Military Swords of Imperial Japan

Guntō theory for officers

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The Meiji era and the officer's of the national army's of traditional Europe's conditions were aristocrat graduate persons.
Japan became the Restoration of Meiji and a new class called an aristocrat, a family with samurai antecedents, and ordinary people was produced instead of the class system of a samurai, a farmer, a worker, and a merchant.
This class consciousness continued to defeat of Japan.
The Military of a Japanese Empire opened the door appointed to an officer also to ordinary people.
The anecdote that he was surprised for the officer of Britain of an aristocrat graduate which visited Japan to Meiji Era to hear this remains.
An officer means the status of the samurai before Meiji.
The Imperial Navy of the British style reflected this tradition of Britain strongly.
Ordinary people's becoming a samurai in an Edo term was being unable to think.
In the old Japan military, only an officer and senior noncommissioned officers were able to carry the Guntō under the solemn value range.
Such a situation and a social background have an important meaning, in order to know an officer's Guntō.
In the military of each country of Europe which has tradition in a hand-to-hand combat, the Guntō disappeared early except for the sword of command, and the ceremonial-arms sword by development of arms and tactics change.
As modern nation's armed forces, the army which equipped the Guntō to the last was only the military of a "Great Japan Empire" in the world.
This is because Japanese people have the special thought to a sword in racial history.

Hata supreme commanders and staff officers who will inspect the 6th direction army at China in 1944

Although there are those who call Guntō equipment of the old Japan military anachronism, it is a too much shallow view.
The view is reasonable if all soldiers had equipped the Guntō.
However, a small number more than senior noncommissioned officers carries a Guntō.
If it sees from organization organization of a military, there are very few rates that an officer occupies.
In the navy, if a marine corps is removed, the meaning as arms of a Guntō etc. cannot be found out at all.
The next officer of a army and navy flight is also the same.
If the Guntō is interpreted as mere arms, the view of anachronism will be carried out. The high officials of the new government which it was already proved to the time of the Warring States how the sword as arms was powerless in front of
firearms, and survived the disturbance of the Restoration by the systematic battle also fully consented to it.

Therefore, surely the modern warfare also had the hand-to-hand combat in the war situation. However, it will be to the Russo-Japanese War that the systematic hand-to-hand combat appeared. In the ground war of the Russo-Japanese War, the trench warfare which depends on a hand-to-hand combat was developed.
As for this, shortage of the heavy gun and a bullet of a Japanese military mainly results.
In the trench warfare by which an ally mixes in confusion with an enemy, it is hard to treat a firearm.
And the main arms of the hand-to-hand combat are bayonets which a a private equips.
How can the Guntō of an officer with few numbers say has contributed to military power by personnel's ratio ?
An officer's special character is in command of a noncommissioned officer and a a private.
What an officer has to fight himself is in a final situation.
An officer's Guntōes were the private general tools a duty of was imposed, and were the category of "dress laws and institutions" to the last.
If an officer's Guntōes are indispensable arms, naturally government supply should be carried out and they must be not a "dress system" but "arms".
Here, recognition of the military to an officer's Guntō has appeared vividly.
The army also assumed the possibility of a hand-to-hand combat at national army's beginning in response to the influence of the French military which received instruction.
A Guntō is a sword of command of a field battle and, naturally serves as arms in the unexpected situation.
The Guntō as arms is an article of consumption.
The military prepared the Occidental blade with the sword steel of Solingen.
In spite of it, many officers liked the sword of the precious article which gets across to a house, and the expensive Japanese sword, and chose it as the blade of a Guntō.
The subordinate officers who do not get it chose the Murata sword of a semi- Japanese sword.
Is this only a belief that the Japanese sword is superior to a Western sword ?
It is because no and officers were able to find out no spiritualism on the Western sword on the battlefield on which life and death are risked.
Then, into the world of the Warring States which was the arms with main spear and gun, samurai look at the homogeneous thought for which it prayed to the Tachi and the sword.

Progress of subsequent arms was remarkable and heavy weapons, the tank, and the airplane appeared in World War I (1914).
The appearance of such arms revolutionized the aspect of a terrestrial battle.
The element as arms of a Guntō is made to retreat much more.

Mr. Kōson Honami of the judge of swords who went out for the Manchuria after the
Manchuria incident has declared "If it is fighting a close fight,
Japanese sword is more advantageous than a pistol".
It is the point of an argument "he can cut the Guntō of a Japanese sword earnestly as long as a Peg or Mekugi continues, and as long as physical
strength continues although there is a limitation in the cartridge of a pistol".

