Funny story: my grandad chose not to get killed by one of these. This was before the war (well, what the West considers the war), and, long story short, he argued with some Japanese Lieutenant in Shanghair in about 1937, who promptly decided he was going to execute and marched out to a field behind where worked, and the officer asked him if he wanted to be shot or beheaded, and he's like "Shot." And the Officers like, "Why don't you want to be beheaded?" And grandad's like "Because I'm not insane?!" And the Japanese officers telling him all these things about how cool it is to be beheaded, and he should *want* to be beheaded, because, as Brock Sampson said, sword guys always gotta go on about their sword. Anyway, it was just a mock execution, so after that he got on the next boat back to Australia.
I do enjoy these small *slices* of history, even when they *cut* into my free time. They still get their *point* across well even if you don’t have a *sharp* mind 😊
Daggernabit! This comment is a cut above the rest. It's obvious your knowledge about swords is to the hilt. Don't sheathe your pursuit of knowledge to any other type of arms.
Ask any Japanese what anything means, and they'll answer exactly the same. "What is Karaage" "It's Japanese fried chicken". Source: I live here, and we had a whole English class based on not calling everything "(traditional) Japanese something" lmao
Amusingly, in Japanese, the correct word for a katana is Nihontou, or literally Japanese sword. Katana can refer to any single bladed weapon, which is why the jp wikipedia page for 刀's main image is a french cavalry sabre. I am not sure if this is common usage tho. It is pretty common to refer to western blades directly by their name, ie french cavalry sabres as furansu kabari sēbā, whereas japanese swords just get called katana or tachi most the time.
Kyu Guntō was based on French saber to be more specific, while varying in length and curve. The less fancy Type 32 cavalry saber was also used by the Japanese cavalry up to WW2.
My great grandfather was a captain on a ship for the IJN. He had one of these and it still is at my house in Japan. Wish I could hear stories about his life but he died long before I was even born. Rest in Peace Great grandfather.
I think it is worth pointing out that officers from western militaries carried swords into battle right the way into WWI. Japanese WWII sword drill was also conducted on western lines. The Japanese Army is merely exceptional for continuing the practice into WWII, though I understand there are other cultural factors involved as well.
Many officers continued carrying swords in service right the way through the war all the way to its end - especially officers on horseback away from the frontlines. To these men culturally, an officer is ill-equipped without a sword! boring essay ahead: - Infantry officers were advised/forbidden to stop wearing swords in June 1915, after numerous officers were targeted and sniped. Enforcement was mixed. For those outside the infantry and away from the frontlines, as an amateur collector, it seems swords of some kind were carried on-duty by plenty officers right until the end of the war. Some opted for shorter "hanger" swords instead - melee combat was still an occasional reality, and the preparation might make for some peace of mind. The last sword I researched (Wilkinson sword, spine no.48389, to Lieut. Kenneth Francis Shirley Turner) was made in 1914 and the decision was still made by the officer to bring it with him to serve in the Royal Field Artillery when he landed in France in *late December* 1915, so nearly 1916. There's still some French mud at the scabbard's drag. He served until the end of the war with the Labour Corps. There was plenty of time for consideration to leave it home, he would've been in England when the infantry forbade swords, but he chose to bring his regardless. There were cultural factors for the British to be attached to their swords too it seems.
@@AdamOwenBrowning Thanks for the info. I had also heard there was a single British officer who went over the top with a sword on the first day of the Somme (1st July 1916).
I really liked how Japanese still used swords and their design during ww2 specifically the saber looking one but it's cool how almost similar their bayonets looked to katanas.
Most European/American powers at the time however preferred blunt force that can crash down and do damage under a helmet. This actually proven the better weapon.
Also Guntos in modern Japan are not considered to be heritage items like traditionally forged swords and if the Japanese government finds one illegally owned they'll have it recycled.
@@AdamantLightLP Eh it a weapon from imperial japan and they are iffy about that era. plus probably wasen't the best sword to have around post ww2 being a symbolic weapon for officers an all.
@@AdamantLightLP *shrug* Japan is a "alles verboten" society; anything that is not specifically permitted under the law is usually forbidden...and they've always been tetchy about private weapon ownership since the Tokuwaga era.
A bit of a correction on the construction of the gunto. While it may have had a ray skin wrapped hilt, the entire hilt wasn't wrapped in ray skin. The ray skin wrapped around the grip, traditionally wood but I don't know what was used on the guntos, then over the ray skin they used silk (or other textile) cord; that's what produces the diamond pattern commonly seen on Japanese sword hilts. The later mass produced models had solid metal grips that were cast to look like a traditionally wrapped hilt.
Shin-gunto models do use wood tsuka with the interior matched to the nakago, just as with other traditionally-styled koshirae. The cast copper/aluminium grips on the Type 95 aren't actually solid either - they're a shell that fits over a wooden tsuka.
The Guntō has a very strange service history. The Viet Minh (later known as Viet Cong) guerillas also used captured Guntō swords against the French colonial forces in the 1950s after the Japanese left them in Indochina, though records of this is very shoddy and unreliable. Maybe there were actual former Imperial Japanese Army personnel in guerilla uniforms as well since about a thousand of them decided to stay/left behind in Indochina after the war ended and fought the French.
