JAPANSKI VOJNI MAČEVI PERIODA II SVETSKOG RATA

SHIN-GUNTO MAČEVI

Osnovni delovi shin gunto mača

Shin gunto je najpoznatiji oficirski mač iz perioda II svetskog rata i najrašireniji stil mača koji je koristila japanska imperijalna armija tokom ovog perioda. Iako je na prvi pogled sličan tradicionalnom japanskom maču shin gunto nije ni približnog kvaliteta ni sečiva ni ostalih delova koji ga čine. Pre svega zbog velikih potreba japanske vojske da se opremi, većina mačeva je kovana mašinskim putem kako bi se ubrzao proces pa se tako stvarala pre svega vojna relikvija ili simbol nego izraz umetnosti izrade mača. Postoje i sečiva koja su i tokom ovog perioda izrađivana ručno ali bey korišćenja tradicionalnih tehnika i metoda, ovi mačevi poznati su pod omenom Gendaito ili Kindaito. Sa druge strane postojali su i kovači koji su u ovom periodu proizvodili i tradicionalna japanska sečiva kao što je Yasakuni Shrine kovač iy škole Gassan zatim Chounsai Emura i Ichihara Nagamitsu između ostalih. Mačevi ručne iyrade bey upotrebe ttradicionalnih metoda kasnije su klasifikovani po nazivima: Showato, Muratato, Mantetsuto, Hantanzo ili Yatetutso zavisno od metode izrade. Neke od kompanija koje su se bavile izradom, nabavkom ili prodajom mačeva za potrebe japanske armije, imale su svoje pečate koji je najčešće stavljan na saya – korice mača, mada to nije i relevantan dokay da je ta kompanija izradila taj mač pošto su se mnoge od njih bavile preprodajom. Ono što je svakako prepoynatljiva karakteristika shin gunto mačeva ovog perioda su svakako drvene lakirane korice prepoznatljive braon boje ili u retkim slučajevima mornaričko plave ili crne boje. U kasnijem periodu II svetskog rata dve osnovne vrste shin gunto mačeva bile su u opticaju. Kasnije 1944 god. Pojavio se model shin gunto mača koji je dobio naziv ,,marinski model,, iz za nas nepoznatih razloga jer nije bio izrađen za korišćenje  

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Kasniji tipovi shin gunto

mornaričkih jedinica japanske armije. I u ovom periodu svi mačevi koji se mogu pronaći su izrađeni mašinskim putem bez poboljšanja kvaliteta. Druge varijacije shin gunto iz 1944 javljaju se sa svetlo braon koricama evidentno lošeg kvaliteta izrade mašinskim putem.

Tokom 1945 veliki broj tzv. ,, očajničkih ,,modela biva pušten u opticaj iy proiyvodnih resursa kako Japana tako i područja pod Japanskom okupacijom. Primećuje se da su ovi modeli bili jako ,, kitnjasti,, dosta se koristio bakar, korice su bile crne boje ali siromašne konstrukcije na nekim modelima pokrivene kožom. Sečiva su bila jako loše izrade od veoma lošeg materijala, nijedno sečivo ovog perioda nije izrađeno na tradicionalan način. Interesovanje koje mogu probuditi ovi mačevi je pre svega u smislu istorijskih artefakata.

     

NEOFICIJELNI SHIN-GUNTO

Prior to 1945, NCO shin-gunto, (non-commissioned, neoficijelni) oficirski mačevi imali su svi metalne rukohvate pokrivene tradicinalni shin gunto braon kanapom. Prvi model imao je

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neobojeni bakarni rukohvat. Na kasnijim modelima javlja se rukohvat-tsuka , koji je bio izrađen od aluminijuma. Ovi mačevi su bili karakteristični i po tome čto su na svojim sečivima imali utisnute serijske brojeve koji nemaju nikakvo posebno značenje, sečiva ovih modela su sva bez izuzetaka napravljena mašinskim putem od jako lošeg čelika.

Godine 1945, NCO mač je promenio dršku mača iy aluminijumske u drvenu ispresecanu plitkim usecima na površini i ofarbanu u svetlo braon boju..

