Augustus

Thank you Bruce, Steve and Matt for solving this mystery. When I head to Japan someday or perhaps in a couple years from a Japanese online dealer of nihonto, I'm definitely going to be getting a true nihonto from them (possibly a katana and a wakizashi, but otherwise just a katana). This showato is enough for me at the moment to scratch the itch, but I still can't wait to get one that is a traditional one. I've always been fascinated by the history of Japan and the sword culture, but I don't have the space at the moment for more than just this sword as I collect other weapons too. By the way I do have a question. Would the Civilian Employees be employed by both branches (Army and Navy) or is this strictly Army only? Same question applies to the Gunzoku as well.

Greetings to anyone who sees this. I have bought my first sword and have been trying to find out about its history. This Katana was advertised as a Kaigunto at my local surplus store, but I have reason to believe that it might be at least semi-traditionally forged and definitely not a kaigunto based on its rare to see civilian Showa Era Fittings. I have photos so it is easier to see. The blade is signed, but has a stamp above it (on its own in a seperate picture) that is badly faded that could mean it is a Showato or just an acceptance stamp of some kind. The blade has a gnome hamon, though the pattern is hard to pick up and the line breaks in places where the actual color differences in the metal does not. I see a line based pattern above the hamon on the steel to indicate it might have been hand forged, but I don't see the swirl pattern that from what I read is a dead giveaway as a tamahagane blade. I see what appears to be the date on the obverse side of the tang. The leather field wrapping on its burgandy wooden saya and the nicks in the blade say to me that it was used in battle. If possible I'd like to know more about this blade. I've only seen this design of koshirae two other times on the internet and there are two other variations of these Showa Era Civilian Fittings from what I can gather (one bamboo and one a tree based design). Its a puzzling enigma to me.