BANGBANGSAN

You got it. It's on Ohmura's website, but the Japanese version has much more information than the English version. English version http://ohmura-study.net/204.html Japanese version http://ohmura-study.net/741.html

There are more than 12 known inscriptions, and based on the variations in these inscriptions, it is assumed that several different swordmaking methods were employed, ranging from fire-forged swords made only with cannon steel to forge-welded swords made with a combination of cannon steel and tamahagane . In July of 1931 (Showa 6), an agreement was made between Japan Steel Works and Suikosha to engrave "Mikasa" and the "company emblem" (the old emblem from the founding period) on the tang of the dirks. However, there exists a letter from Hideaki addressed to the head office in August, expressing his strong objection to mass production, stating, "I absolutely refuse to engage in such quantity production." As a result, Hideaki's signature was not included, and the blades were inscribed with "Manufactured by Steel Works" and forged by his apprentices.

In July of 1931 (Showa 6), an agreement was made between Japan Steel Works and Suikosha to engrave "Mikasa" and the "company emblem" (the old emblem from the founding period) on the tang of the dirks. However, there exists a letter from Hideaki addressed to the head office in August, expressing his strong objection to mass production, stating, "I absolutely refuse to engage in such quantity production." As a result, Hideaki's signature was not included, and the blades were inscribed with "Manufactured by Steel Works" and forged by his apprentices. There are no known molds or examples of dirks engraved with the word "Mikasa" and the "company emblem," nor with the inscription "Manufactured by Steel Works." I think your dirk is one of those with the company emblem.

@PNSSHOGUN @drb 1643 日露戦争で、戦艦「三笠」は帝國連合艦隊の旗艦であった。ロシアのバルチック艦隊を殲滅した「日本海々戦」の前年(明治37年)、「三笠」は「黄海々戦」で後部二連装主砲の一門を破壊された。 この破壊された主砲残鉄を使って刀剣を造る計画が水交社(海軍士官の親睦団体)などで持ち上がっていた。 昭和3年2月17日、「日本海々戦に有名な軍艦「三笠」の殊勲を記念したいと海軍で研究中の處、十二吋(30㎝)副砲※を室蘭にいる刀剣界の権威、瑞泉氏に見せた處「立派な日本刀が出来る」というので短剣・長剣三千口を作ることとなりその見本が水交神社に奉納する一組と安保海軍大将に一振り送付された」と函館新聞は報じた (新聞要約、※ 主砲の誤記。加賀美憲晴様のご指摘で判明) 昭和3年1月～7年5月の間、この砲身残鉄を使用して（株）日本製鋼所室蘭工業所 (現室蘭製作所) 瑞泉鍛刀所の名門刀匠堀井秀明一門 が作刀。 三笠長剣(229本)・甲種三笠短剣 973本 (皇国興廃在此一戦の彫刻)・乙種三笠短剣 451本が造られ、「水交社」を通じて販売された。 他に、特攻隊生みの親、大西滝治郎中将の愛刀「以軍艦三笠砲鋼 秀明作」の日本刀等がある。 銘は12種以上有り、銘から推測して、砲鋼のみ使用の火造り刀から、玉鋼併用の鍛錬刀まで作刀方法は数種類あった。 銘(12 Mei as follow) 三笠・以三笠砲鋼・以三笠砲鋼作之・以軍艦三笠砲鋼・以三笠艦砲身作之・加三笠砲鋼・加三笠砲鋼精鍛・加和鋼以三笠砲材 加軍艦三笠砲鋼精鍛之・秀明・源秀明・室蘭住秀明作 三笠短剣の人気が高く、短剣の製作が一段落した後、水交社は更に追加製作を日本製鋼所に依頼した。 昭和6年7月、日本製鋼所と水交社の間で『短刀の茎に「三笠」と「社章」（創立当時の旧社章）を刻む』ことで合意した。 然し、秀明が「数打ちは甚だ迷惑至極御免被りたし」と 8月に本社に宛てた手紙が存在する。 その為に、秀明の銘は入れず「製鋼所製」と刻んで弟子に打たせる事になったようだ。 この「三笠」の文字と「社章」が刻まれた短刀や「製鋼所製」の銘のある短刀の押し型はない。 Rough translate During the Russo-Japanese War, the battleship Mikasa served as the flagship of the Imperial Combined Fleet. In the previous year (1904, Meiji 37) before the decisive "Battle of Tsushima" in which Russia's Baltic Fleet was annihilated, Mikasa had one of its twin rear main guns destroyed in the "Battle of the Yellow Sea." A plan to use the remaining iron from this destroyed main gun to forge swords was proposed by Suikosha (a naval officers' friendship society) and others. On February 17, 1928 (Showa 3), the Hakodate Newspaper reported, "As the Navy was studying ways to commemorate the distinguished service of the famous battleship Mikasa in the Battle of Tsushima, they showed a 12-inch (30 cm) secondary gun (Note: incorrect, actually a main gun) to the renowned swordsmith Zuisen in Muroran. He stated, 'A fine Japanese sword can be made from this,' and as a result, 3,000 short and long swords were commissioned. A sample set was dedicated to the Suikosha Shrine, and one sword was presented to Admiral Anbo." (Summary of newspaper report; mistake regarding main gun was clarified by Mr. Noriharu Kagami). Between January 1928 (Showa 3) and May 1932 (Showa 7), swords were forged using the remnants of this gun barrel at the Muroran Works of the Japan Steel Works (currently Muroran Manufacturing Works) by the master swordsmith Hori Hideaki and his apprentices from the prestigious Zuisen Swordsmith Studio. A total of 229 long swords (Mikasa long swords), 973 Type A Mikasa dirks (engraved with "The fate of an Empire is decided by this battle"), and 451 Type B Mikasa dirks were made and sold through the Suikosha. In addition, Admiral Onishi Takijiro, known as the father of the Kamikaze forces, owned a famous sword engraved "Made from Mikasa cannon steel by Hideaki." There are more than 12 known inscriptions, and based on the variations in these inscriptions, it is assumed that several different swordmaking methods were employed, ranging from fire-forged swords made only with cannon steel to forge-welded swords made with a combination of cannon steel and tamahagane . The popularity of the Mikasa dirks was high, and after the initial production was completed, Suikosha requested Japan Steel Works to produce additional dirks. In July of 1931 (Showa 6), an agreement was made between Japan Steel Works and Suikosha to engrave "Mikasa" and the "company emblem" (the old emblem from the founding period) on the tang of the dirks. However, there exists a letter from Hideaki addressed to the head office in August, expressing his strong objection to mass production, stating, "I absolutely refuse to engage in such quantity production." As a result, Hideaki's signature was not included, and the blades were inscribed with "Manufactured by Steel Works" and forged by his apprentices. There are no known molds or examples of dirks engraved with the word "Mikasa" and the "company emblem," nor with the inscription "Manufactured by Steel Works."(I think Tom's dirk is one of these) http://ohmura-study.net/204.html

