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Post by jlwilliams on May 20, 2013 10:46:12 GMT
I have a question that I've asked a number of militaria and sword people and none have known. If Google knows, he's not telling me.
Does the modern Japanese Defense Force (JDF) have any uniform or ceremonial swords?
We've all seen WWII guntos of many descriptions. After the war, Japans military as pretty well scrapped. The demilitarization of Japan also included the wholesale destruction and dumping of every weapon that the occupation forces could come across including tons of temple swords (a shame, but it was deemed necessary). That was a long time ago. The modern JDF has likely come a long way, they even deployed some people to Iraq. Does anybody know if they have any officer swords? What type are they? Western style sabers? Something samurai-ish?
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Post by SPQR on May 20, 2013 14:45:24 GMT
I do not believe so. The sword is very tied to the Feudal Samurai in the Japanese culture. When the JDF was being reconstituted, it was under the watchful eye and careful guidance of the Allied (read: American) forces, and efforts were made to firmly break all ties with previous martial ideas. Along the lines of the then-new Bundeswehr, the breaking of old traditions was a big part of that, and the ceremonial sword was a victim.
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Post by jlwilliams on May 22, 2013 10:39:15 GMT
I was aware that under the occupation swords were completely routed out of their military. But with so much time having passed I was wondering if there were new ones. Shinzo Abe hasn't quite spit out the words "Asian co-prosperity sphere", but he's got the potential to. Maybe he'll present something sharp to some military leader and lead to some sort of an officer's dress ceremonial sword. We'll see what unfolds with time.
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