WWII 'war trophy' Japanese samauri swords?

S

shooter1201

Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
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There appears to be quite a bit of discussion on various forums regarding 'WWII Japanese 'samauri' swords, brought back by returning USGIs....that may actually have come from China.

What's the 'up and up' on such stories? How did Chinese 'copies' of Japanese swords make it to Japan before/during WWII.....or DID they? The Japanese have never been on what one would call 'friendly terms' with the Chinese....or the Koreans, for that matter.

Do the 'claims' that these 'war trophies' are actually Chinese in origin have any merit, or are these claims simply originating from 'bad-mouthing' collectors?

There appear to be several such swords presently on eBay. Where does one find DEFINITIVE PROOF that such WWII Japanese swords ARE Chinese in origin and COULD NOT HAVE POSSIBLY been 'brought home' by returning US soldiers in the 1940s?

TIA
 
Japan occupied Manchuria in 1931 until the end of WW2 so the scenario you suggest is possible but unlikely. Koreans and Chinese were "co-opted" to the japanese military as subordinates and they were supplied with cheap gunto-like objects of local manufacture not dissimilar in quality to those last "desperation" days of the war gunto that came out of Japan. There were also kyu-gunto type swords issued to colonial occupation officials for both Taiwan and Korea. Korean, Chinese and Burmese swords (dha) of that era all bear a vaguely similar appearance to katana, so easily mistaken. The end of the war in both europe and the pacific saw a flood of fakes enter the market to satisfy the insatiable demand of souvenir hunters from the conquering armies. So they could be fakes and still be "brought home" by returning US soldiers. The pacific theatre was vast, so gunto could be found over a widespread area. Selling war souvenirs to G.I.'s was possibly the only source of income to many of the liberated pacific peoples, so the temptation to fake was pretty high. In Germany, the same companies that supplied military knives and swords to the Nazis continued their production for many years after the war for souvenirs. These would be almost impossible to tell apart as they used all the same (genuine)components.

This probably best describes the fakes http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/repro.htm
 
While eprey is loaded with modern Chinese made "japanese" swords, there were some fine Japanese swords made in China during the Manchurian occupation. I've owned a few Koa Isshin blades and they were excellently made swords. For the whole story look here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/koa.htm

Rich S
-------------------------------------------------------
Richard Stein, PhD

Japanese Sword Guide
http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/nihonto.htm

"Never go anywhere without a knife"
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs
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Do you have any links to these discussions? It would be interesting to see what is being discussed.
As Rich says, there were swords made outside of Japan during the war. A sword I lusted after for a while was made in Hong Kong in 1943; it had NBTHK papers and 'Hong Kong' was part of the signature.

You've really got to look at the sword in question to judge its provenance. A fake blade is a fake blade, no matter if the most truthful person on the planet is telling you it came from their Grandad in the war.
Of course, that is entirely possible. I helped a fella out last week with translations for his Grandad's genuine sword.
But if the blade is fake and the guy is telling you "Grandad, war, etc, etc"...makes for a good story but not one I would believe.

A Japanese blade made in China, Hong Kong, anywhere outside of Japan, is still going to look like a proper Japanese blade. These guys followed rules to create a sword and as such, they made blades that are recognisable to a trained eye. A Japanese smith making a sword in China would not create the crap fakes we see on ebay and elsewhere.
 
If that's the discussion, I'm not sure what you mean.
That's one guy providing some details on the differences between genuine and fake Japanese swords. His word is well respected in Nihonto circles.

The fakes he has pictured are just that - fake.
The difference between them and genuine blades is as clear as the difference between chalk and cheese.
 
I have a friend who's father was in ww2 he has a sword he brought home. I have some pictures do you know someone I could show them too that could give him some info on it.
 
There's a few on this board that can help.
Post some pics in a new thread or I can PM you my email for the pics and I'll give you my opinion.
 
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