SOLD - Type 97 Japanese Naval Officer Sword

Description

6/16/23 - This is an excellent example of a factory made Type 97 Japanese Naval Officer Sword from WW2. The sword features a polished shark skin scabbard and black shark (or ray) skin handle. There's also tight brown cloth wrappings on the handle and a tsuba with a large black sunburst spacer (dai-seppa). The blade is clean with minimal handling wear and a uniform tempered edge line. The tang shows an Anchor stamp and signature from 1942 Tenshozan naval forge. The anchor stamp is indicative of factory production. An almost-identical example of this sword is featured on page 296 and 297 of Plimpton's book on Imperial Japanese Swords. The book states this sword was carried by all commissioned officer ranks, from ensign through admiral.