A modern warfare does not reach for saying but the validity of the sword in
the systematic battle after a Warring States term etc. is a talk in the world of
storytelling which is not in mind.
This of people who call the specialist of a sword is the actual condition, and such a thing promoted some military men's Guntō delusion.
Just this is called anachronism.
There was a Sadao Araki full general on this extension.
I cannot think that this idea was the large number of people of the upper levels of a military.
The Tomoyuki Yamashita full general was in General Araki's opposite poles.
When General Yamashita, the thorough rationalist, called it something, he
wanted to remove a Guntō and troubled the close-attendants staff officer.

General Yamashita did not accept self, and any spiritualism or validity which a Guntō has about.
He had the soul of rationality are a rare general and required as a high command in the army. 　

From the actual condition that many officers put the blade of a Japanese sword into a saber Koshirae, the army and navy
enacted the new Guntō Mounting(Koshirae)
As for this design, the "Hyōgo Gusari Tachi Koshiraes" by which Gotoba Emperor (1200 time about ) was liked was foundations.
The "petal of a cherry " which is the symbol of "Yamato-gokoro=the Japanese heart" was skillfully ornamented by the metallic ornaments of a Koshirae.

Although given from 1876 with the naval long sword, the army also made the dimension the same gradually.
The Mounting went back to ancient times, though practicality was taken into consideration, and it became more elegant.
A new Guntō will set the atmosphere of an ancient Tachi adrift strongly.
Can't this be interpreted as Gotoba Emperor having approached the wish to the Tachi by which desire was carried out ?

The naval marine corps required "that it is necessary to enact a Guntō convenient as an object for land battles promptly" from teachings of the Shanghai incident.
Under the consciousness, the figure of a Tachi from ancient times or a sword was flowing continuously like subsoil water.
The Guard which hand-protects of a saber Koshirae appealed to the method of operation of a Japanese traditional sword against them that it becomes obstructive.
Compared with the Hilt of the saber Koshirae which reinforced with the Back strap and coiled the gold streak, the ancient rite new Guntō Hilt intensity falls clearly.
For the officers of the marine corps who experienced the battle, two Suspension-ring(Haikans) of a new Guntō were inconvenient in respect of practical use.
However, probably, officers felt for the new Guntō the satisfaction which endures it.
The upper levels of a military should regard copying the beauty of "Yamato gokoro = the Japanese heart" to an officer's
Guntō as having asked more strongly.

The suicide attack pilots of a human torpedo "Kaiten" who sortie by I-368
submarine. They carried the Guntō to the fellow traveler of death.

There is no element of arms in a naval Guntō view.
The Guntō was still carried in order to maintain officers' pride.
The meaning of an officer's Guntō must have consented also to the army.
Because, when applying the idea of Mr.Koson Honami and General Araki, etc. to an officer's Guntō, the noncommissioned officer sword which is the result of research as arms was already completed.
Why doesn't it apply the structure of this Mounting, especially the structure of a Hilt, and the quality of the material to an officer Gunto ?
Why was an officer's Guntō the category of not regulation of "arms" but the beginning and the end, and "dress laws and
institutions" ?

The officer did not necessarily ask a Guntō for the element of mere arms.
Officers demanded a fine sight and spiritualism of the Guntō more strongly as an officer's proof.
Man has "a way of controlling the heart" in each.
The Guntōes were the important general tools for controlling an officer's heart. Many photographs of the flight crews and "Kaiten" crews who sortie at a suicide attack with a Guntō, are telling the meaning of a Guntō to the inside of silence.
For the officer, the Guntō was "strong emotional attachment" and was "the fashion of the heart" which nothing cannot replace with easily.

A large majority of ordinary serviceperson and people had firmly the Guntō view symbolized by the Marshal Tōgō.

It is if you understand the sword view of racial long history and structure of the society before defeat of Japan, the essence of the Guntō of the officer symbol of status" and "reliance of a soul" is known well.

After the war, the Allied Forces GHQ got confused by requisition of the Guntō of the officer of personal equipment in disarmament of a Japanese military. In the requisition official familiar with Japanese culture, an officer's Guntō has the paragraph which inclined to it temporarily at the petition that it is not arms.
The home government was enraged at this and ordered requisition.
It suited destroying thoroughly "the Japanese culture and heart of Japanese people" symbolized by the Guntō.
It was considered that a Guntō was the symbol of militarism. This mistake must be corrected.

Although 70 years have passed after the war, Japanese people are still continuing accepting occupation forces' "Japanese demolition" policy obediently.
Since especially the postwar fine-arts sword community was aimed at the appreciation fine-arts sword, this policy of occupation forces suited its profits.
Therefore, they are eliminating a military swords Guntō thoroughly and scorning it, and are continuing supporting the colonial policy of GHQ positively.
It is a very ironical talk that such fellows are in a lordly manner, and occupy the Japanese sword which was the historical backbone of Japan.

True dawn of Japan is far.
　

　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Since November 27, 2013　

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