"Civilian" Wakizashi use in WWII? How common was this?

[Tensho]

Whelp, I had a lot written but it all disappeared when I opened a new tab

I know civilians donated/sold swords to the IJA, but the requirements were a blade of at least 21.5".

I recently aquired a Wakizashi in full civilian mounts including the Saya(mounts Edo period, blade around 14th-15th century if legit Mei) Wrapped in jabara-maki with white Ito(not suitable for combat IMO) I got the usual story with it "My father brought it back from WWII" but was very vague. I bought the sword and not the story so to speak(and it was pretty cheap) It wasn't until I got the sword that I noticed the Tsuka had a hole drilled through it about 1/2" under the kashira. Typical of civilian mounted katana with a Sarute installed or makeshift lanyard. The Saya also had a hole drilled through towards the tip for a lanyard.

After I saw all of this it definitely peaked my interest. I contacted the seller asking if I could please have more info about his father/where he got it. A few days later I got a reply of "He was in the 77th infantry division and got the sword on Okinawa. That's all I know and all he would tell me about the sword or the war"

So, back to my question. Are civilian mounted Wakizashi typically seen? I would think it would be "embarrassing" for a soldier to carry a Wakizashi as they were known as being merchant swords.
Thanks.

[Tank Destroyer]

Shinto wakizashi

i have one. Vet bring back.

[Tensho]

Shinto wakizashi

i have one. Vet bring back.

I believe yours would fall into the donated by civilian with the 21.5" blade.

I will have to take some photos of mine. But it is not what I would expect to see captured from a battle.

The blade is 15"
Overall 22".

[AZPhil]

I look forward to seeing some pic's.

Semper Fi
Phil

[Bruce Pennington]

I have seen many waki-length weapons collected from WWII. I've never paid attention to their lengths. Most are re-fitted with a varying degree of military koshirae, but many are fully "civilian" in fittings. Some of these are, no doubt, from the confiscation efforts immediately after the war, taken from homes. In your case, coming from Okinawa, this could still be the case considering that Okinawa was annexed by Japan in the late 1800s. No doubt there were Japanese living there who could have owned such a blade.

Another option is that use/carry of privately owned blades was known. There are several pictures of even NCOs carrying civil swords and waki. Nick Komiya posted a 1945 reg change that officially permitted NCOs to carry privately owned "swords" on this thread:
Short Development History of Type 95 Gunto
While it specifies that the blades were to be re-fitted, I tend to believe not everyone fully complied or took the time to have this done.

Either option may explain your blade's path.

[arisakadogs]

I've had this Waki since the early 80s but don't know if it actually saw military use.

[DaveR]

A couple of pics that you might find interesting... and informative.

[ghp95134]

I've had this Waki since the early 80s but don't know if it actually saw military use.

備州長船祐定
Bishu Osafune Sukesada.

[Tensho]

Here it is. Not in the best shape. Also, thanks for the replies and other photos. Also, thanks Bruce I did not see that before. I always figured there was a special regulation for Wakizashi but I guess since the end was near so to speak the regulations were laxed.

Mine didn't come with a leather Saya cover or leather locking seppa. The Saya was pretty much crushed when I got it and I restored it enough to just secure the blade. No point in posting it as it looks nothing like original.

[adachi]

A couple of pics that you might find interesting... and informative.

I was going to post the second picture as well, it's a great example. It's said to be on Hainan Island, which makes sense as he's wearing early/pre WWII gear. With the Naval Landing Forces you can see many of them in China during the 30's carrying personal blades of varying lengths.