Bruce Pennington

Google translate for what it’s worth

This one started as a Type 95 discussion, but has grown to cover all black-painted gunto

Cross-referencing this discussion here:

I, too, have seen an occasional horimono on WWII blades. Kanenobu was RJT qualified, and I have star-stamped blades by him from '42-'45. Any chance there is a star above his mei? Although, without a date, it probably doesn't have a star on second thought. The horimono appears, to me, to be the flaming jewel symbol from Buddhism. I'm no expert on that, though.

When it comes to kamon on swords, I like to look back at the origin. Certainly there were dozens of families that adopted the symbols of the original samurai, so we can never know who carried it in World War II. So for me, it’s fun to see who the original family was that the WWII carrier adopted.

While waiting for the experts, that is what I was told about a similar mon on a blade:

It's starting to sound like there was a variety of reasons a pilot might have had a tanto in his possession - a gift from a mother (for seppuku), special gift from a unit commander to his favorite pilot, navy-wide practice for good luck, specific Special Attack Unit (Taigi-tai), Army units. Since the tanto was the instrument used in seppuku for the ages, it is easy to see how collectors would latch onto the idea, especially after being mentioned by both Ohmura and Fuller. Eagerly awaiting your article, John.

Might be your browser. Are you using Microsoft Edge? They give a pop-up window asking if you want to translate. But like you say, sometimes it's not there. However they have a symbol in the search window that, if clicked, brings up the translate pop-up:

Wow, you did good, Dean! Care to share how you found a saya that fit? Yes, that retention strap is what you need. I have never personally seen one for sale.

Even this goes along with the Ohmara page saying these were given to kaiten pilots. Great source, thank you for posting!

This is the English page for the main page: Ohmura Site. Some of his pages aren't available in English and must be translated. Some, when entering in Japanese, have a link to click at the bottom of the page for English Version.

Good point, Malcolm! But, just as confusing! Mei side looks like 121, while the date side looks like 13. Would be nice to know if the seppa are stamped with the number.

Did a quick scan. June '45 was the latest I have in the charts: 3 x Yoshitada 1 Kiyotsugu 1 Masatsugu 1 Tadamori I didn't see any later than that. Keep in mind, though, my chart is only stamped blades. There very well could be later blades out there, just without stamps.

I don't recall where to find the discussion, but Nick Komiya at Warrelics had said that there was a concerted effort to transfer and transport sword making machinery over to Manchuria and/or Korea as their factories were being destroyed by the bombing. According to him, they never got fully operational from the attempted move.

Thanks, Trystan. I see now.

Here's one posted by @Eric_P. Eric, what kind of blade was in this?

Katakana "YU". Are the numbers "12" or "31" ? Hard to see exactly. Edit: The more I look at it, the more it looks like 31

"SHINKOKU (神国), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Nagano – “Shinkoku” (神国), family name Sakurai (桜井), rikugun-jumei-tōshō, his name is also quoted with the reading Kiyokuni, jōko no jōi (Akihide)" JSI used Sakurai Kiyokuni.

Nice find, Marcin!

@Kiipu @BANGBANGSAN as well. Steven, like they said, its a Spring 1943, Mantetsu made this, and we'd love the serial number on the back edge, please!

Shame this valuable discussion is happening in the Fake Swords section. John, it would be great to have a pinned thread on this topic in the Military Swords section. I suppose we could wait until your research and writing is completed. When ever you think is best, brother.

Cool, Dee! What does the writing say?

Nice hamon, Barny! It's possible it was traditionally made. The old wartime polish and wear make it hard to see the fine details, though. I bet it would be quite stunning in a full polish.