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 In
the early military period of Japan and until the 1930's most
of the swords that Japanese officers carried had old family
blade with new military fittings and outfit. Until the mid-1930's
the outfit was mostly of western style. In the 1930's the
new nationalism made the sword smiths create some traditional
swords. Sword makers became active and many good swords were
made; these sword are called Showa-to, meaning made in the
Showa Era.
In the late 1930's the beginning
of the Japan-China War created a large demand for military
swords. Some of the makers in Seki, Tsubame that had been
producing NCO or cavalry swords joined in the production.
Their swords were made by machine which wrapped a sheet steel
head on a hot sticky iron bar and pressed it. These swords
are called Gun-to and are not original swords. This construction
is most important for collectors to note when they see a sword
in a military outfit.
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