Katana:Kouwa Isshin Mantetsu / Showa Kanoto Kinotomi Haru (1941 Spring)
2017/01/24
Katana in Shirasaya
Signature : Kouwa Isshin Mantetsu
Showa Kanoto Kinotomi Haru (1941 Spring)
(We divide 4 sections for each sword as Saijyo saku, Jyojyo saku
Jyo saku and regular saki)This sword belongs to
ranking.
The blade was polished.
Habaki :copper single habaki.
Blade length :68.48cm or 26.96inches.
Sori : 1.8cm or 0.7inches.
Mekugi : 1
Width at the hamachi :2.11cm or 0.83inches.
Kasane : 0.72cm or 0.28inches.
Era : Showa Period during wartime
Shape : Wide and thick solid Shinogi Zukuri katana
Hamon: Suguha deki with Boshi turn up.
Special feature :Antetsu-to is a kind of cold-tolerant gun-to appropriate for a cold northern district in Manchuria in China. South Manchuria Railways Co. planned it in 1937. After a series of experiments, they finally succeeded in making satisfactory katana and started to mass-production at Dalian in 1938. It was a remarkable improvement at that time because usual oil-tempered gunto was easily broken in severe cold. It is said that the mantetsu-to endured in the temperature minus fourty degrees.
The texture of jitetsu shows fine nashi-ji by excellent polishing. It looks like as if it were a Tadayoshi the seventh's sword of Hizen-to.
Only a few Mantetsu-to barely escaped as an article left by the deceased from disposing of junk in Japan and survive as if it were a witness of wartime.
This sword already have sword license and there is no problem holding in Japan or exporting overseas.
Koshirae: Army Gunto koshirae. It is nice condition.
HIstorical Background: The Japanese army officers were holding Japanese swords during wartime. However, many of those oiled tempered Showa katana would break apart when used in -30 degrees environment in Manchuria. After many experiments, they succeeded on pouring iron inside a tube to make a double structured katana and applying a suguha hamon to bare the ice cold environment.
It is rare in that most of such katanas will be confiscated if it were to have a sword license paper registration because they are oil tempered. There is only few of such Mantetsu-to left today.
Aoi Art estimation paper : whole Oshigata.
Price : 400,000 JPY-
