Gunto
| Gunto | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Information | |
| Use: | weapon |
| Region of origin / author: |
 Japan , military
|
| Distribution: | Japan |
| Overall length: | about 100 cm |
| Blade length: | about 60 cm |
| Handle: | Wood, leather, metal, fish skin, metal wire |
| Lists on the subject | |
Japanese military swords are referred to as Guntō ( Japanese 軍刀 'army sword ' ). They had their heyday in World War II . It is a modification of the katana , the sword of the samurai .
The Japanese army and navy used swords in a modern war to teach soldiers the spirit of bushidō , the samurai's code of honor.
description
At the end of the 19th century, Emperor Meiji introduced mounts in the design of European sabers. This type is known as Kyū-Guntō. These had no wrapped handles ( tsuka ) and often a bracket instead of the traditional tsuba . From 1934, mounts with the typically wrapped handles were used. They have an eyelet or two to hang on your belt and wear like a saber. Many Guntō have a release mechanism that locks the blade and releases it with a button in the handle. The blade could be machine-made in the poorest quality, but also traditionally by a good blacksmith.
Kyū-guntō
Kyū-Guntō ( 旧 軍刀 'old army sword ' ) are officer's swords that were worn by officers of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1872. They were modeled on French sabers .
The blades of Kyū-Guntō could have been made both traditionally and by machine. Kyū-Guntō should not be confused with the Shikitō (parade saber for army officers). The Kyū-Guntō was used until 1934, when it was officially replaced by the Shin-Guntō. In the Imperial Navy they were replaced by Kai-Gunto in 1937. Nevertheless, it occasionally happened that officers of the army wore Kyū-Guntō instead of Shin-Guntō.
Shikitō
Shikitō are parade sabers that were worn for parade purposes during peacetime. The handle was mostly wrapped in black leather and brass wire. The hand guard is made of brass. As with the Kyū-Guntō, the sheath is made of chrome-plated steel. The police also wore a version of the Shikitō that had a different ornament on the handle. The army had a five-petalled cherry blossom while the police had a ten-petalled cherry blossom. The blades were mostly machine-made, although in extremely rare cases gendaitō also appear in shikitō mounts.
Army: Shin-Guntō ( 新 軍刀 'new army sword ' )
The easiest way to identify the swords of the imperial army is that they only have one eyelet ( obi-tori ). They were worn by ordinary officers. The saya was mostly made of brownish lacquered metal. The handle was made of simple wood and was either traditionally made with tsuka-ito (wrapping tape made of silk), menuki, etc. With very cheap blades, the quality of the mount was also inferior. In general, one can say that the higher the quality of the mount (e.g. real Same-gawa , stingray skin and fine workmanship), the higher the quality of the blade. A sub-version of the Shin-Guntō is the Type 95 NCO Shin-Guntō, which was worn by lower-ranking army officers from 1935. The hilt of these swords was made of copper in the early examples, while in the later examples it was made of painted aluminum. In 1945 NCO Shin-Gunto came up with carved wooden handles. All NCO Shin-Gunto had machine-made blades of inferior quality. You can recognize machine-produced Shin-Guntō by the serial number on the blade and the mount. From 1943, another version of the Shin Gunto appeared, in which the handle was wrapped in the middle with lacquered tape. The scabbard of these swords was made of dark brown lacquered wood with a rough texture. The quality of the blades varied from machine-made specimens to traditionally made gendaito. The tsuba was made of blackened iron. There was another version of the 1943 Shin Gunto in which the blades were all machine-made. They were recognized by their light brown or light green metal sheaths and the fact that white fabric was used instead of stingray leather, which in turn was wrapped in green or light brown cord. The officer status and the troop membership could be recognized by different colored silk ribbons with tassels, which was attached to a bracket at the end of the handle. In the field, the saya and handle were often protected by leather covers. These were also part of the field carrying method, in which the sword was carried in a leather belt diagonally over the buttocks so as not to hinder movement. There were extra companies for the production, but their blades were all machine-made and in large numbers. In Japan these swords are considered worthless, in US and European collectors' circles these weapons sometimes fetch high prices. Wealthy officers were allowed to use the sword themselves, using higher quality, traditional materials and, in some cases, very good, antique blades.
