Bruce Pennington

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.

Eagerly awaiting your article, John!!! The photo you reference is the only one I've seen, too. My memory is poor, but I read once, about a commander gifting a special tanto to a pilot who was going out the next day. In other words, the tanto was a special gift, not a generic gift, given to the masses. I also read (again - someplace) they were to be used on themselves if they survived the crash into a ship; however I don't remember who said that, so that could be urban legend for all it's worth. Here is Ohmura's page on the subject: Kamikazi Dagger It is the source of the Keiten presentation. He states that he knows no source that pilots were given such daggers. Photos from the page (the text is clear when you click on each image):

sorry for the off-topic question - is that date Sept 1655?

Bingo, Thanks Steve! From JSI: Ikeda Kanetsuna - Japaneseswordindex.com

Thanks, Dean. I tried a couple or 3 ways and didn't get the same text. I suppose it depends upon the exact words in asking the question. I was just curious to see it's sources, because it sounded suspiciously close to quoting ME! Ha! We were discussing the stamp a while ago. I was leaning toward it being a civil stamp as the only other stamp on blades using the sakura was the Showa stamp. So, I speculated that maybe the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Assoc. picked up using the stamp in the last 2 years of the war. The complication comes when I created a chart showing whether stamped blades were tachi mei or katana mei. Quite strikingly, the blades with civil stamps - Showa and large Seki - were all katana mei, while arsenal stamped blades were all tachi mei. When you look a Gifu stamped blades, they are all tachi mei ........ the implication being that the stamp was an arsenal stamp and not civil. I've current flipped over to the theory that it was a regional stamp being used by the Nagoya Arsenal inspectors in Gifu. In 1943, stamping practices greatly expanded into regional/locale stamps. So, the Gifu might have been a Nagoya inspector.

Sesko doesn't list a WWII Yoshitada, which often happens.

Hi Barry, We'll need a really close shot of the blade showing hamon (temper line) and any details of the steel that are visible, to make a guess on whether it is traditionally made or not. Lack of stamps opens up the possibility that a blade is traditionally made, but not a guarantee. Hopefully someone like @SteveM will help with the second smith name. I know I've seen it, but cannot recall. Edit: I think this guy - Kanetada - is your smith:

May, 1945 Dean, where did you find that quote? Concerning the missing saya, I don't remember if it was a movie scene or something from a book I read, but a G.I. picked up a sword that had been brandished by it's Japanese owner during a battle. He was battle weary, and didn't bother to get the saya off the dead soldier. I suspect many swords were picked up this way. In another book, G.I.s were grabbing swords from a pile. One could easily have been in the pile without it's saya, or simply slid out of it's saya when pulled from the pile.

Thank you, Gunter, the semi-mysterious Gifu stamp. It came into use in '43, but really was used increasingly in '44 and '45. It was a time when stamping became more locale-based. We don't know exactly who used it, but it was likely a Nagoya inspector in Gifu. After comparing Yoshitsugu and Yoshimune in my files, I'm leaning toward a butchered-up Yoshimune. All my Yoshitsugu are Seki stamped and use another kanji for "Yoshi" Example: The Yoshimune are Gifu stamped and have very comparable strokes This one was also October '44, posted by @1tallsword