I don't know of any stories of individuals who stayed to fight with the Viet Minh, but the POW contingent rearmed by the British did still use some of their previously-captured weapons in fighting the guerillas.
@@MM22966 Well in Malaya some 200-400 Japanese soldiers stayed behind and joined communist guerillas. While on the other hand in Vietnam Japanese soldiers (originally stationed in Vietnam during the Pacific War) would fought alongside the Allies against the Viet Minh. This all happened from 1945-46. The immediate aftermath of the Pacific War made some very strange bedfellows
@@Necrodermis I had heard of Japanese troops re-armed in the first years after WW2 in Vietnam, Indonesia, etc...but only by COLONIAL powers, not the locals! Interesting! I guess some guys didn't want to go home and just wanted to keep fighting, so this was a way to do it.
@@MM22966 In the Philippines there were a number of Japanese soldiers who decided to stay, rather than go home. Many of these had no home to go back to, due to bombing, and others knew they'd live a life of shame being judged by Japanese standards. Many married local women, settled down as farmers, and led simple lives. Some of my filipino friends have a Japanese grandfather / great grandfather because of this. I imagine similar things happened in Vietnam, but with the soldiers joining up with the Viet Minh, which many of the locals saw as a nationalist rather than a communist organization.
Caught this 45 seconds after it released and I was still only the fifth person to upvote it. 😁 Incidentally, people turn up at antique shops trying to sell these things thinking they're actual Samurai swords, only to find out that they're not worth nearly as much. My father was at the Japanese surrender, and I was awes pissed off that he ever brought a sore back. All we got was some currency.
My dude I love this channel. I was just reading all about these and learning why they're named differently. This blossomed into a survey on how Japanese history influenced the contemporaneous military. Then seeing these film clips in your video helped my mental imagery. Really perfect for my learning style bro, thank you
Interestingly the Meiji restoration is the reason why japanese kitchen knives and woodworking tools are as good as they are today. The blacksmiths who made a living forging swords had to find new customers, and the reforms meant that carpenters could now earn a lot of money. Those smiths were very good at forge welding and careful grinding to compensate for the weaknesses of Japanese Iron ore, and they used those techniques to make tools. This has haooened outside Japan too, some french toolmakers for instance had built their factories hoping to get a government contract to make bayonets. When they lost the contract theymade tools using the same machinery instead.
Mrs C,s da collected a few Japanese souvenirs from his time in Burma in WW2, thanks for sharing this with us all, Johnny, hope the weather is not too severe over there....E
I inherited lots of captured stuff from my grandfather. From lugers and walthers to a kar98k bayonet given to him by his gi friends and an officer gunto, a nambu, and a t30 bayonet. Odd enough, I was amazed at seeing a bunch of IJA stuff beside his militaria chest
My great grandpa brought back a ton of Japanese coins and some flags when he came home from the Pacific. I gotta appreciate the irony that my great grandpa went to war against them and now my cousin and I both have Japanese wives now lol.
Randomly stumbled onto your channel. I really love the content. Narration, visualization and the explanation of history in a documentary fashion is just lovely. The thing that got me stuck here is your voice tho. I could listen to your narration all day long, it's just so calming ❤️
At the end of WWII, an order from the Allies went out for all Japanese to surrender their weapons. This included swords of all types regardless of whether they were issued as weapons. My wife's family carefully hid their family swords rather than turn them in. Even after the order was rescinded, they kept the swords hidden just in case the edict was reversed. They were eventually registered. I must way they are beautiful and absolute works of art. The family does not see them as weapons but as an heirloom that speaks to the family's heritage. My wife has made the decision to donate them to a museum so that these important historic artifacts can be seen by all.
In 2017, I have seen one of their army swords in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is called Showa Sword. Serial-numbered mass-produced Samurai Sword(2 feet long) with a grip(while old time authentic one comes with timber grip). Few remaining survivors of their failed campaign to Imphal(1944) walked and reached that Thai northern town. I presume that sword used to belong to one of such people. And the previous owner's fate is unknown...
That's pretty cool. It's like, even though they weren't the traditionally crafted katana, their aesthetic was close enough to maintain a sense of tradition as they were carried into battle.
American soldiers amd marines frequently came across them in the Asiatic Pacific theatre, Guntos were also used by pilots as shown in the movie Kong Skull Island and can slice through skin quite easily
Any officer rank would be issued a sword, that's why they were so adamant about producing them even until the end of the war. I believe only warrant officers (senior NCOs) would be issued a sword too
Honestly i think the japanese made the right choice getting rid of the sabers they saw european forces wearing and instead adopting something that was more in line with their own cultural background. Great video!
We needed an oriental sword as a prop for a school play. One of my classmates brought in a Japanese army sword his grandfather had captured in WW2 and asked if it would be suitable! This was a few decades back.
My Grandfather served in Kenpetai these were common swords, Once you leave armed service you never keep weapons of any kind in Japan. However if it’s a family Katana you keep it and have it registered with the government. Sadly we don’t have such a thing. However I do, and plan to pass it down with other weapons. Tradition is to be revived.
