mecox

@Bruce Pennington @Kiipu here is an unusual shingunto mount for well known Gifu smith Amahide Yahoo!オークション - 【ASAHI】鍛え肌立つ健全豪壮で美しい一振り 一... 濃州関住一文字源天秀鍛之 Noshu Seki ju Ichimonji Minamoto Amahide kitaeru kore Torokusho (Showa 34 (1959) May, from Shimane) : notes an ura mei of Shigenaga 重長　(not sure if owner). nagasa: 63.6 cm sori: 1.5 cm not sure of fittings kanji and how to read: maybe "Jitsuyou......" practical ?? 　㐧 320020 号 (not sure how to read) Is this some type of patented hanger for gunto saya most unusual hamon

@Bruce Pennington from Chris Bowen "Tokyo Kindai Tosho" (1867-1945) lists: XIII. Tokyo Dai Ichi Rikugun Zoheisho (東京第一陸軍造兵廠) These smiths made swords at the Imperial Army's arsenal factory in Akabane, Tokyo (1943-45). These swords are usually inscribed 'Tokyo Dai Ichi Rikugun Zoheisho'. Others may have also worked here on a part-time basis. 1. Nobutaka (宣威) 2. Kanemasa (兼正) 3. Katsunobu (勝信) 4. Morikuni (守国)

Example sword: Yahoo!オークション - 村田刀 小銃兼正銘 長さ70cm 小烏丸造り 明治24...

Bruce, some background Tokyo First Army Arsenal Jujo Factory Tokyo Daiichi Army Arsenal - Wikipedia 6: Development as a "military capital" and after ~ Oji Takinogawa | Konomachi Archives | If you want to buy or sell real estate, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Real Estate "Army Ordnance Supply Depot Ruins, Inatsuke Shooting Range Ruins" Walking around the battle sites of Nishigaoka, Kita-ku

Tom, this is rather interesting due to the timeframe. Your mei is: Muratato Kanemasa 村田刀　兼正 Sesko lists: MURATA (村田) → TSUNEYOSHI (経芳), Meiji (明治, 1868-1912), Tōkyō. TSUNEYOSHI (経芳), Meiji (明治, 1868-1912), Tōkyō – “Murata Tsuneyoshi” (村田経芳), real name Murata Tsuneyoshi (村田経芳), he was born on the tenth day of the sixth month Tenpō nine (天保, 1838) as son of the Satsuma-samurai Murata Ransai Tsunenori (村田蘭斎経徳), he was the best marksman of the fief and fought among others also in the Boshin War (1868/69), 1871 he was as Imperial bodyguard sent to Tōkyō and was later promoted to a infantry captain, in 1875 he was sent to France and to other European states to improve Japanese firearms which resulted in the promotion to a major and the post of instructor at the Toyama Military Academy (陸軍戸山学校), 1880 he was involved in the development of the first Japanese-designed rifle, after that he was made head of the imperial artillery weapons factory and became a member of the Japanese Upper House, in 1890 he was promoted to the rank of a major general and six years later – in 1896 – he was elevated to the rank of a baron due to his merits in the Boshin War and the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877, besides of that, he was also active as swordsmith and the army produced the Murata-tō (村田刀) swords named after him, for the latter, not only tamahagane but also western steel was processed and they were widely used during the Sino-Japanese and the Russo-Japanese War from 1894-95 and 1904-05 respectively, he died on February 9th 1910 of a lung disease. KANEMASA (兼正), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Tōkyō – “Shōjū Kanemasa” (小銃兼正), “Kanemasa” (兼正), real name Murata Tsuneyoshi (村田経芳), he worked for the Akabane Arsenal (赤羽造兵廠)

Will, as Jan notes mei is Nōshū Seki-jū Kanematsu saku. However, its a bit confusing as there is no Kanematsu registered in WW2 Seki, but there are several with Kanematsu as given name. Also some signed Kanematsu Kanetatsu. It was earlier though it may be joint work, but could be the one smith. Not fully sure, but check out earlier posts.

@drb 1643 Tom, yes be interested to know the smith and see mei and mounts.

Tom , date Meiji 26 year 12 month 1st day. 1 December 1893. Less common 20 is "niju" 廿 stamps of "O" and "331"

Tom, this looks to be a really good sword. I think it reads: Yoshu Taijo Ju (Yoshu = Iyo = Ehime). Taira Sadashige saku. Reverse is a memorial for Daitoa Seisen (Great Asian War). See Slough page 150-151. Plus see my paper on Ehime in NMB Downloads with detail of them

@Kristin also to help with your sale he is: YOSHITSUGU 吉次: real name Yoshida Jinrō (吉田任郎). Born Meiji 43 (1910) December 16. Reg. Showa 16 (1941) May 6 (age 30). (“Yoshitsugu” “1944”), (“Yoshida Yoshitsugu”), (“Noshi Seki ju Yoshida Yoshitsugu saku”). see Slough p.202 also see Naval Swords Part 2, in the NMB Downloads (at top of page), other examples.

