A Suketada WWII Navy Officer Katana (祐忠)

This graceful katana was forged over 300 years ago during the Hoei era and is shaped as a ko-tachi – a short tachi with origins in horseback warfare more than 1,000 years prior. Signed by swordsmith Suketada of Bizen no Kuni (Osafune), the blade carries the hallmarks of the classic Bizen tradition: a beautiful ko-itame hada and a flowing gunome choji-midare temperline resembling clove blossoms. The scabbard is notably and unusually deeply curved – a rare feature in Navy officer mountings.

It is housed in excellent condition WWII Japanese Navy Officer Kai-Gunto pattern fittings, which is itself highly significant – the vast majority of Navy officer swords were either mass-produced or forged during the war years. That an Edo-period blade of this quality survived in matching naval fittings speaks to the reverence the officer’s family held for it. The sword was almost certainly passed down through samurai lineage for generations before being presented to the officer at the call of duty.

Traditional sakura (cherry blossom) imagery adorns the fittings – the national flower of Japan and the enduring symbol of the warrior’s acceptance of mortality. The ubu-nakago remains in original condition with ha-agari kurishiri base shape and kiriyasuri file marks.