I have one of these swords. It was being advertised as a Kaigunto, but it turned out to be in Rare Showa Era Civilian Fittings (Beautiful brass plated Sakura designed fittings with real samegawa and blue ito wrappings. The bronze sakura style menuki were also a nice touch). All of this was contained inside a modified black painted wooden saya that was covered in a leather field covering. The blade has a Gnome style hamon (which is very faint and at times you can see breaks in that hamon) with some midare pattern to it, but it was closer to the edge than I thought would normally be possible. The area above the hamon has a deep dotted pattern to the steel, but other than that has no details to give as to its manufacture process. It has a high polish, but the blade is badly dulled and has grey splotches that will not come out when applying new oil, although they did fade. It was made in 1942 using traditional methods including the real hamon, but not using tamahagane and therefore not classified as a true nihonto. The sword is signed by the Showa-era Swordsmith Asai Toshimasa and bears an acceptance stamp of the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association. This association primarily inspected Showato, though there have been unconfirmed reports that they might have inspected tamahagane blades. The Fittings are Showa-Era Civilian fittings made specifically for Civilian Employees of the Military. These seem to differ from the Gunzoku as they normally carried blades with brown tassels in Shin Gunto Fittings. Not much is known about the Civilian Employees that worked for the Military as opposed to the Gunzoku which were almost paramilitary due to having uniforms like the armed forces yet still civilians. The civilian koshirae come in at least 6 flavors which are plated or painted on the iron they are made from: The brass plated Sakura Pattern, a nickel plated Bamboo Pattern, A plain iron pattern, a Brass plated fig leaf pattern, A Semi-Plain, but brass plated Iron Pattern with four sakura flowers in a square and finally a brass plated Pine tree motif. The fittings that had this motif or pattern were the Tsuba, Kashira, and Menuki. The Fuchi and Seppa were standard Gunto Fittings. The Ito wrap was almost always either blue or black with real samegawa. According to Mr. Komiya's research that I obtained through a user on that forum, the sword shortage in 1942 was so bad that civilian fitted swords that were made before and even during the war were often activated for war use and gained the field wrappings common on this one. In such a case it was likely given to an officer of either the Gunzoku or the Army or Navy. It is impossible to tell where it went as it still kept its civilian fittings. Since it is a 1942 made sword the battles it could have been in are many as the blade is chipped on the edge in a few places.
2:37: Is this type of sword even made for stabbing? Am curious. 3:14: Seems a bit vain coming from them, numerical designations. Just what did the "previous" types of guntō/guntou look like and how'd they function? 4:52: Sometimes confused for the samurai/ninja short sword, the wakizashi, I suppose. 5:19 mark: If I have an artistic yet not too brutal footage suggestion on (attempted) seppuku, there's Revue Starlight: The Movie's Revue of Hunting, which has quite a contextually metaphorical stage feel to it. Addendum: Ooh, neat, Sanjuro in the end. That movie always gets overshadowed unfairly by its predecessor Yojimbo.
You just know there are Muramasa or equivalent lineage blades banging around somebody's attic in the US, because the grandfather of the attic picked it up because the sword's original owner was in bits & pieces on some Pacific island...
I was wondering, because the katana actually fell out of use at about the middle of the medieval period in favor of better swords, and then during the renaissance and early industrial period it was still out of use so here I learn the actual name if the WWII trench warfare swords. Thank you.
not a bringback from anyone in my family specifically, but somewhere along the way we ended up with a Japanese type 32 Cavalry saber aswell as a holster, pistol with original ammo and a flag that came with it
At the WW2 Museum in New Orléans, there is an American GI helmet with a dent in it from a Japanese officer hitting it in combat. It's McIlhenny's helmet, the Tobasco family.
I had one of those WW2 Gunto with the metal scabbard but it was not a very elaborate sword. Now I just have a nice Japanese cavalry saber from a flea market for 80 bucks because I had some vague idea of what it was and the seller had no idea.
I'm actually gonna have one of my characters on my Legend of Kong;King of Skull Island project (which is set in 1933), wielding a Katana/Gunto while using a luger while his main weapon is a MP28. Glad to know more about the Gunto
Great video! One vehicle I’m interested in is the Su-25 Frogfoot, the soviets A-10 equivalent, and am wondering if a video could be made about the aircraft, or if you have made one and I have failed to find it.
Which is funny cuz the Kyu Gunto was supposed to be "old meets new" so all they did was revive the Katana making method, made the blade katana-style but the hilt and all European cavalry saber style with a basket hilt and all.
Johnny, you always have informative videos. Love the ones about the Pacific Theater. Especially concerning Japanese weapons. I have a question. What is a "Kunko Warrior"? I heard that term once upon a time describing certain Japanese soldiers. Is the term familiar to you?
A clarification: Even with the standardized mounts, there was a lot of variation in the types of blades, and the hard line between 'gunto' and 'nihonto' is actually very blurry. Sword dealers purchased and polished katana, made military mounts for them, and sold them to officers. Shin-gunto (as well as almost all Japanese military, colonial, or civil service swords and daggers) weren't state-issued, but privately purchased with a uniform stipend, even to 1945. There was a huge variety of 'semi-traditional' or machine-made but hand-finished swords or partly handmade and partly machine-made blades, with many companies competing. To say nothing of the new fully traditional makers and state-funded blade-smithing programs of the 1933-45 period. When you find a blade in Type 94/98 or Kaigunto fittings, the sword inside could be virtually anything, even if you know the mounts were fitted to the blade.
