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Recently we were contacted with some sword owners at our Dojo in San Francisco. They brought some Gunto for our Sensei's complimentary sword appraisals. The majority of the sword owners did not know what they had in their collections. It usually takes a long time for the sword owners to realize what they have. Sometime they were told the wrong stories about their swords. 90% of them seem to believe that they had the excellent swords, such as the Emperor's swords, generals' swords, museum quality swords.
Some brought the recently-made mainland China swords. These China swords were made from 1998 to 2003 and started to appeared heavily in the E-Bay Auction site. The lousy Non Japanese sword's production might not be ended in 2003. Possibly thye are still in production nowadays somewhere in mainland China. It is a crime to sell the psuedo-Japanese or non-Japanese swords as the genuine Nipponto. Many swords enthusiasts and serious collectors were fooled by these non-Japanese swords. The so-called experts of Japanese swords in the US were also fooled by these China made swords. The Chinese sellers used the words, such as genuine, authentic, vintage or antique when they sell their junk swords in the E-Bay Auction site. Be aware and study the Nipponto well and not to be victimised by the unscrupulous sword dealers !!
The Gunto are the military swords used during the WWII by the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy. Some of the Gunto were made in the late 1930's. Some of the Manshuto were made a little earlier. Our Sensei has a exceptionally clean Manshuto in his collection. He bought this clean Manshuto in 1982 and paid $175 for this Manshuto. We have seen many Manshuto in the US, however, we strongly believe that this is the cleanest Manshuto in the US. The production year was Showa Mizunoto-Hitsuji or 1943. Occasionally, we see some Manshuto with Kizu and rust for sale in the E-Bay auction site. A very rusty Manshuto was sold in the E-Bay Auction site for $1,604 in October, 2008.
Our Sensei used to own the 2nd cleanest Manshuto in the mid 1990's. He sold it to Steve San for $425, which was the price he actually paid to obtain the Manshuto from a local Japanese sword dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area. The production year was Showa Kinoe-Saru or 1944. There are 3 major Gunto found in the US:
1. Hantanto Gunto ( 1/2 machine-made military swords ) / Oil quenched / Also known as the Sunobe-to or Abura-Yaki-gatana. 2. Manshuto ( Manchuarian iron swords ) Gunto / Signed as Mantetsu Saku, Mantetsu Saku kore, Mantetsu Kin Saku, Mantetsu Kitae Tsukuru Kore. Other Mei: Koua Isshin 3. Kikai-zukuri Gunto ( 100% machine-made military swords ) / Aluminum handles with numerals inscribed by the Habaki-gane area. It is very hard to determine the price on these Gunto. We have seen all kinds of prices and heard many stories justifying the stated values. However, the following are the facts:
1. These above-mentioned 3 swords cannot be brought to Japan from the US or other foreign countries for any reason. 2. They are illegal in Japan, since they are not considered to be genuine Japanese swords for the following reasons. 3. They are not made with the Koshiki-Tanrenho ( Folding and forging system ) like the Koto, Shinto, Shinshinto and Gendaito. 4. The materials are not the Tama-hagane, therefore, there is no Hada (Texture) appearing on the surface of the blades. 5. They were oil quenched and not immersed in the water. 6. The antiques swords are considered to be older than 100 years in Japan
The majority of the swords found in the US are these 3 types of Gunto, the Imperial Japanese Army or Navy military swords used during the WWII. The complete information of Gunto and Gunso are available when you become an official member of the SFNS ( San Francisco Nipponto Society ).
Our Sensei has examined the 6 unusual Gunto in the past 2 decades in the US. He will be glad to provide the 6 unusual Gunto information when you attend our monthly sword study meeting at our Dojo in San Francisco.
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The 4 genuine & true Nipponto ( Japanese swords ): 1. Koto ( Old swords ) made prior to 1596
2. Shinto ( New swords ) made from 1596 to 1764
3. Shin-shinto ( Neo new swords ) made from 1765 to 1867
4. Gendaito ( Modern-day swords ) made from 1868 to present
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