Navy: Kaiguntō ( 海軍 刀 ' naval sword ' )
Naval swords, so-called kaiguntō, were worn by senior officers and have two obi-tori . Same-gawa , ray skin appeared under the wrapping of the handle and also polished on the wooden saya . Most of the time, however, the scabbard was made of black painted metal. The stingray skin on the handle was often dark blue. Some officers had leather subas made which, when well oiled, were more resistant to salt water . The quality of the blades varied from machine-made specimens (mainly from the Tenshozan or Toyokawa arsenal) to traditionally made gendaito. The blades from the Minatogawa Shrine in particular are considered to be of high quality. They are qualitatively comparable to those of the Yasukuni shrine. You can recognize Minatogawa blades by the Minatogawa Kikusui Mon stamp, which depicts a chrysanthemum in water. Kaiguntō have no safety mechanism. The handles were always wrapped, even silk was used. The higher quality of the mount is also explained by the fact that infantry swords usually had to be more robust for frequent field use, as the naval swords were almost never used in combat between ships. Japanese infantry soldiers have carried out so-called banzai attacks since the Battle of the Aleutians , the army version of the suicidal kamikaze attack in hopeless situations. Instead of surrendering, which was considered dishonor, the soldiers attacked the enemy in a charge, the officers mostly with drawn swords. Many officers, especially from old samurai families, could handle their swords well and were therefore extremely dangerous opponents in close combat .
Sound
Guntō came - depending on the type - either with machine-made, non-traditionally made or traditionally made blades. Each category had different sub-categories. The most popular categories are listed here.
- Machine-made blades : Machine-made blades were mostly made from factory steel and always have an arsenal stamp and a serial number. Some of the most famous arsenals are Kokura and Nagoya .
- Murata-tō : Murata-tō were blades that were forged from a mixture of Tamahagane and foreign industrial steel and often then polished to a high gloss. The idea for these swords came from General Tsuneyoshi Murata, who also developed rifles and bayonets. Many of these swords were shaped like the Kogarasu-maru and had a double-edged point. They came before all in Shikitō, but also occasionally in Kyū-Guntō and Shin-Guntō.
- Taisabi-tō : Taisabi-tō were machine-made blades that were forged from a type of stainless steel specially developed by the Japanese Navy. This steel should not be confused with the stainless steel that is used in decorative swords these days. Taisabi-tō were much more robust. The main suppliers of Taisabi-tō were the Tenshozan Arsenal and the Toyokawa Arsenal.
- Shōwa-tō : Shōwa -tō were swords that were forged by hand, but for which no traditional materials were used. Factory steel was almost always used and the blade was hardened in oil. Shōwa-tō usually carried a cherry blossom with the Kanji Shō for Shōwa on the nakago (angel). Often there were also specimens with the Kanji Seki on the hook, as well as others whose meanings are known to collectors.
- Mantetsu-tō : Mantetsu-tō, also called Koa-Isshin-tō, are swords made from Manchurian railroad steel. There were specimens that were hardened in oil as well as those that were hardened in water in the traditional way. The inscription Koa Isshin ("Asia, one heart"), which was a patriotic saying of the Japanese occupiers of Manchuria , is usually on the hook . Mantetsu-tō are nowadays sought after by sword collectors because of their robustness.
- Gendai-tō : Gendai-tō are swords traditionally made in Japan, forged in the traditional way from Tamahagane and hardened in water. The Gendai period of the Japanese sword began in 1877 when the ban on carrying the sword (Haitorei) came into force. Tamahagane is still used today as a material based on the traditional model. But from the 1930s onwards, experiments were also carried out with factory steel.
- Antique blades : During the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) officers often replaced their military blades with antique blades because they were more robust. Although many officers had the capital to buy antique blades, such blades were often inherited.
literature
- John M. Yumoto: The Samurai sword: a handbook. Tuttle Publishing, 1979, ISBN 978-0-8048-0509-4 .
- Tom Kishida, Kenji Mishina: The Yasukuni swords: rare weapons of Japan, 1933-1945. Kodansha International Publishers, 2004, ISBN 978-4-7700-2754-2 .
- David Miller: Fighting Men of World War II, Axis Forces . Uniforms, Equipment & Weapons of Axis Forces. 1st edition. Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-0277-5 , Japan, pp. 285 .
Web links
- Military Swords of Imperial Japan (English, Japanese)