My grandfather from Myanmar/Burma received his Japanese sword from the Empire for his service as a Burma Indepedence Army soldier fighting for the Empire to take back Burma from the British. He fought the British alongside the Japanese, but in 1945, the entire Burmese Army switched sides to the British and started fighting the Japanese. He kept his sword and Japanese uniform; it was his pride & honour.
My ex wife bought a house (before we were married) and she discovered a Japanese sword that was left by the previous owner, who had died. I got in touch with the ombudsman of the Japanese Sword Society (of the US) and he told me that it is a machine-made sword made by Seki Ju in the Mino province, if memory serves. It had a plain wooden scabbard, no handle material at all and was rusty. It was a shorter sword.
Minasan ! Arigato Gozaimaschita ! Your video gave me more information than I had before and your pronunciation was good! I love Japanese History and Culture ; however more than that, the people themselves ! ☺️🇯🇵🙏♥️🇨🇦
@ something cool: my grandfather, who served in nam, told me when he was in the hospital after he got shot he was next to someone who allegedly fell off an airplane elevator on a carrier.
Hey Johnny, can you do a video about the M26 Pershing In Movies it made several yet limited appearances in other movies such as The Battle At Lake Changjin and The Volunteers: To The War
My grandfather was sent to Papua New Guinea during WW2. He survived digging for yam potatoes instead of assaulting Aussies by his sword. I'm grateful that he was a straight-up farmer, not a samurai.
You would say that was a killing pun 😂😂😂😅😅😊 ❤❤❤ Have you seen that one photograph of a Japanese sword mountain to a nambu pistol It takes the whole concept as gun swords of honor level
"For you see, while you were in France collecting Lugers I was in Okinawa studying the blade".
Where is that from ?
@@Rpk_ok It's a copypasta of a meme from a few years back.
"While you were asking where that quote is from, I studied the blade."
@NTAD While you were educating that guy, I was studying the blade further.
@@maxwellmueller9384 While you wrote that message, i was studying the blade further further.
"Yeah, whatever."
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
PING
My grandmother gave me one of these oddly enough. She knew that I must study the blade.
Funny story: my grandad chose not to get killed by one of these. This was before the war (well, what the West considers the war), and, long story short, he argued with some Japanese Lieutenant in Shanghair in about 1937, who promptly decided he was going to execute and marched out to a field behind where worked, and the officer asked him if he wanted to be shot or beheaded, and he's like "Shot." And the Officers like, "Why don't you want to be beheaded?" And grandad's like "Because I'm not insane?!" And the Japanese officers telling him all these things about how cool it is to be beheaded, and he should *want* to be beheaded, because, as Brock Sampson said, sword guys always gotta go on about their sword.
Anyway, it was just a mock execution, so after that he got on the next boat back to Australia.
@@hoilst265 Jesus, that's insane. I think my grandmother had got hers at a yard-sale.
I do enjoy these small *slices* of history, even when they *cut* into my free time. They still get their *point* across well even if you don’t have a *sharp* mind 😊
Bravo! 👌
You're a real cut-up.
Daggernabit! This comment is a cut above the rest. It's obvious your knowledge about swords is to the hilt. Don't sheathe your pursuit of knowledge to any other type of arms.
“What does Katana mean?” - “It means Japanese sword.”
[Samurai Cop, fluent in Japanese]
Ask any Japanese what anything means, and they'll answer exactly the same. "What is Karaage" "It's Japanese fried chicken". Source: I live here, and we had a whole English class based on not calling everything "(traditional) Japanese something" lmao
---- ----
( o) ( o)
_I
)--------
"I WANT HIS HEAD, I WANT HIS HEAD ON THIS PIANO"
Amusingly, in Japanese, the correct word for a katana is Nihontou, or literally Japanese sword. Katana can refer to any single bladed weapon, which is why the jp wikipedia page for 刀's main image is a french cavalry sabre.
I am not sure if this is common usage tho. It is pretty common to refer to western blades directly by their name, ie french cavalry sabres as furansu kabari sēbā, whereas japanese swords just get called katana or tachi most the time.
I love that scene.
Kyu Guntō was based on French saber to be more specific, while varying in length and curve.
The less fancy Type 32 cavalry saber was also used by the Japanese cavalry up to WW2.
Don’t forget the Type 19 Kyu Gunto.
I got a type 32 for cheap because the flea market guy did not know what it was.
My great grandfather was a captain on a ship for the IJN. He had one of these and it still is at my house in Japan. Wish I could hear stories about his life but he died long before I was even born. Rest in Peace Great grandfather.
I think it is worth pointing out that officers from western militaries carried swords into battle right the way into WWI. Japanese WWII sword drill was also conducted on western lines. The Japanese Army is merely exceptional for continuing the practice into WWII, though I understand there are other cultural factors involved as well.
The Chinese made liberal use of the Dao in their military often because there weren't enough firearms to go round.