@NotANinja Rob, PX is a store/retail outlet/supplier for US troops near their bases. They had them for occupation troops in Japan. Immediate post war, 1946, the PX stores were seliing "souvenir" swords that were made of arsenal parts left over. The blades were mostly naval arsenal with anchor stamps or anchor/circle, the tsuba mosly black plain iron ovals shape, and the tsuka bound but often with canvas underlay. The Fuchi/kashira were often mixed army/navy. Bruce has been compiling info on this....its confusing.

@Chris1980 Chris, very little info available: YUKIMUNE (行宗) real name Nakane Yohei (中根与平). Born Meiji 27 (1894) December 25. Registered as a Seki smith Showa 17 ( 1942) March 5 at age 47. Two addresses given: he may have been from Bugi-gun, Miyano-mura (northern Gifu, high country), then moved to city and when registered gave Seki-machi, Tomino-mura. He was reported to also make some traditional swords. Does not appear to be in 1942 Banzuke list. Example: Noshu Seki ju Yukimune kore kitaeru, nagasa 66.9 cm sori 1.6 cm, no date, no stamp. Torokusho certificate is Heisei 28 (2016).

TOSHICHIKA (敏周), real name Yamada Shūzō (山田週三), born May 28 (Meiji 28) 1895, from Seki ,registered as Seki smith Showa 17 (1942) June 28. was guntō smith and died February 20th 1973

@LightningFox0124 Tyler, your sword would not be made of traditional iron or methods, but be a semi-machine made using a "western" style steel, but likely still well made. Its a bit confusing as there are several wartime Kanetsugu. But yours looks like Maekawa Genichi. The attached paper from NMB Downloads gives the context of his work, with examples and also shows the variations in mei and signature style. Also demonstrates some of the difficulties to determine the smith. As a note, yours has 2 holes in nakago, suggesting a remount. What are the mounts?

@cookiemonstah47 Khalid, about your top blade (below) I have not had much luck. Upper kanji is rusted but it looks to me like: 紀伊國綱廣 "Kii no Kuni Tsunahiro" but cant find him. However, there are similarities to others like " Kii no Kuni Yasuhiro" but its only guessing.

Khalid, no.2 katana-mei, looks to be XXX Minamoto Norihiro (with old "hiro" 廣 noted by Jussi. Possibly is Sagami no Kami (from Sesko): NORIHIRO (則広), Jōkyō (貞享, 1684-1688), Settsu – “Niwa Sagami no Kami Minamoto Norihiro” (丹羽相模守源 則広), “Sagami no Kami Minamoto Norihiro” (相模守源則広), real name Niwa Den´emon (丹羽伝右衛門), he came originally from Kii province and belonged to the Ishidō school, dense ko-itame, hiro-suguha or chōji 　　

Chris, that sori is interesting. I wonder if it is this smith (or related) in Sesko list: NAGAYUKI (長行), Tenshō (天正, 1573-1592), Bungo – “Hōshū-jū Fujiwara Nagayuki” (豊州住藤原長行), “Fujiwara Nagayuki” (藤原長行), Taira-Takada school, mostly suguha

Anton, 塚原兼次 - Kanetsugu Tsukahara (born 1919) is well documented. Sesko: KANETSUGU (兼次), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kanetsugu” (兼次), real name Tsukahara Tarō (塚原太郎), born January 25th 1919, he worked as rikugun-jumei-tōshō and died on July 30th 1978, jōkō no retsu (Akihide), Fourth Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941). Seki registration: registered on Taisho 8 (1939) October 20. Uchiyama (1969): Kojima KANEMICHI forge: (1) Asano KANEZANE (2) Takasaki KANESHIGE (3) Kuriki KANEMASA (4) Tsukahara KANETSUGU (5) Miwa KANETOMO (6) Takeyama YOSHINAO. Dai Nippon Meikan (1942): Seki Kyoshin Sha (Seki) p.127: (Swordsmiths: Kojima Kanemichi, Kojima Kanenori, Takeyama Yoshinao, Miwa Kanetomo, Fujii Kanefuji, Kurimoto Kanemasa, Tsukahara Kanetsugu, Kato Kaneharu, Matsumoto Yoshinori) . Kojima Kanemichi Mon: Kanetsugu Tsukahara is listed (also note there is a Kanetsugu Maegawa born 1904, of same kanji). There is no indication of a mix up with name Tsukahara Noritsugu. As another item, I did find a Seki smith in Sesko who is not listed in Seki registration, and I did not hvae: HIDEYASU (秀安), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Seki-jū Hideyasu kore o saku” (関住秀安作之), real name Tsukahara Yasuo (塚原安男), born 1929, student of Tanaka Kanehide (田中兼秀)

Anton, your sword reads "Noshu ju Tsukahara　Noritsugu saku" 濃州住塚原則次作. There is no smith of that name in the WW2 Seki registration (but often smiths are omitted/not included). Sesko lists: NORITSUGU (則次), Aichi – “Noritsugu” (則次), “Fujiwara Noritsugu” (藤原則次), Jōko no Jōi (Akihide, 1942) and Fifth Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (1941). He may have been in the Nakano Mon in Okazaki, Aichi. Not clear if they are the same (with family name of Tsukahara). Sometimes smiths crossed between these two prefectures. Needs a bit more work to determine.

