An Imperial Japanese Army WWII Shin Gunto Sword in good to very good condition. The blade does not appear to be a factory-made blade but instead entertains strongly the possibility of being a Showa era handmade sword by one of the very few sword artisans during the war either under small batch contract for the military or privately purchased by a Japanese officer who then updated it with the regulation standard hilt, handle, and scabbard which was not uncommon at the time. During the Showa era, many Japanese sword makers produced blades under contract for the Imperial Japanese Army as Japan expanded its military before and during World War II. With demand for officers’ swords rising sharply, traditional swordsmiths, arsenal-supervised shops, and larger manufacturing firms all contributed to wartime sword production.