Many officers continued carrying swords in service right the way through the war all the way to its end - especially officers on horseback away from the frontlines. To these men culturally, an officer is ill-equipped without a sword! boring essay ahead:
-
Infantry officers were advised/forbidden to stop wearing swords in June 1915, after numerous officers were targeted and sniped. Enforcement was mixed. For those outside the infantry and away from the frontlines, as an amateur collector, it seems swords of some kind were carried on-duty by plenty officers right until the end of the war. Some opted for shorter "hanger" swords instead - melee combat was still an occasional reality, and the preparation might make for some peace of mind.
The last sword I researched (Wilkinson sword, spine no.48389, to Lieut. Kenneth Francis Shirley Turner) was made in 1914 and the decision was still made by the officer to bring it with him to serve in the Royal Field Artillery when he landed in France in *late December* 1915, so nearly 1916. There's still some French mud at the scabbard's drag. He served until the end of the war with the Labour Corps.
There was plenty of time for consideration to leave it home, he would've been in England when the infantry forbade swords, but he chose to bring his regardless. There were cultural factors for the British to be attached to their swords too it seems.
That's really something to think about and also could look into the Arisaka Rifles too as well as the Type 94 pistol.
@@AdamOwenBrowning I would not say that melee combat in the first WW was ''ocasional''
@@AdamOwenBrowning Thanks for the info. I had also heard there was a single British officer who went over the top with a sword on the first day of the Somme (1st July 1916).
I really liked how Japanese still used swords and their design during ww2 specifically the saber looking one but it's cool how almost similar their bayonets looked to katanas.
Most European/American powers at the time however preferred blunt force that can crash down and do damage under a helmet. This actually proven the better weapon.
Also Guntos in modern Japan are not considered to be heritage items like traditionally forged swords and if the Japanese government finds one illegally owned they'll have it recycled.
Makes sense. They're mass-produced weapon meant to be returned to the armory when done using, not artisan craft works passed down through generations.
@@dannyzero692 Except it's dumb to ban swords in the first place
@@AdamantLightLP Eh it a weapon from imperial japan and they are iffy about that era. plus probably wasen't the best sword to have around post ww2 being a symbolic weapon for officers an all.
Bastards.
@@AdamantLightLP *shrug* Japan is a "alles verboten" society; anything that is not specifically permitted under the law is usually forbidden...and they've always been tetchy about private weapon ownership since the Tokuwaga era.
A bit of a correction on the construction of the gunto. While it may have had a ray skin wrapped hilt, the entire hilt wasn't wrapped in ray skin. The ray skin wrapped around the grip, traditionally wood but I don't know what was used on the guntos, then over the ray skin they used silk (or other textile) cord; that's what produces the diamond pattern commonly seen on Japanese sword hilts. The later mass produced models had solid metal grips that were cast to look like a traditionally wrapped hilt.
Shin-gunto models do use wood tsuka with the interior matched to the nakago, just as with other traditionally-styled koshirae. The cast copper/aluminium grips on the Type 95 aren't actually solid either - they're a shell that fits over a wooden tsuka.
ya made an oopsie with the movie title at 3:16, supposed to be Windtalkers. :)
The Guntō has a very strange service history. The Viet Minh (later known as Viet Cong) guerillas also used captured Guntō swords against the French colonial forces in the 1950s after the Japanese left them in Indochina, though records of this is very shoddy and unreliable. Maybe there were actual former Imperial Japanese Army personnel in guerilla uniforms as well since about a thousand of them decided to stay/left behind in Indochina after the war ended and fought the French.
It would be a very strange Japanese Imperial Army soldier that stayed with Communist Vietnamese guerillas.
I don't know of any stories of individuals who stayed to fight with the Viet Minh, but the POW contingent rearmed by the British did still use some of their previously-captured weapons in fighting the guerillas.
@@MM22966 Well in Malaya some 200-400 Japanese soldiers stayed behind and joined communist guerillas. While on the other hand in Vietnam Japanese soldiers (originally stationed in Vietnam during the Pacific War) would fought alongside the Allies against the Viet Minh. This all happened from 1945-46. The immediate aftermath of the Pacific War made some very strange bedfellows
@@Necrodermis I had heard of Japanese troops re-armed in the first years after WW2 in Vietnam, Indonesia, etc...but only by COLONIAL powers, not the locals! Interesting! I guess some guys didn't want to go home and just wanted to keep fighting, so this was a way to do it.
@@MM22966 In the Philippines there were a number of Japanese soldiers who decided to stay, rather than go home. Many of these had no home to go back to, due to bombing, and others knew they'd live a life of shame being judged by Japanese standards. Many married local women, settled down as farmers, and led simple lives. Some of my filipino friends have a Japanese grandfather / great grandfather because of this. I imagine similar things happened in Vietnam, but with the soldiers joining up with the Viet Minh, which many of the locals saw as a nationalist rather than a communist organization.
0:00
I like the sound of the charge bugle in the background.
Caught this 45 seconds after it released and I was still only the fifth person to upvote it. 😁 Incidentally, people turn up at antique shops trying to sell these things thinking they're actual Samurai swords, only to find out that they're not worth nearly as much. My father was at the Japanese surrender, and I was awes pissed off that he ever brought a sore back. All we got was some currency.