KYU-GUNTO MAČEVIRUSKO –JAPANSKI STIL

Kyu gunto mačevi takođe poznati i kao Rusko-japanski mačevi, korišćeni su od strane armije, konjice i mornarice, odnosno oficira japanske vojske tokom Rusko-japanskog i drugog svetskog rata. Ovaj model mača egzistirao je u periodu od 1883 do 1945 godine . Kao i kod shin gunto modela i u ovom slučaju postojao je širok spektar kvaliteta na obe vrste izrađenih sečiva i ručno i mašinski.Pronađene su mnoge varijacije naročito na koricama kyu gunto mačeva uključujući hromirani metal, kožom pokrivene drvene korice sa bakarnim držačima i sl. Mačevi ručne izrade imaju malo izdužen rukohvat i mekugi ( klin koji drži korice za telo mača) dok mašinske verzije nemaju klin a sečiva su im hromirana.

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MAČEVI IZ KOLONIJALNE OKUPACIJE

Kada su Japanci okupirali teritorije okolnih država u cilju širenja svoje moći u periodu od 1930 do 1940 god. Izrađeno je više mačeva za zvaničnike nkoji su upravljali kolonijama ili su tamo bili na službi. Modeli ovih mačeva su u osnovi kyu gunto sa manjim modifikacijama. Svaki kolonijalni region imao je različit amblem koji je bio utisnut na trakama koje su se nosile uz mačeve. Svi kolonijalni mačevi su izrađeni mašinskim putem, hromiranih su sečiva sa urezanim hamonom kako bi verovatno što više podsećali na tradicionalne japanske mačeve iako nisu bili ni približno slični. Korice mača bile su kožne ili hromirane sa ukrasima i držačima od bakra.

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KAI-GUNTO

Kai gunto mačevi korišćeni su isključivo od pripadnika Imperijalne Japanske mornarice . Korice ovih mačeva bile su pokrivene svilom a zatim lakirane u crnu ili tamno plavu bojuisto je tretiran i rukohvat-tsuka. Sečiva ovih mačeva izrađivana su od neke vrste nerđajućeg čelika ( taisabiko ili sabihaito ). Većina mačeva je izrađena u firmi ,, Tenshozan Tanrenjo,, koja se nalazila u mestu Zushi blizu Kamakure prefektura Kanagawa. Ova firma je po svemu sudeći bila isključivi snabdevač Japanske mornarice

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ovim artiklom kao i oficirskim mornaričkim bodežima. Na nakagou ( delu sečiva koji ulazi u korice ) ugraviran je naziv firme kao i njihov amblem – sidro.

ČVOROVI I KIĆANKE NA VOJNIM MAČEVIMAShin-gunto swords are sometimes found with a colored tassel (left) attached to the kabuto-gane (hilt buttcap). The officer's rank that carried the sword can be determined from the color of the tassel. Blue/brown tassels were used by company grade officers, red/brown by field grade officers, red/gold tassels for general grade officers. Tassels can be easily switched from sword to sword and reproduction tassels can also be added to WW II vintage swords. A new general grade tassel on a poor quality sword is indicative of a "made-up" story. NCO swords had a leather sword knot (right). Kyu-gunto swords had a ball type corded knot.

RIKUGUN JUMEI TOSHO

Vojni sertifikovani kovači mačeva

Predstava ili gravura zvezde na nakagou sečiva japanskog mača iy perioda II sv. Rata je indikator da se radi o maču koji je izrađen od strane Rikugun Jumei Tosho ili ,, Sertifikovanih vojnih kovača,, čiji su mačevi prošli vojne testove i prover. Jednom prihvaćeni kao ovlašćeni vojni kovači oni su dobijali određeno odobrenje za izradu mačeva za potrebe vojnih formacija. Ovi kovači su koristili netradicionalne materijale prilikom proizvodnje mačeva a to je najčešće bio valjani čelik.

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KOVAČI KOJI SU KORISTILI SIMBOL ZVEZDE NA MAČEVIMA Miyairi Shohei (Akihira) Niigata Akihisa Hiragawa Akimitsu Kasuga Seizou Tokoro

Harumoto Chikuzen (no) Kuni ju Muto

Hidehiro Hidemine Chikuzen ju Kajihara

Hiromitsu Ikusa no Kajitsu Hisakuni Yoshu Seiunshi Hisatsugu Noshu ju Kuriyama

Kaneaki(star + Kitae stamp)

Kaneharu Noshu ju Kanehide (star +

Seki stamp) Seki ju Kanehide Noshu ju Kanehisa (Kojima) Kanemichi (star

+Showa stamp) Noshu Seki ju Kanemichi Takeuchi Kanemitsu Seki Kanemoto Kanenaga (star +Seki

stamp) Noshu ju Kanenobu Noshu Seki ju Kanenori Kaneshige (star + Seki

stamp) Noshu ju (Morita)

