Help with a Type 3 Sword

[Butch]

Could any body please help me with this sword .

It is a type 3 with a very nice blade which is also a carry’s a Star stamp …

I know a lot of people talk about swords painted black but this one does show evidence of both the leather covered saya and the fittings of being black painted at sometime ?

regarding the pictures I hope they do come out ok..

Many thanks Gareth 

[Butch]

[Butch]

[Butch]

[Butch]

[vajo]

Noshu Kanetoshi  - from a first glance without a book to check it. 

[Butch]

Thank you ..

Could it possibly be Navy Landing forces ?

Regarding the tassel 

[Bruce Pennington]

Hi Gareth!

 

Thanks for the added pics of the black painted tsuba/seppa.  I'll add a link of this to the Black Painted gunto thread.

 

There are no swords specific to the Navy landing forces.  But they would have been navy swords, not army, which the Type 3, or Rinji seishiki model is.  That is an urban legend that got started decades ago.

 

The tassel, if indeed all brown, indicates this sword was carried by the civilian branch of the army called Gunzoku.  They wore military uniforms with Gunzoku rank and carried swords commensurate with their rank.

 

You can read about the Rinji model here:

Unveiling the Rinji seishiki Sword 1940

and

History of the Mislabeled Type 3

 

About the Gunzoku brown tassel:

The all-brown Tassel

[Bruce Pennington]

Oh, and for research/searh purposes, this blade has a Na and "30" stamped on the mune (posted over at Wehrmacht-awards)

[Butch]

Thanks Bruce ., regarding the brown tassel I was told that it was introduced  to army officers to wear late 44/45 besides being issued to the Navy ..

[vajo]

I don't think that tassel is correct to that sword.

[Butch]

Showing more evidence of the sword being painted black notice the remnants of black paint over the leather covered sayer ..

[Kiipu]

4 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

this blade has a Na and "30" stamped on the mune

 

Big 名, little 名, and a circle 〇.

名名〇

[John C]

Nice star stamped gendaito, which are often found in RS mounts. It looks as if it has two chuso release buttons. This particular set-up often had decent blades in them.

 

John C.

[Bruce Pennington]

9 hours ago, Butch said:

Thanks Bruce ., regarding the brown tassel I was told that it was introduced  to army officers to wear late 44/45 besides being issued to the Navy ..

No, that’s another decades old urban legend. Simply because no one had been able to read the official World War II Japanese documents. You will see in Nick’s article that he has pulled up the actual wartime documents that assigned that color to the civil servants.