An Ujifusa Army Officer Katana (篠田氏房鍛之)

This is a premier WWII Army Officer Katana of the kind held by a Company or Warrant Officer, as indicated by the brown-blue tassel suspended at the hilt. The name Ujifusa (氏房) carries a lineage in quality sword making stretching back to 1356 and the Kyushu region of Japan – a name synonymous with reliability and craft. This particular blade was forged in Gifu province during the Showa period, circa 1930.

The blade is in pristine condition, having been polished in 2014 to a very high standard. The gunome choji midare hamon is superb – tiny clove blossoms dance along the edge in a rhythmic, almost hypnotic pattern. Of particular historical note is the Igeta kamon (well-frame family crest) fixed to the hilt, a feature reserved for certain officer swords and tied to samurai family lineages including the Hanai, Orii, Fujii, Nagai, Ida, Sakai, Asai, Hashimoto, and Handa clans.

The scabbard is made of steel, marking it as one of the early originals – later examples used lighter aluminium due to wartime iron conservation. All seppa (washers) and tsuba (guard) are matched with the Number ‘4’, confirming the fittings are original to the blade. This katana has two NTHK-NPO Kanteisho certificates covering both the sword and its fittings – an exceptional level of authentication for a gunto.