Kaneshige Seki ju Kanetomo (star +

Seki stamp) Noshu ju (Murayama)

Kanetoshi(star + Seki stamp)

Gunma Imae Kanetsugu Joshu ju Imai Kanetsugu Seki ju Kanetsugu Tsushima Kanetsugu Kawai Kaneyoshi Inoue Katsukiyo Tokyo Dai Ichi Rikugun

Zoheisho Katsunobu Yoshida Katsunori

Sanjo ju Fujiwara Kazunori(may also be read as Ichinori)

Oki Kuni ju Kikumitsu(star + tai stamp)

Senshu Kiyokane Choshu ju Kiyokune Izumo (no) Kuni

Kiyomitsu Choshu ju Kiyotsugu Hizen ju Kunimitsu Mori Kunitoshi Noshu ju Kunitoshi

(same as Mori Kunitoshi) Sendai Kunitsugu Iwashiro Kuniyasu Shoda Masafusa Hitachi Shishi do Isobe

Masahiro Kagawa Masahiro Masakuni Mizuno Masanori Ritsumeikan Masatake Saga (Hizen) Masatsugu Hizen kuni Masatsugu Ryu Masayoshi Ritsumeikan Masayuki Seki Mitsunobu Miyagi Morikuni Watanabe Morikuni Kanatoshi Minamoto

Morinobu Minamoto Moritaka Minamoto Moriyoshi Munehatsu Dewa Kuni Tsuchiyama

Munemitsu (Yamagami) Munetoshi Chikugo ju Endo

Nagamitsu Seishinshi Nagatoshi Onoki Naoji

(star + Seki stamp)

Hokke Saburo Nobufusa

Minamoto Nobushige (Yoshihara) Nobutake Noriaki Tsukamoto Ikkansai

Okimasa Oki Kuni ju Okimitsu Sanuki Kuni ju Okimitsu Shimane Okimitsu Kawano Sadashige

(aka: Minamoto Sadashige)

Minamoto Sadateru(aka: Gassan Sadaichi)

Echigo kuni ju Uyemura Sadatoshi

Genbusai (Kojima) Shigefusa

Ikkansai Shigemasa (Tomita) Sukehiro Sukekuni (star + Showa

stamp) Sukenao Noshu (no) ju Sukenobu (Toki) Sukenobu Koshun(?) Tadatoshi Shimotsuke ju Fujiwara

Tadayoshi Yamashiro ju Higashi

Tokimitsu Furuhata Tomomaro Toshihide Noshu ju Toshihide Baba Tsugukiyo Bizen no Kuni Akazaki ju

Toshimitsu Tsuguyoshi Yasukuni Ritsumeikan Yoshikazu (Narii Kesayoshi)

Yoshikuni Noshu ju Ishihara

Yoshisada Okishiba Yoshisada Iwami Yoshikiyo Hirasaki ju Yoshinobu Hizen (no) Kuni ju nin

Yoshitada Saga (Hizen) Yoshitada Hizen Kuni Kinoshita

Yoshitada

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Zuihu (same as Shigefusa)

Rikugun Jumei Tosho KOVAČI POZNATI IZ LITERARNIH IZVORA Kawase Akikane Echigo no Kuni

ju Tesshushi Akimitsu Ishii Akifusa Shiono Akiharu Yoshihara Akihiro Nikara Akihiro Yamaue Akihisa Kondo Akikuni Shiono Akimichi Ikarashi Akimitsu Tanaka Akimori Konno Akimune Shiozawa Akinaga Kato Akinori Musashi no Kuni Akinori Nikara Akisada (aka

Kunitoshi) Iguchi Akisada Sanjo Akitada Nakabayashi Akitaka Tamura Akitaka Kotani Akitaka Kotani Akitomi Akimoto Ikkansai

Minamoto Akitomo Wakabayashi Akitoshi Takahashi Akitsugu Baba Akitsugu (aka

Tsugukiyo) Fujita Akiyoshi Sasakawa Akiyoshi Kurihara Akiyuki Arai Akiyuki Tsutsumi Amatsugu Sakurai Chikafusa Horigawa Chikamitsu Tashiro Douyama Okada Genjou Kitamura Harunobu Takefuji Hidehiro Koshi Wasasaburo

