BANGBANGSAN

Thomas Big thanks for you and Nick's work! You guys contribute to the Japanese military collector's community so much, we learned a lot from you! Salute!

Here is a star stamped 兼上 Kanekami，昭和十九年十一月 1944.11， in Type 98 mount.

True,Chinese food made outside of China still called Chinese food

Not really.We know Mantetsu are made in China.

九五=Type 95？

It could be 十二 too

flip over

@Bruce Pennington @Kiipu Star stamped 濃州住 兼久 Kanehisa ，昭和十九年三月 March 1944 in Type 98 mount. The dating side of the tang has 名 mark. Do you guys think the star is original or added?

Thank you!

It's a poem written by the person who uses the pen name 山中人（The man in the mountain). 儒境了無何用論 桃源不別具乾坤 一絲煙彰有三戶 柿赤橙黃又作邨 It's talking about where you at is a hidden but beautiful place, with mist-shrouded, persimmons and oranges trees everywhere，something like that. The characters in red I'm not 100% sure if it's correct.

Thomas You're right, Chinese fake sword uses existing well-known Japanese names, not only sword smith's name. like this one on GB, it borrowed Japanese-American singer-songwriter and producer 宇多田光 Hikaru Utada's name。 https://www.gunboards.com/threads/need-help-with-a-sword-please.1202697/#post-10951366

Not Japanese sword

Star stamped blade in Type 98 mount.No photo of the full tang of the maker side, I don't know if there is ser# . 八雲正清作 昭和十九年六月

The date should be when he became a Gunto smith instead RJT smith .Says on the top of that website :受付年月日

越後住貞清 Ser#タ1518 in Shirasaya, the star stamp is not very clear, but it seems located on the upper left of MekugiAna. 昭和十八年十月吉日( said on the register paper). I don't have any photos of the dating side of the tang.

義定 Civilian name 石原錠一 is in the 軍刀(昭和刀）の関鍛治刀匠名簿232名 Gunto(Showato) Seki smith(232) name list http://www.touken-kasugado.com/faq_2.html first raw #73 He became RJT smith in 1939.10.25.

Yes Sir

Bruce 若林重房 Wakabayashi Shigefusa is RJT smith .Read the Thomas's post from Nick's article "In 1941, the family returned to Japan and settled again in Aizu, where he was later accredited as Rikugun Jumei Tosho (army licensed sword smith). Shigetsugu had also signed his earlier commercial work as Shigefusa, but registered as Wakabayashi Shigetsugu in the RJT program. Even so, he made a good number of swords for the black market to be sold as antiques, in which he used the generations old mei of Shigefusa." His name also list http://www.japaneseswordindex.com/gendai2.htm Under Rikugun Jumei Tosho Swordsmiths Known From Literature Sources 3rd Roll He is also list here https://www.tsuruginoya.com/infomation/data/iretsu-seidai

Star stamped Type 98, no Ser#。 重房作 Shigefusa 壬午十一月 1942.November Not sure if he is the same 重房（ 6th Generation 重房 -若林重次 Wakabayashi Shigetsugu） who worked for Mantetsu from 1937-1941。

Hey David ,can you remove the handle and show us the both sides tang? It maybe an older blade .

Hey David ,can you remove the handle and show us both sides full tang? It maybe an older blade .

Steve Thank you very much!

I agree with you, we might never know when the scabbard was paired with the current blade. My point is, if the railway sword handle has the logo, it is a railway sword, even if the scabbard drag was gone. But if another way around, it can only be identified as the scabbard of the railway sword instead of the whole rig.

Thanks,Steve!Any idea what's the last "Kanji".Any info about this 土州國正？I'll see if I can get more photos,think maybe it's a 柴刀。

These railway swords it's all about fittings. This one only has the Railway logo on the drag,IMO it's not considered an official MNR sword. Maybe the scabbard is not original to the blade.