Richard George: I used a number of his published tsuba photos, brilliant work, amazing clarity and detail even in difficult items such as Tempo tsuba. What a very sad and unfortunate loss.

@EdWolf SUKEKUNI (祐国), real name Miwa Kazuo (三輪一雄), born Meiji 42 (1909) April 8. From Seki-machi, Nagasumi-cho, registered as a Seki smith Showa 16 (1941) March 29. Reported to be Rikugun Jumei Tosho. Has Seki stamps and yours has Sakura/Gifu. Worked as guntō smith who worked through the war. Example: JSI-Stein. Seki stamp.

Jan Xiayang above is correct: “Kanetaka” (兼隆), real name Hasebe Bun´ichi (長谷部聞一), born August 8th 1898, lived at Seki-machi, Kasugu-cho and registered as a Seki smith Showa 18 (1943) Feb 28. He worked as a guntō smith and died April 1st 1965.

The mei being considered is 清宜 “Kiyonobu”, which can also be read as “Kiyonori”. There is also “nobu” and “nori” as 宣. 　 Reported information on WW2 Kiyonobu: his real name was Nagamura Matsuichi (長村 松市) and he was born Meiji 34 (1901) April 10. (Sometimes referred to as “Osamura”). He was from Gifu Prefecture and registered as a Seki smith on Showa 16 (1941) April 30 (just turned 40) and was living in Kamo-gun, Tahara-mura, Osugi . He is not in the 1940 list of Seki Token Kaji Association. He is listed as a Rikugun Jumei Tosho, but he is not listed in the 1942 Bazuke of Kurihara Hikosaburo, or in the large commercial Dai Nihon Token Meikan of 1942. Nor is he in the 1941 Shinsakuto Exhibition. (He is not listed in Sesko). However, he was relatively productive during the war years. Of examples found, all blades are katana-mei, most have sujikai filing, but two have taka-no-ha (#1 with small stamp; #7 with small Seki stamp of Nagoya Arsenal 1943-1945). Other stamps: #4 small unknown stamp; #10 TAN is early war and better steel. Several mei are cut by specialists (nakirishi-mei) indicating bigger workshop: #6, 9, 10, 12; maybe also 4 and 5. Very little information on him, and more likely he was a blacksmith/metal worker, without formal training as swordsmith. Maybe early worked in smaller forges/shop, then later to Nagoya Arsenal. Some example descriptions of located oshigata (1) “Kiyonobu”, small unknown stamp, katana-mei, taka-no-ha yasurime strongly filed. “Nori” uncommon style. [Nazar, December, 2025, NMB] (2) “Nagamura Kiyonobu tsukuru kore”, katana-mei, sujikai? yasurime. [JSI, Stein] (3) “Kiyonobu”, tachi-mei, sujikai yasurime. Shingunto. [Griffin Militaria] (4) “Nagamura Kiyonobu”, small stamp, katana-mei, sujikai yasurime. [ikedaart] (5) “Nagamura Kiyonobu tsukuru”, katana-mei, sujikai yasurime. [Seiyudo] (6) “Noshu ju nin Nagamura Kiyonobu tsukuru kore” , NBTHK Hozon paper 2010 (Japanese seller read as “Kiyonori”). Katana-mei, sujikai yasurime. No date, no stamp. [e-sword.jp] (7) “Nagamura Kiyonobu”, katana-mei, taka-no-ha yasurime, small SEKI stamp of Nagoya Arsenal (1943-1945) [dwp,Dennis, December 2021, NMB] (8) “Noshu ju Nagamura Kiyonobu kore saku” very poorly cut, katana-mei, taka-no-ha yasirime roughly filed. Three punch marks (assembly marks?), later hole drilled (post-war?) (9) “Noshu Osugi ju Nagamura Kiyonobu saku” (living in Osugi in Mino/Gifu), well cut mei by specialist, katana-mei, sujikai yasurime. No date or stamp. [Jason Jcremer24, March, 2023, NMB] (10) “Nagamura Kiyonobu kitau kore”, TAN stamp, katana-mei, sujikai yaskuri-mei with kessho finish. [Slough, 2001, p.85] (11) “Nagamura Kiyonobu” SEKI stamp, katana-mei, yasurime not clear. Arsenal work. [Fuller & Gregory, 1983, #188] (12) “Nagamura Kiyonobu kitau kore”, katana-mei, sujikai yasurime. Early war. [Fuller & Gregory, 1983, #192] (13) no image: “Noshu Seki ju Kiyonobu saku”, SEKI stamp, date 1942. [Fuller & Gregory, 1983, #255]

Thank you Moriyama san. That is indeed very interesting. But surprising that a short tanto would be confiscated.

Not all clear. John and Jean look correct. Seems to be something like: Dai ichi X (Article 1 X) Showa 32 (1957) Dai 106 "na" Teppo nado (firearm extra, banned/restricted) Tomotsune sama. Possibly the owner. Yes needs an expert to read.