WWII Japanese Imperial Military Tanto
This is a genuine World War II Japanese Imperial military tanto, a short blade of the type carried personally by Japanese officers throughout the Pacific War, made by the swordsmith Yorimasa. This is a piece of WWII Pacific history at the most personal level.
The tanto and the Imperial Japanese officer
During the pre-war military buildup and throughout the Second World War, every Japanese officer was required to carry a sword — it was the single most powerful symbol of military rank, martial heritage, and personal honor in the Imperial Japanese armed forces. While the regulation shin-gunto (Type 94 officer's sword) was the standard issue, senior and high-ranking officers often supplemented or substituted these with personally owned traditional blades — katana, wakizashi, or tanto — reflecting individual taste, family heritage, or regional swordsmanship traditions. The tanto (短刀), with its blade under 12 inches, was particularly favored by naval officers for whom a full-length sword was impractical aboard ship, and carried profound cultural significance beyond its function as a weapon. In Japanese martial tradition the tanto was the blade of last resort, a symbol of personal honor, carried by those for whom surrender was not an option. An officer's personally carried tanto was among the most intimate and culturally charged objects a Japanese military man could possess.
The tanto this officer carried went with him through one of history's most consequential conflicts. Japanese swords of all types were frequently brought home by American and Allied soldiers as war trophies, among the most prized souvenirs of the Pacific campaign, creating the diaspora of Imperial Japanese blades that now populates Western collections and museums. This tanto is a fine piece of both military and cultural import, traditionally crafted and steeped in the warrior culture of Imperial Japan.
| Era | WWII — Imperial Japanese military (1937–1945) |
| Type | Tanto (短刀) |
| Swordsmith | Yorimasa |
| Dimensions |