souviner quality is easily seen when compared to a properly made piece.

[SCHUPO]

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</TD><TD>Gentlemen,

I just returned from the 65th Pearl Harbor Survivor's Reunion with my father-in-law who was aboard the Heavy Cruiser New Orleans on 7 December 1941. While in Hawaii, I met Lt. Commander Abe Zenji at the reunion, who was a dive bomber pilot from the Akagi on that same day. I have just finished his memior, "The Emperior's Sea Eagle" and he has a couple of interesting things to say about his WWII Navy sword.

Lt. Cmdr. Abe mentions that he bought his Navy Officer Sword in a shop in Toranomon, Tokyo for one hundred yen when he was promoted to Ensign following graduation from Etajima. This is interesting because 100 yen was a lot of money at that time and he simply went into a shop and bought the ready made sword. This sword cost about one months pay at the time.

He later states that he left his sword aboard his carrier Junyo when he was forced to land on the island of Rota after dive bombing the USS Carrier Bunker Hill. Abe then states that since he was stranded on Rota after his plane was destroyed, he was assigned command of all Naval forces on Rota, and he was given a new field made sword. He has this to say about it.

"Izumi had someone with blacksmith skills forge the blade from the broken spring of a truck, with a thinly peeled engine fan belt twisted around the sheath and grip. The sword guard was decently hand cast. A clever-fingered person we had there!" He also states he left the sword in a stack of arms when the garrison was ordered to surrender. "On my military sword, I tied a white bandage on which was written in India ink, 'Imperial Navy Lieutenant Commander Abe Zenji: Supreme Commander of Navy Units on Rota', and stacked it with the other arms. I was interested, half in fun, to see whether any of the U.S. soldiers would take it home as a souvenier."

An interesting description of one man's sword(s). It is also thought provoking when thinking about field made swords and the way that we collectors tend to view Japanese swords.




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[Jean-Loup]

Neat how the guy went from being a pilot to "supreme navy comander" just like that!