Pre-World War II Japanese Type 30 Steel Bayonet and Original Metal Scabbard.

The maker's mark of three intertwined circles on the ricasso indicates it came from the Kokura Arsenal. The serial number has been worn or filed off on the back of the pommel, making the exact date and origin impossible to pin down, but the quillon indicates it was made either right at the beginning or prior to 1942. The handle is wrapped over with some form of tape, likely done to maintain the integrity of the weapon after use. 

Condition: Commensurate with age. 

Size: 21 x 3 in. 

The Type 30 bayonet (sanjūnen-shiki jūken) is a bayonet that was designed for the Imperial Japanese Army to be used with the Arisaka Type 30 Rifle, which was later used on the Type 38 and Type 99 rifles, the Type 96 and Type 99 light machine guns, and the Type 100 submachine gun. Some 8.4 million were produced, and it remained in front-line use from the Russo-Japanese War to the end of World War II. All Japanese infantrymen were issued with the Type 30, whether they were armed with a rifle or pistol, or even if they were unarmed, because of its reliability, making it one of their most valuable tools and weapons. The Type 30 Bayonet is a single-edged sword bayonet with a 16 inch blade and a rough overall length of 20 inches with a weight of approximately 25 ounces. The Type 30 bayonet is also known as the “Pattern 1897 bayonet,” after the year it was designed and introduced. Early Type 30 bayonets usually sported a J-shaped hooked quillon guard designed to catch and trap the enemy’s blade. By 1942 the quillon was eliminated to save materials and decrease production time, leaving only a straight guard. Type 30 scabbards went from metal (pre-1942), to vulcanized fiber (1942-1943), and finally to wood or bamboo (1944-1945). Scabbards were usually painted black and called a burdock sword (gobo ken) as it looked like the burdock vegetable. The weapon was manufactured right up to the day of Japan’s surrender to the Allies in 1945, made primarily at the Kokura, Koishikawa, and Nagoya Arsenals but also made under private contract by Matsushita and Toyoda during WWII.

Commensurate with age. 

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