MinamotoNyudo Hidemune

Yatomi Hirokiyo Torio Hiromasa Yoshu Hojo ju Hiromasa Kajihara Hiromitsu Takefuji Hisahiro Koga Hisakuni Imai Hisatsugu

Sato Kiyokatsu Sakurai Kiyokuni Nagamura Kiyonobu Koyama Kiyosuke Yamauchi Kuniharu Takajima Kunihide Kataoka Kunihiro Sakai Kunihisa Yoshihara Kuniiye Miura Kunimitsu Konoshima Kunimitsu Shibata Kunimitsu Kiku Kuninobu Yoshihara Kuniie Yoshihara Kuninobu Suzuki Kuninori

(aka Suzuki Kuniyoshi) Mizuta Kunishige Nagao Kunishiro Taguchi Kunitaka Horigawa Kunitake Ishiwata Kunitoshi Nikara Kunitoshi (aka

Akihiro) Mori Kunitoshi Murayama Kunitsugu Kikuchi Kuniyasu Ono Kuniyoshi Haga Kuniyoshi Miyaguchi Masafusa Isobe Masahiro Semimaru Masahiro Ikeda Masahisa Toriwa Masahisa Takano Masakane Katsumura Hitachi no

SukeMinamoto Masakatsu

Oshu Iwashiro ju nin Choushi (Tsukamoto) Masakazu

Yakumo Amatsu Masakiyo

Kobayashi Masakiyo Morita Masamichi Miura Masamitsu Hirai Masamitsu Fukuda Masamitsu Sakai Masamizu Ishimichi Masamori Ito Masanaga

Yoshihara Nobutake Akiyama Nobuyuki Inoue Nobuyuki Morioka Noriaki Yasumoto Norimitsu Chikuzen Fukuoka

Moritsugu Norisada Tsukamoto Okimasa Hara Okimitsu I Hara Okimitsu II Tominaga Riyuu Wagou Sadajiro Gassan Sadakatsu Kaminura Sadakiyo Onishi Sadanari Echigo no Kuni

ju Imai Sadaroku Kawano Sadashige Yoshu Saijo ju Nyudo

Sadashige Akimoto Sadatomo Kamimura Sadatoshi Takahashi Sadatsugu Takai Sadatsugu Enomoto Sadayoshi (aka

Yorikichi) Nishimoto Sadayoshi Kawasaki Sadayuki

(Kaigun Toko) Andachi Sadayuki Kato Sanekuni Kato Saneyoshi Sato Shigechika Ikkansai Shigemasa Kusakabe Shigemichi Hirose Shigemitsu Yodogawa Shigetoshi Wakabayashi Shigetsugu Tomita Sukehiro Kato Sukekuni Takeshita Sukemitsu Toki Sukenobu Kanesaki Suketoshi Fujiwara Sukeyuki Ihara (Fukutaro) Teruhide Ihara (Kametaro) Teruhide Shibutani Terukatsu Kawashima Terumitsu Ihara Teruyoshi Furuhata Tomomaro Izumi Tomoyoshi

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Yoshihara Hisayoshi Takahashi Kagefusa Fukuda Kaneaki Fujii Kanefuji Morita Kanefusa Nakata Kanehide Otsuki Kanekuni Kato Kanekuni Kuriki Kanemasa Takeuchi Kanemasa Godo Kanemitsu Motomura Kanemoto Kaneko Kanemoto Kiribuchi Kanemune Godo Kanenari Niwa Kanenobu Kojima Kanenori Fujii Kaneoto Koda Kanesada Murayama Kaneshige Moriyama Kaneshige Morita Kaneshige Sato Kanesumi Koketsu Kanetaka Kiribuchi Kanetomo Miwa Kanetomo Kozuke junin

Ryuminsai Kanetomo Shoka Kanetoshi Murayama Kanetoshi Tsukahara Kanetsugu Imai Kanetsugu Ryuminsai Kanetsugu Fujitani Kaneyoshi Kawai Kaneyoshi Murayama Kaneyuki Sato Kanezumi Inoue Katsukiyo Onuma Katsutoshi Miyano Kazuichi Ikeda Kazumitsu (aka