Everyone of these videos is a gift. Thank you!
the algorithm has blessed me with being this early
What a sharp video this was, it cut away any doubts I had about the Gunto. Glad you took a stab at it,
My dude I love this channel. I was just reading all about these and learning why they're named differently. This blossomed into a survey on how Japanese history influenced the contemporaneous military. Then seeing these film clips in your video helped my mental imagery.
Really perfect for my learning style bro, thank you
Same I love japan anime
@code066funkinbird3 then you are my friend
@@ThommyofThenn thanks
Another perfectly punchy shorty video, keep them coming dude, love your content!
Eerie to think about what many of these swords were eventually used for. Great video as always Johnny
Interestingly the Meiji restoration is the reason why japanese kitchen knives and woodworking tools are as good as they are today. The blacksmiths who made a living forging swords had to find new customers, and the reforms meant that carpenters could now earn a lot of money. Those smiths were very good at forge welding and careful grinding to compensate for the weaknesses of Japanese Iron ore, and they used those techniques to make tools.
This has haooened outside Japan too, some french toolmakers for instance had built their factories hoping to get a government contract to make bayonets. When they lost the contract theymade tools using the same machinery instead.
Mrs C,s da collected a few Japanese souvenirs from his time in Burma in WW2, thanks for sharing this with us all, Johnny, hope the weather is not too severe over there....E
"We have Katanas at home"
For a more comprehensive take on the development and usage of the gunto, check out the one recently made by the channel _The Shogunate._
I’ve got nothing to add, great video once again!
this is definitely the peak of your content
I inherited lots of captured stuff from my grandfather. From lugers and walthers to a kar98k bayonet given to him by his gi friends and an officer gunto, a nambu, and a t30 bayonet. Odd enough, I was amazed at seeing a bunch of IJA stuff beside his militaria chest
Very well researched.
I love your sincerity
My great grandpa brought back a ton of Japanese coins and some flags when he came home from the Pacific. I gotta appreciate the irony that my great grandpa went to war against them and now my cousin and I both have Japanese wives now lol.
I had the opportunity to buy a Japanese sword from WWII and passed up on it. I do regret that decision today
Do you know where one could find one today?
Randomly stumbled onto your channel. I really love the content. Narration, visualization and the explanation of history in a documentary fashion is just lovely.
The thing that got me stuck here is your voice tho. I could listen to your narration all day long, it's just so calming ❤️
Agreed, his voice is so calming.
At the end of WWII, an order from the Allies went out for all Japanese to surrender their weapons. This included swords of all types regardless of whether they were issued as weapons. My wife's family carefully hid their family swords rather than turn them in. Even after the order was rescinded, they kept the swords hidden just in case the edict was reversed. They were eventually registered. I must way they are beautiful and absolute works of art. The family does not see them as weapons but as an heirloom that speaks to the family's heritage. My wife has made the decision to donate them to a museum so that these important historic artifacts can be seen by all.
In 2017, I have seen one of their army swords in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is called Showa Sword. Serial-numbered mass-produced Samurai Sword(2 feet long) with a grip(while old time authentic one comes with timber grip). Few remaining survivors of their failed campaign to Imphal(1944) walked and reached that Thai northern town. I presume that sword used to belong to one of such people. And the previous owner's fate is unknown...
Please make vid about GAU-19 50 BMG gatling guns?
That's pretty cool. It's like, even though they weren't the traditionally crafted katana, their aesthetic was close enough to maintain a sense of tradition as they were carried into battle.
Don't forget that there were also swords that were passed down from our ancestors and were considered national treasures.
Am I tripping or does your video have "Windtalkers" labeled as "WINTERtalkers?" Love your videos either way, but just something I noticed.
Nick Cage is so cool sometimes his movies change names as such.
Wintertalkers, the sequel where the USMC recruits ice gnomes to be code talkers.
@ was trying to think of a funny Nic Cage quote but couldn’t. Loved the video regardless, these things make us human.
"No swords for samurai, but we want cool swords too." -Emperor Hirohito (probably)
American soldiers amd marines frequently came across them in the Asiatic Pacific theatre, Guntos were also used by pilots as shown in the movie Kong Skull Island and can slice through skin quite easily
Just curious in the Imperial Japanese army, if you reach which rank would you as a Japanese officer be allowed to carried swords ?
Any officer rank would be issued a sword, that's why they were so adamant about producing them even until the end of the war. I believe only warrant officers (senior NCOs) would be issued a sword too
歴史的に貴重な古刀まで大量に持って行ったGHQ。何本無くなったことやら
Honestly i think the japanese made the right choice getting rid of the sabers they saw european forces wearing and instead adopting something that was more in line with their own cultural background.
Great video!
Just sublime...
We needed an oriental sword as a prop for a school play. One of my classmates brought in a Japanese army sword his grandfather had captured in WW2 and asked if it would be suitable! This was a few decades back.
Nice cut to the video, and the theme was taken to the edge
My Grandfather served in Kenpetai these were common swords, Once you leave armed service you never keep weapons of any kind in Japan. However if it’s a family Katana you keep it and have it registered with the government. Sadly we don’t have such a thing. However I do, and plan to pass it down with other weapons. Tradition is to be revived.
