Kai Gunto
The kai gunto, 'navy military sword', was the sword of officers of the Imperial Japanese Navy from the late 1930s through the Second World War. It was made in the shape of the traditional katana, with navy fittings that differed in detail from the army's Type 94 and Type 98 swords. Its blades ranged from old family heirlooms to wartime machine-made steel, including some stainless blades meant to resist rust at sea. Huge numbers were surrendered in 1945, and it is now one of the most collected Japanese military items.
Also known as Kaigun gunto, Japanese navy sword, Imperial Japanese Navy officer's sword, naval gunto
Origins
When Japan built a modern navy in the late nineteenth century, its officers carried swords of Western pattern, like those of the British Royal Navy on which the fleet was modeled. In the 1930s, as nationalism grew and the government promoted the samurai tradition, the army and navy both returned to swords in the shape of the traditional Katana. The army adopted the Type 94 in 1934 and the simpler Type 98 in 1938. The navy's version, known as the kai gunto, came into use in the late 1930s and was carried by commissioned and warrant officers until 1945.
Design & Construction
A kai gunto looks like a katana, with a curved single-edged blade, a long hilt for two hands and an oval guard, or tsuba. Its fittings follow navy practice. They are usually decorated with cherry blossoms, the hilt is wrapped in brown or black braid over ray skin, and the scabbard is typically lacquered wood, sometimes covered in ray skin or wrapped for protection, and hung from one or two mounts. The blade depended on the officer. Some carried traditionally forged blades, some of them centuries old and handed down in the family, fitted into navy mounts. Many carried wartime blades made quickly by smiths or by machine from ordinary steel. Some navy blades were made of stainless steel, which resisted the salt air aboard ship far better than carbon steel.
Combat Use
The kai gunto was a badge of rank more than a fighting weapon. Naval officers wore it on parade and ashore, and few used it in combat at sea. Many swords went down with their ships, among them the four carriers sunk at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Swords saw more real use in the land battles fought by naval troops on Pacific islands, such as the Battle of Corregidor, where officers led charges sword in hand.
Legacy
At the surrender in 1945 Japanese officers handed over their swords, and hundreds of thousands were collected by the Allies or taken home by servicemen as souvenirs. Most kai gunto in collections today came to the United States this way. Collectors value them for their mounts as well as their blades, since a wartime navy mount can hold anything from a mass-produced blade to an important old sword. Many heirloom blades have since been returned to the families of their original owners. The kai gunto, the army swords and the short Tanto are the main Japanese military edged weapons of the World War II era.
Sources
Fuller, Richard, and Ron Gregory. Military Swords of Japan, 1868-1945. Arms and Armour Press, 1986.
Nagayama, Kokan. The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords. Kodansha International, 1997.
Yumoto, John M. The Samurai Sword: A Handbook. Charles E. Tuttle, 1958.
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