Yasumitsu) Suzuki Kazuyuki Sakamoto Kikumitsu Kobayashi Kiyokane

Tsutsui Kiyokane

Nozawa Masanao Mizuno Masanori Okajima Masatada Morioka Masataka Hiramatsu Masatomo Okishiba Masatsugu Taguchi Masatsugu Sakai Masatsugu Tokunaga Masatsugu Amachi Masatsune Takahashi Masayoshi Kosaka Masayoshi Sunaga Masayuki Yoshihara Masazane Tashiro Michitoshi Yamaguchi Mitsuhiro Takefuji Mitsuhiro Hizen no Kuni

Mitsuhiro Arai Mitsunori Miyake Morichika Miyagi Morikuni Sato Morikuni Sakuma Morikuni Watanabe Morikuni Terada Morinobu Miyake Moritaka Momota Munehide Yuki Munemitsu Ikeda Munetoshi Yamaue Munetoshi Tanaka Munetsugu Endo Nagamitsu Ichihara Ichiryushi

Nagamitsu Sato Naganari Kuwahara Naganori Osanai Nagayoshi Ichimura Naohisa Dewa Yamagata ju

Heiryo Naohisa Okuyama Naomasa Shimura Naotake Kobayashi Naotsugu Takahashi Nobufusa Nobuta Nobukuni Okishiba Nobushige

Iwasaki Nobushige

Ikkansai Toshihiro (aka Yasuhiro)

Imazumi Toshimitsu Baba Tsuguhiro Morita Tsuguiye Baba Tsugukiyo (aka

Akitsugu) Takahashi Tsugumasa Kozuke ju Tsugumasa Kozuke ju (Tsukagoshi)

Tsugunobu Imai Tsuguyoshi Kato Tsuneyasu Morishita Ujiyu Hino Ungo Motomura Yasuhiro Moritaka Yasuhiro Ikari Yasukazu Takeshita Yasukuni Matsunaga Yasumitsu Ryozen Ikari Yasukazu Yoshimi Yasutsugu Kojima Yasuyoshi Motojima Yasuyoshi Enomoto Yorikichi (aka

Sadayoshi) Osaki Yoshihira Nikara Yoshihiro Sato Yoshihisa Fujita Yoshikane Taniguchi Yoshikane Kawai Yoshikazu Kihara Yoshimasa Tanaka Yoshimitsu Yasumoto Yoshimitsu Fukuda Yoshimitsu

(Kaigun Toko) Takahashi Yoshimune Koide Yoshimune Takeyama Yoshinao Tangi Yoshinobu Nikara Yoshinobu Yamamura Yoshisada Kinoshita Yoshitada Chikugo ju Muto Yukihiro Takefuji Yukihiro Moritsugu Yukimune Taguchi Yukiyoshi

Fukuda Zenshiro

JAPANSKI VOJNI BODEŽI

MORNARIČKI OFICIRSKI BODEŽI

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Oficirski mornarički bodež prvi put je predstavljen 1880. isti model korišćen je u mnogo civilnih varijanti sa malim varijacijama. Većina je izrađena mašinskim putem sa karakterističnim hromiranim sečivom. Imali su dodatke ukrasa od bakra kao i kićanke. from the civilian dirks. Vrlo retko može se sresti mornarički bodež koji je ručno kovan ali ima i takvih primeraka.

OFICIRSKI I KAMIKAZE BODEŽI

Oficirski bodeži ovakvog tipa veoma su retki i takođe retko nošeni od strane pripadnika vojske i mornarice.Pre svega najčešće se sreću kod pilta kamikazapa im je i dodeljen naziv kamikaze bodeži.U osnovi veoma su dobre izrade izrađeni u malom broju sa najčešće ručno tradicionalno kovanim sečivom. Imaju istinski hamon u većini slučajeva. Sečiva su prosečne dužine šest do sedam inčaa nakago je kratak i retko obeležen signaturom. Korice saya su od slonovače u luksuzijoj varijanti ili od lakiranog drveta. Nemaju rukobran tsuka i liče na minijaturni model mača shirasaya. Smećtani su u male drvene lakirane kutije.

OFICIRSKI BODEŽI U KOŽNIM FUTROLAMA

MORNARIČKI NCO BODEŽI

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Bodeži ovakovog tipa bili su rezervisani za starije mornaričke oficire a smeštani su u tamno braon ili crnr kožne futrole. Sečiva su izređivana mačinskim putem i bila su dužine oko 10 inča. Mornarička posda nosila je sličan model malo zakrivljeniji čije sečivo nije imalo kanal.

