Signed 17th Century Edo Period Japanese Katana in WWII Army Officer Shin Gunto Mounts

The shin gunto mounted sword has an overall length in the scabbard of approximately 35 inches, with a blade length of approximately 21 inches. The old blade exhibits spots and scratches, while being generally bright and clean, and also displaying a visible temper line. The tang has a single mounting hole and it is signed “Kawachi no Kami Minamoto no Hironobu”, a smith who was active from 1661 to 1673. The sword, then, is clearly an old family blade which was placed into World War II Imperial Army officer mounts when a family member went to war. The grip is covered in light sharkskin, and it is tightly wrapped in the traditional manner with dark green fabric which shows a break in the fabric at the base, above the menuki peg hole. Beneath the fabric on each side of the grip are the standard military menuki of three gilt cherry blossoms. The tsuba guard is the pierced style with four raised cherry blossoms in relief. The steel scabbard retains its olive brown paint while having one or two small indentations which do not effect the ability to draw or sheath the sword. Overall the sword is in very good field used condition. We photographed the sword with the retaining peg removed and it will be replaced at the time of shipping.