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Most likely a Chinese forgery. The blade should be much smoother than what I see. It could possibly be one of the factory made blades in which it will have arsenal markings beneath the handle. Knock the bamboo peg out of the handle and have the kanji interpreted. There's quite a bit of info on the web about these swords. I did quite a bit of research on them years ago as I came into possession of the one my great-uncle brought back from WW2. Mine is a Showa Koa Isshin Mantetsu blade made around 1941 from a special steel they found in Manchuria. Would like to see a full pic of blade as well as the tsuba and the menaki. Tsuba is the guard and the menaki are the brass items embedded in the handle wrap. If it is a factory blade it should have the standard military mounts.
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