The term Showato (kanji: 昭和刀) means "Showa-era sword" in English. It is written しょうわとう in hiragana. It may also be rendered in English as Shōwatō or Shouwatou. It's pronounced roughly like "show-wah-toe".
This refers to the guntoGUNTO 軍刀 "(modern) saber" learn more... (軍刀, “military swords”) that were made in the Showa era (1926-1989). The gunto was introduced in the Meiji era (1868-1912) and made by non-traditional methods (i.e., not in a tataraTATARA 踏鞴 "iron-smelting furnace" learn more...). It was during the Showa era, and especially World War II, that the gunto began to be produced on a large scale.
Showa is what is called a gengo (元号), or era name. These names are used to number the years that each emperor reigns; so, the Showa period was the period that Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989) reigned. The word Showa comes from a passage in the Book of Documents (an ancient book of Confucianism) and expresses, roughly, a hope for peace and flourishing between nations.
The kanji 刀 means sword. It’s pronounced to as part of a word like Showato, and katanaKATANA 刀 "sword" learn more... on its own.