Original Japanese Edo Period Handmade Tanto Short Sword by HIDECHIKA with Black Lacquered Fittings Price_$-050 - $200 read as SHOWA (current reigning

read as SHOWA (current reigning emperor) 17th year of reign (1942) 2nd month (February)

as this example was on the butt stock

and has been cut down from the original length

all signs of actual field use

they lost an engine while flying in solid cloud cover

Original Japanese Edo Period Handmade Tanto Short Sword by HIDECHIKA with Black Lacquered Fittings Price_$-050 - $200 read as SHOWA (current reigningOriginal Item: Only One Available. Purchased at a recent military show, this is a very nice Japanese Tanto (), which literally means short sword. These could be in any number of different shapes, depending on the requests of the person who ordered it. The blade length of a tanto is typically between 15 and 30 cm (5. 9 to 11. 8 inches), or 1 Japanese shaku, an ancient measurement. The blade of this example is in the typical Hira Zukuri ( flat shape),