A 1938-model shin-gunto-style katana, Type 98, with a shinogi-zukuri blade, suguha hamon, and a nakago with a single mekugi-ana, bearing the mark “Kôa Isshin Mantetsu Kinsaku” and the date 1942; the koshirae features a brown lacquered metal scabbard with cherry blossom motifs, and a locking button on the fuchi. Japan, 1942 Total length: 99 cm – Blade length: 67.1 cm Note: The mark “Kôa Isshin” has been interpreted as a Japanese patriotic slogan meaning “Asia united as one heart,” while “Mantetsu Kinsaku” refers to the foundries of the Minami Manshū Tetsudō Railway Company (the South Manchuria Railway Company) in Japanese-occupied Manchuria, which produced swords for officers of the Imperial Japanese Army between 1937 and 1945, using a special steel developed in those foundries. Expert: Anne PAPILLON, Ansas Papillon de Léry Firm