CIVIL FORESTRY OFFICIALS DIRKS

Civil forestry officials were authorized to wear dirks from about 1903 until the end of WW II in 1945. There were two models, both in a junior and senior grade pattern. The junior grade officials pattern had silver plated mounts while the senior officials pattern had gilded brass mounts. Both may have the cherry blossom (sakura) design on the hilt and/or scabbard fittings. The hilt was covered with rayskin (same') and the scabbard was covered in black leather. Both grades had plated, machine made blades although hand forged blades have been found in this style mounts. Forestry officials dirks are relatively rare today.

NATIONAL RAILROAD OFFICIALS DIRKS

In 1909 the Japanese National Railroad instituted dirks for its officials. These are similar in design to the Naval Officer's dirks, but have wire wrapped, dark rayskin (same') covered handles. The emblem on the handle is the Kiri mon and the kashira (top cap) has a wheel motif. The mounts are gilt brass. The scabbard is black leather. All railroad dirk blades are machine made and chrome plated with a fuller running the length of the blade. Other civil official's dirks were quite similar but with different emblems denoting the agency or organization.

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ARMY PARADE AND POLICE OFFICER SABERS

 There is often confusion between the army parade saber and the police officer saber. Both are similar in design and general appearence. They have chromed metal scabbards, brass D-hilts and wire wrapped grips. The police saber has a five petal cherry blossom mon whereas the parade saber has a ten petal cherry blossom mon. Parade sabers will occasionally have a family crest (mon) on the backstrap of the hilt. All of the blades in these swords are machine made and normally chrome plated.

 

JAPANESE CAVALRY TROOPER SABERS

Japanese cavalry sabers, introduced in the late 19th Century, have machine made blades with serial numbers on the ricasso and will commonly have arsenal stamps on the guard. The Type 25, introduced in 1892, have brass hilts and plain wood grips. The hilt back strap on later Type 32 model, introduced in 1899, is checkered steel (commonly blackened). The wood grips are also checkered. There is a leather finger loop on the inside of the guard. The blades have a long, wide fuller running the total length of the blade. The scabbards are steel with a single suspension ring. These are commonly mislabeled as 1886 cavalry sabers. The 1886 model cavalry officers parade saber was very similar to the kyu-gunto, but have slotted knuckle bows to accommodate a sword knot.

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POLICE & MOUNTED POLICE SABERS

Police and mounted police sabers were all machine made and have chromed blades. This type of sword or "hanger" was carried by the low to mid rank police. These blades are commonly quite short even though the chromed metal scabbard is normal length. The hilt is brass and the grips are wood with black leather covering and brass wire wrapping. These should be distinguished from police officer sabers which are similar to Army officer parade sabers but have a five petal cherry blossom mon. This same basic design was used by a variety of civilian agencies with different emblems on the backstrap and side panels.

CIVIL OFFICIAL SWORDS

There were numerous civil agency swords. Some have emblems on the back strap to designate a specific civil agency. These swords are also similar to the Naval Prison Service swords. All are machine made and have chromed blades. The scabbards may be chrome or nickel plated. Some of the Naval Prison Service swords will have black leather scabbards with metal fittings.

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ARTILLERY SWORDSBRASS HILT VARIATION

These swords were issued to artillerymen and artillery gunners. The blades are approximately 20 inches (53 cm) in length and quite broad. They have a single wide fuller on one side but are un-fullered on the reverse. Early models have a brass hilt which is ribbed on one side and plain on the reverse. Late in the war, some were made with wood grips mounted with brass or iron guards and pommels. The black leather scabbards may be brass or iron mounted. The swords were all machine made and will commonly have ordinance stamps on the cross guard.

ARTILLERY SWORDWOOD GRIP VARIATION

ARMY "COURT" AND DIPLOMATIC CORPS SWORDS

These swords bear striking resemblance to some western fraternal organization swords. They were worn by high ranking army officers for full dress events. The basic army design is the same as the Japanese diplomatic sword. The Army court swords have a dragonfly on the pommel. Some styles have a sunburst on the clam shell guard, others have a paulonia mon or the Imperial kiku (chrysanthemum) mon on the clam shell guard. They were issued only to field grade and general grade officers. The diplomatic swords were for consular grade diplomates. The blades are narrow, straight, double edged with floral engraving. The hilt and

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scabbard fittings are gilded brass. The scabbards are black polished leather with gilded brass throat and toe mounts. There are several variations in both the Army swords and the diplomatic swords.

Aquincum

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