Bruce Pennington

I know I have seen another gunto with that same style tsuba. Wish I knew when and where. I'm saving that as a possible variation of the Gunzoku tsuba used when retrofitting swords for them. Might not be. Might simply be a civilian tsuba.

I have one like that, too. Maybe it's due to wear and use. Your tsuka shows quite a bit of use. I think the applied finish to the fuchi simply has worn off. Nice presentation, Tony! Welcome back. Oh, and I'm saving the shots of the tassel. It's a perfect example of how the blue fades to light tan. Fortunately, some blue remained in the fringe at the end. Wish I could recall the last discussion I had with a guy about his 2-tone brown tassel. I had speculated it was totally faded red or blue at the time.

Nice presentaion, Steve, and a really nice sword. I see it has the full wrap-around rayskin, an upgrade from the usual.

Stamps of the Japanese Sword, March 2025 Annual Updated version available. Stamps of the Japanese Sword; March 2025 Changes: - Navy section re-written to discuss the discoveries about the Circled Anchor stamp. - Kao: a few additions of both Kokuin (hot stamp) and Kakihan (inscribed) - Cut Test Kao: added examples of stamped mei of Hakudo - Began a section of Appraiser Kao - Unknowns: Added a few unknown fittings stamps, like the small star and others - Type 19 Shop stamps: one new one added Enjoy!

You can read about the Army Type 98 on Ohmura's site - Army Commissioned Officer Gunto - Type 98 Care and cleaning - Guide to Care for Japanese Sword - Japaneseswordindex.com There were several smiths that signed under that name in WWII. I don't know how to tell which one was yours: "KANEMASA (兼正), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Nōshū-jū Kanemasa” (濃州住兼正), “Shuryūshi Kanemasa” (炷龍子兼正), “Nōshū Seki-jūnin Kanemasa” (濃州関住人兼正), real name Ōno Masami (大野正巳), he is also listed with the first name Masaki (正己), born in February 11th 1923, he was adopted by the Ōno family and studied under Morita Kaneshige (森田兼重), gō Shuryūshi (炷龍子), younger brother of Yoshida Masaaki (吉田正明) (see picture right) KANEMASA (兼正), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kanemasa” (兼正), real name Kuriki Shōichi (栗木正一), he is also listed with the family name Kurimoto (栗本), born Februar 15th 1918, he studied under Kojima Kanemichi (小島兼道) and worked as a rikugun-jumei-tōshō, ryōkō no jōi (Akihide), Fifth Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941) KANEMASA (兼正), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kanemasa” (兼正), real name Toki Yoshihira (土岐善平), born November 21st 1897, he worked as a guntō smith and died November 2nd 1980 KANEMASA (兼正), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kanemasa” (兼正), real name Masunouchi Kenzaburō (升内兼三郎), he worked as a guntō smith KANEMASA (兼正), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Aichi – “Bishū-jū Takeuchi Kanemasa kore o saku” (尾州住竹内兼正作之), “Bishū Kōzōji-jū Takeuchi Kanemasa” (尾州高蔵寺住竹内兼正), real name Takeuchi Kanesaburō (竹内兼三郎, the first name can also read Kenzaburō), rikugun-jumei-tōshō, he was no longer working as a swordsmith after World War II, Fifth Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941) 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)"

Sam Brown belts used in Japan have been discussed at Warrelics. I think there are more than one reference, but here's one at Warrelics thread.: "Regarding the Sam Brown belts, they are regulation as per the naval landing force uniform regulations set forth in 1933. They are supposed to be worn by all NLF officers, even when the sword is not in use. They had already become a defacto standard by at least 1927, as almost every NLF officer in Shanghai had one." - Adachi

Iberian, Can you post a shot showing the tsuba style, the whole face, or an angle showing the design? Thanks!

That's a strange tassel they have with it, too.

Wow! Is this in the US? I'm sure @Scogg would appreciate the serial number, if it's available.

Thanks for the update, Pav! Minor clarification - The large Seki stamp, as well as the Showa stamp, were not "arsenal" stamps. They were civil approval stamps used by the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association on approved blades. It was initiated by the sword production industry themselves to weed out poor quality showato that had been hurting the industry's reputation.

That's really cool, John!

Tony, Is that Takeyasu in souvenir fittings? If so, would you post full photos, please?

Interesting that there is a koa. Maybe a shop logo. I have a few swordsmiths that used the "B" in their kakihan, but no matches. A close one is Yoshikiyo of 1805, but it's not the same, just the same idea:

Type 98 in field/combat scabbard (saya), with all-brown tassel carried by the Gunzoko. If the price is right for a non-traditionally made blade, you might not need to see the nakago until you get it. If he's asking a higher price, fitting a gendaito, then I'd insist on seeing the nakago and getting clear shots of the blade details for an evaluation.

You're probably right, Mal. His is dated - February 1943 - but it might have been just before he got qualified, but still working with the same Army system.

They are thinking the first one was WWII era.

Thanks! Yeah, I've seen that green before. It's likely a faded version of blue. I remember a discussion of this on an old thread.

We see the same thing in the Japanese military swords. Some of the fakes are very course, and hastily done. Others took considerable time and effort to match the real details. I've wondered the same thing. Yet, apparently, they can do this quite cheaply, so getting collector prices for them is a tremendous profit.

Thanks for checking! This one is a bit of a mystery, then. He is listed as an RJT qualified smith, and the stamped number is in line with that operation. We know the RJT smiths sometimes sold their blades privately (outside the military), and those would not have had the star stamp. But if this was the case, I don't understand how it got the stamped number. This could be telling us the blade was made from other steel, not tamahagane, but still for the Army.

Alexander, Your blade could be stuck for a few reasons. First, it may be rust. If so, it's important that your get it out to oil and preserve the blade. Secondly, there are several dents in the bottom half of the saya, which may be wedging against the blade. Third, like Thomas said, this may have been a Type 95, copper-handled, NCO saya repurposed for this sword (maybe due to damage to the original?). I doubt it was a post-war add-on as I can see the shading of the officer styled haikan (belt hanger ring attachment) where it used to be. I realize there were some variations of saya manufacturing styles, but this one sure looks like it started life on a copper handled Type 95. That's a long story to say that it may be tightly wedge in because the curvature of the blade and saya don't match (which would be an odd thing, if my proposal that it was re-purposed was right). In any case, I would recommend placing a hard plastic or wood block against the top edge of the saya, laying on the nakago, and try to knock it loose with a hammer.

Don't see any Showa era Kunisada with this mei, but Sesko's list isn't always totally inclusive of the war smiths. I recommended that Brandon check with you guys as the blade seemed longer and more elegant looking that the normal war blades.

With the large Seki stamp, your most likely date of manufacture would be 1943. They are seen between 1941-'45 but the massive majority were made in '43.

Hi Alexander, Can you give us a couple shots of the blade and fittings? The small stamp near the top is the Showa stamp. It looks to be partially struck, or double struck, making the detail of the stamp obscured. But it was the approval stamp of the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association. They used the stamp between 1935 - 1942, with most of them appearing in 1940 - '41, in case there is no date on the other side.

Yes, they've got it back up today. Lots of other mods have been discussing it with Serge, the Master Admin/tech.