In 1918, a Marshal’s sword (Gensuitō) was introduced into the Japanese honours system, to be presented to specially recognised admirals and generals of the Imperial Japanese military who had been awarded the honorific title of Gensui. Later that year, a very fine example of such a sword was presented to King George V at Buckingham Palace, on behalf of Emperor Taishō. These swords were made to the highest standards by master swordsmiths, with no more than 24 produced before the abolishment of the rank of Gensui in 1945. Very little has been written about Gensuitō in Japanese, much less in English. The King George V Gensuitō, today held in the Royal Collection, is recognised for its aesthetic value, but has been the subject of only limited scholarship. Drawing on primary sources held in the Royal Collection, Royal Archives, and National Archives of Japan, as well as secondary sources published in limited-circulation journals that have not been digitised, the author presents herein an overview of this important Gensuitō—believed to be the sole example held in a collection outside of Japan.

1918 年，元帅的剑 (Gensuitō) 被引入日本的荣誉制度，以赠予获得元水荣誉称号的日本帝国军队的特别认可的海军上将和将军。同年晚些时候，代表大正天皇在白金汉宫向乔治五世国王赠送了一把非常精美的这种剑。这些剑是由刀匠大师按照最高标准制造的，在 1945 年废除源水等级之前生产的不超过 24 把。日语中关于源水藤的记载很少，更不用说英语了。今天在皇家收藏中收藏的乔治五世国王 Gensuitō 因其美学价值而受到认可，但一直只有有限的学术研究。借鉴皇家收藏、皇家档案馆的主要资源，