I have one of these swords. It was being advertised as a Kaigunto, but it turned out to be in Rare Showa Era Civilian Fittings (Beautiful brass plated Sakura designed fittings with real samegawa and blue ito wrappings. The bronze sakura style menuki were also a nice touch). All of this was contained inside a modified black painted wooden saya that was covered in a leather field covering. The blade has a Gnome style hamon (which is very faint and at times you can see breaks in that hamon) with some midare pattern to it, but it was closer to the edge than I thought would normally be possible. The area above the hamon has a deep dotted pattern to the steel, but other than that has no details to give as to its manufacture process. It has a high polish, but the blade is badly dulled and has grey splotches that will not come out when applying new oil, although they did fade.
It was made in 1942 using traditional methods including the real hamon, but not using tamahagane and therefore not classified as a true nihonto. The sword is signed by the Showa-era Swordsmith Asai Toshimasa and bears an acceptance stamp of the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association. This association primarily inspected Showato, though there have been unconfirmed reports that they might have inspected tamahagane blades. The Fittings are Showa-Era Civilian fittings made specifically for Civilian Employees of the Military. These seem to differ from the Gunzoku as they normally carried blades with brown tassels in Shin Gunto Fittings. Not much is known about the Civilian Employees that worked for the Military as opposed to the Gunzoku which were almost paramilitary due to having uniforms like the armed forces yet still civilians.
The civilian koshirae come in at least 6 flavors which are plated or painted on the iron they are made from: The brass plated Sakura Pattern, a nickel plated Bamboo Pattern, A plain iron pattern, a Brass plated fig leaf pattern, A Semi-Plain, but brass plated Iron Pattern with four sakura flowers in a square and finally a brass plated Pine tree motif. The fittings that had this motif or pattern were the Tsuba, Kashira, and Menuki. The Fuchi and Seppa were standard Gunto Fittings. The Ito wrap was almost always either blue or black with real samegawa.
According to Mr. Komiya's research that I obtained through a user on that forum, the sword shortage in 1942 was so bad that civilian fitted swords that were made before and even during the war were often activated for war use and gained the field wrappings common on this one. In such a case it was likely given to an officer of either the Gunzoku or the Army or Navy. It is impossible to tell where it went as it still kept its civilian fittings.
Since it is a 1942 made sword the battles it could have been in are many as the blade is chipped on the edge in a few places.
question: what is the bomb looking thing on the ship at 4:42? is it supposed to float on water or what? thanks.
Fuel tank, mebbe?
防雷具(Boraigu / Paravane)
This equipment is used for minesweeping operations.
Definitely a 'bellyful' of info there! :D
2:37: Is this type of sword even made for stabbing? Am curious.
3:14: Seems a bit vain coming from them, numerical designations. Just what did the "previous" types of guntō/guntou look like and how'd they function?
4:52: Sometimes confused for the samurai/ninja short sword, the wakizashi, I suppose.
5:19 mark: If I have an artistic yet not too brutal footage suggestion on (attempted) seppuku, there's Revue Starlight: The Movie's Revue of Hunting, which has quite a contextually metaphorical stage feel to it.
Addendum: Ooh, neat, Sanjuro in the end. That movie always gets overshadowed unfairly by its predecessor Yojimbo.
映画だから日本刀を美化されるところがありますが、やっぱかっこいいですよね！
In the warmovie "Empire of the Sun" (1987) that Kamikaze pilot also had a Guntō .
He died before action.
Seriously I watch these vids for the pun in the end as much as for their (excellent) content.
You just know there are Muramasa or equivalent lineage blades banging around somebody's attic in the US, because the grandfather of the attic picked it up because the sword's original owner was in bits & pieces on some Pacific island...
Picked up a Type 95 Variation 3 fairly cheap a couple years back. Machine made blade makers mark by Kobe Shoten and Kokura arsenal marked.
@3:50 "Bloody hell, it's Lord Blackwood risen from the dead!"
I was wondering, because the katana actually fell out of use at about the middle of the medieval period in favor of better swords, and then during the renaissance and early industrial period it was still out of use so here I learn the actual name if the WWII trench warfare swords.
Thank you.
Had a neighbor who had a Gunto wakizashi that was apparently for pilots. The Tsuka was sharksin-patterned Bakelite, not wrapped.
Wild to see Begbie in To End All Wars :)
not a bringback from anyone in my family specifically, but somewhere along the way we ended up with a Japanese type 32 Cavalry saber aswell as a holster, pistol with original ammo and a flag that came with it
At the WW2 Museum in New Orléans, there is an American GI helmet with a dent in it from a Japanese officer hitting it in combat. It's McIlhenny's helmet, the Tobasco family.
I had one of those WW2 Gunto with the metal scabbard but it was not a very elaborate sword. Now I just have a nice Japanese cavalry saber from a flea market for 80 bucks because I had some vague idea of what it was and the seller had no idea.
Thx Johnny
3:18 "Wintertalkers" boss.
Glad I wasn't the only one who noticed, I thought I was having a Mandela effect moment. lol
@@kdavidson1386 -He usually hops on errors pretty quick so expect this upload to vanish soon and be replaced.- Nvm Nicholas Cage is just 2cool.
@@NTAD Sometimes but this one is pretty funny so it can stay. Plus Nick Cage is pretty cool so the name fits right?
