A Rare Beautiful Imperial Japanese WWII Signed NCO Shin Gunto Katana Family Blade Made Mid 1600's in good to very good condition. The sword maintains a complete handle wrap and leather scabbard heat wrap with minor damage and some wear. The sword bolsters a prominent signature which in our loose translation the name "Tanehiro" can be made out. Tanehiro was an early Edo-period Japanese swordsmith from Hizen Province, associated with Saga and often recorded under a signature. While the date range 1661–1673 refers to the Kanbun era, most references place this smith’s main activity slightly earlier, around the Kan’ei era, 1624–1644, so the 1661–1673 date may reflect a later attribution, blade style, or cataloging error rather than his primary working period. Tanehiro is considered a Hizen smith outside the main Tadayoshi line, connected instead with the Ichitaro/Tanehiro group, and his surviving works are relatively scarce. In Japanese families, swords were often treasured heirlooms passed down through generations as symbols of lineage, honor, and ancestral service. As these blades moved from one family member to another, they were sometimes altered to better suit the new owner, including being shortened, remounted, or fitted with new hardware while preserving the original blade itself. This practice became especially visible during World War II, when many Japanese soldiers carried older family blades that were updated with military-style mounts to meet Imperial Japanese Army regulations. In some cases, traditional samurai-era or Edo-period blades were placed into regulation gunto fittings, allowing the soldier to carry an ancestral sword in a modern military context. These swords are particularly interesting to collectors today because they combine older Japanese sword making tradition with wartime military history, showing both family heritage and practical adaptation for service. Measures 41" overall.