Reject Modernity; Embrace Tradition: The Type 95 Shin Gunto

When Japan opened up to the outside world and began to industrialize in the late 1800s, it instituted major military reforms. In place of the samurai tradition, the new Japanese Imperial armed forces emulated the major European powers - France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. One element of this was the replacement of traditional swords with European styles for officers and civil officials.

These swords remained until the mid 1930s, when a wave of nationalist sentiment ran through Japanese society. In 1934, a new model of officer's sword was adopted, which took the style of a traditional katana. A similar (but less fancy) model was adopted in 1935 for non-commissioned officers. These were the Type 34 and Type 35 respectively, and they are some of the most common Japanese swords in the United States, as many were brought back as souvenirs by American soldiers. 

Today we are looking at my Type 95, using Headstamp's upcoming book "Swords of the Emperor" as a guide. 

VIDEO HERE  (13 minutes)

*****

My dad's stepfather who served in the Pacific brought home, among other trophies, a sword very similar to the one in the video with a couple differences.

The length is the same but the sheath isn't metal, it's made from wood and the handle 'wrapping' isn't metal, it's a heavy thread. There may be other differences, but it's been years and years since I've seen it.

Ike passed it on to my father before he died back in 1977 who in turn passed it on before his death to my nephew who he raised as a son.

We were all told it was a Samurai sword, but honestly, I think damned near every sword captured during the war was described as a Samurai sword.