This Shinto era katana sits in very good WWII military mounts and is offered as SKU 74968 in used condition. The blade is 24.5 inches long and brightly polished; the supplier reports what appears to be a suguha, or straight, hamon, while noting that it is difficult to make out. The tang is mumei, unsigned, and has two mekugi-ana. What separates this sword from most wartime bring-backs is the paperwork: a letter from the daughter of the Major who carried it home.

According to that letter, the sword was surrendered to the Major by Japanese officers in the Philippines in 1945, which gives the piece a chain of custody from the war onward. For Illinois collectors, a documented surrender sword with an older Shinto era blade in good WWII fittings is a different proposition from an anonymous one, since the letter travels with the sword. Read the condition facts as given: bright polish, a faint hamon and an unsigned tang, with the mounts as shown in the photos.

Key features

• Shinto era blade, 24.5 inches, brightly polished
• Suguha hamon, faint and difficult to see
• Mumei tang with two mekugi-ana
• Very good WWII mounts
• Letter documenting 1945 surrender in the Philippines

The sword and its accompanying letter ship together to your door at any Illinois address.