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq The puns...THE PUNS!! lol
It's the sequel starring Ariel Winter as the only female code talker in the army.
Good stuff and hopefully people take heed of the pun at the end and go easy on you. 😇
I'm actually gonna have one of my characters on my Legend of Kong;King of Skull Island project (which is set in 1933), wielding a Katana/Gunto while using a luger while his main weapon is a MP28.
Glad to know more about the Gunto
Nice one!
Great video! One vehicle I’m interested in is the Su-25 Frogfoot, the soviets A-10 equivalent, and am wondering if a video could be made about the aircraft, or if you have made one and I have failed to find it.
Did they used it in the Letter from Iwo Jima??!
Happy New Year.
Please add Japanese subtitles.🙇🙏
Thank you for adding Japanese subtitles 😊🙇
I like the kyu gunto
Which is funny cuz the Kyu Gunto was supposed to be "old meets new" so all they did was revive the Katana making method, made the blade katana-style but the hilt and all European cavalry saber style with a basket hilt and all.
Johnny, you always have informative videos. Love the ones about the Pacific Theater. Especially concerning Japanese weapons. I have a question. What is a "Kunko Warrior"? I heard that term once upon a time describing certain Japanese soldiers. Is the term familiar to you?
No heads lost hopefully but that's a lot of information to fill collector's heads
A clarification: Even with the standardized mounts, there was a lot of variation in the types of blades, and the hard line between 'gunto' and 'nihonto' is actually very blurry. Sword dealers purchased and polished katana, made military mounts for them, and sold them to officers. Shin-gunto (as well as almost all Japanese military, colonial, or civil service swords and daggers) weren't state-issued, but privately purchased with a uniform stipend, even to 1945.
There was a huge variety of 'semi-traditional' or machine-made but hand-finished swords or partly handmade and partly machine-made blades, with many companies competing. To say nothing of the new fully traditional makers and state-funded blade-smithing programs of the 1933-45 period. When you find a blade in Type 94/98 or Kaigunto fittings, the sword inside could be virtually anything, even if you know the mounts were fitted to the blade.
My grandfather from Myanmar/Burma received his Japanese sword from the Empire for his service as a Burma Indepedence Army soldier fighting for the Empire to take back Burma from the British. He fought the British alongside the Japanese, but in 1945, the entire Burmese Army switched sides to the British and started fighting the Japanese. He kept his sword and Japanese uniform; it was his pride & honour.
My ex wife bought a house (before we were married) and she discovered a Japanese sword that was left by the previous owner, who had died.
I got in touch with the ombudsman of the Japanese Sword Society (of the US) and he told me that it is a machine-made sword made by Seki Ju in the Mino province, if memory serves.
It had a plain wooden scabbard, no handle material at all and was rusty. It was a shorter sword.
Your pronunciations were as Sharp and on Point as they could be, Johnny. Take care, catch ya for another one.
"For the eternal shame of letting yourself be captured, your head will now roll off your shoulders."
Gunto had low quality compered to Samurai sords. Guntos are just mass produced sords.
Great vid as always Johnny but is it just me or was the audio really low in this vid?
No matter how you slice it, an excellent video on swords.
You're a real cut-up.
Hey brother, you got a small error in your video. At 3:15 the movie is labled "wintertalkers" instead of windtalkers.
Good eye! Kind of funny tho so I don't mind too much =)
Minasan ! Arigato Gozaimaschita ! Your video gave me more information than I had before and your pronunciation was good!
I love Japanese History and Culture ; however more than that, the people themselves !
☺️🇯🇵🙏♥️🇨🇦
I got an M1905 bayonet for Christmas
Seriously? Decent. My family heirlooms include a diary from Gallipoli and two letters from a nurse at a casualty clearing station at Ballieul.
@ something cool: my grandfather, who served in nam, told me when he was in the hospital after he got shot he was next to someone who allegedly fell off an airplane elevator on a carrier.
Imagine Kimetsu No Jaiba 2 with a Japanese Land Army Colonel as the main character
For the rhythm of algo!
Taking a knife to a gunfight.
We wanna know about but AK
What’s a butt AK? I’m intrigued
Every AK
Hey Johnny, can you do a video about the M26 Pershing In Movies it made several yet limited appearances in other movies such as The Battle At Lake Changjin and The Volunteers: To The War
My grandfather was sent to Papua New Guinea during WW2.
He survived digging for yam potatoes instead of assaulting Aussies by his sword.
I'm grateful that he was a straight-up farmer, not a samurai.
Samurai Cop who is fluent in Japanese, what does Katana mean?”Japanese sword” 😂
Wintertalkers?
Guys who are stuck in the pacific but won't shut up about snow . "I have a little place in Aspen."
All I needed to learn about Japanese swords was from samurai cop.
You would say that was a killing pun 😂😂😂😅😅😊 ❤❤❤
Have you seen that one photograph of a Japanese sword mountain to a nambu pistol
It takes the whole concept as gun swords of honor level
you missed the tv show Shogun! it has great scene of sepuko
I want to get a Guntō sword.
Probably won’t be answered, but how strong were these swords, if used outside their ceremonial purpose?
In the west, they give you a watch. In Japan, they give you a sword.