FRI OCT 23, VERY NOTABLE JAPANESE ARMY COLONEL’S SHIN GUNTO SWORD, VERY OLD ANCESTRAL BLADE FROM THE EARLY 1600’S, WITH THE PROMINENT SAMURAI/PRIEST ASO CLAN CREST ON THE MENUKI, A HIGH STATUS SWORD!

This is a quite interesting Japanese Army Officers Shin gunto Sword with a very, very old ancestral blade from around 1600!  This sword could have been at Sekigahara!  We have an early type Japanese Army officers Shin Gunto sword WITH A COLONEL’S TASSEL, in High Quality military mountings.

VERY UNUSAL AND RARELY SEEN, THERE  ARE  2 Silver ASO CLAN Mon (Family Crest) mounted on top of both of the Menuki.  The powerful Aso clan was from Higo Provence and was a regional Samurai power as well serving as high priests of the Aso Shrine Temple.  Having Crests mounted on the Menuki is EXTREMELY UNUSUAL.  

 THERE IS AlSO AN ADDITIONAL/SECONDARY MON MOUNTED ON TOP OF SWORD BUTT.  This sword was a treasured and famous Notable Samurai clan/family heirloom that was re-purposed into the regulation Army Officers Shin Gunto Sword and would have certainly had great sentimental value to the Japanese Army Officer who carried it as a badge of rank. 

The Blade is in good polish.  It is 26 inches long and has a wavy temper line that is still visible after all these years.   The mounts are of high quality with a cross hatched copper colored Habaki.  There is one small neckbone nick in the blade otherwise it is flawless.  This is the traditional samurai sword which started life as a bucket of iron rich sand and was created by skilled craftsmen into a masterful work of art.  You will notice 3 peg holes in the tang which tell us it has been mounted 3 times over the centuries.

The Japanese Military Officers “Samurai” sword was the most prized war trophy of the Pacific War and it was an iconic symbol of the Japanese ethos of Warfare. When you think about this sword being approximately 400 years old, it was probably in existence when Jamestown was settled!  This ancient handmade piece of Steel would certainly capture anyone’s imagination!  I wonder how many people were hacked up by this beautiful thing over the years…