Tom I think In addition to having the phrase 皇國興廃在此一戦 (The fate of an Empire is decided by this battle")engraved on the blade, the 甲種 (Type Ko) Mikasa Dirk typically has the swordsmith's name inscribed on the tang. The 乙種（Type Otsu), like yours, usually only has 三笠砲鋼(Mikasa cannon steel)without the swordsmith's signature. However, the Type Ko is generally more commonly seen, while the Type Otsu is less common. http://ohmura-study.net/741.html

These sword are made in China by battlefild Japanese smith for Japanese troops.

@Bruce Pennington @Kiipu In 成瀨関次(Naruse Sekiji) 's 實戰刀譚(Tale of Practical Combat Swords) It was mentioned that swords were made from old car springs in China, and they became quite popular due to their excellent cutting ability. この刀に首をひねっている頃、それは昨年（十三年）の三月の事で、 　兗州の兵器修理班の鍛工場で、工員（制規上軍刀の吊れない人達）が、 　日に日に危険にさらされてくるので、必要に迫って、 　廃物の古自動車のスプリングを利用して刀を打った。 　もちろん鍛えもせず、焼いて延ばした上一様に焼きを入れ、 　それを適度に戻したもので、 　自分の助手をしてくれていた加古という鍛工軍曹（その当時伍長）が指導した。 　加古軍曹は、愛知県小牧に住む刀匠で、造刀については深い研究を積んでいた。 　　そうした焼きの刀であるから、もちろん刃紋もなく、 　若い人達の手に合うようにというので、ある刀のごときは元身巾が一寸二分、 　重ねが二分二、三厘もある大切っ先の浅反り二尺三寸、 　虎徹の大業物そっくりなものができ、それに木工場で楊柳材の鞘を作り、 　軍刀修理場で外装を引き受けて、とにかく吊れるようにし、 　いつ敵襲があっても心配ないという事になったが、 　その刀が不思議に粘硬で何を切ってもよく切れる。 　ある兵隊が戦場で試したが、骨までズンと斬れたというので、 　にわかに“兗州虎徹”の名が高くなって、 　あちこちから希望者が殺到するという有様であった。 Rough transtale: Around the time I was puzzled by this sword, which was in March of last year (13th year of Shōwa), at the blacksmith workshop of the weapons repair unit in 兗州 Yanzhou, the workers (who, due to regulations, were not allowed to carry gunto) were increasingly exposed to danger day by day. Out of necessity, they forged swords using the springs of discarded old automobiles. Of course, without any proper forging, they simply heated, stretched, and then uniformly tempered the metal before returning it to an appropriate hardness. The process was overseen by a blacksmith sergeant named Kako (a corporal at the time), who had been assisting me. Sergeant Kako was a swordsmith from Komaki, Aichi Prefecture, and had conducted deep research into swordmaking. Because these swords were tempered in this way, they naturally had no blade patterns. However, to suit the hands of younger people, one of the swords had a blade width of approximately 1.2 inches, a thickness of about 0.22 to 0.23 inches, a shallow curvature, and a length of 2 shaku 3 sun (about 70 cm), resembling a large, finely crafted 虎徹 Kotetsu sword. A scabbard made of willow wood was crafted at the woodworking shop, and the sword was fitted with external fittings at the gunto repair shop to make it wearable. This arrangement ensured there was no worry, even in the event of an enemy attack. Strangely, these swords were resilient and hard, and could cut through anything with ease. One soldier tested the sword on the battlefield and found that it cut cleanly through to the bone. This led to the sudden rise in fame of the 兗州虎徹'Yanzhou Kotetsu,' and soon, requests for these swords poured in from all over."

Could this 忠義 (Tadayoshi) be 進藤忠義 (Shindo Tadayoshi)? In the 1942 大東亜戦末期の刀匠と序列(Swordsmiths and Their Rankings at the End of the Greater East Asia War)http://ohmura-study.net/025.html the names 進藤忠義（Shindo Tadayoshi）and 親房(Chikafusa) appeared among the swordsmiths, and they received the 会長賞(Chairman's award) for 研磨の部(Polishing department), indicating that they were likely working together.I also found 進藤忠義（Shindo Tadayoshi）'s name on the PTA list of 湖陵高校（ Koryo High School）in 1951, with his occupation listed as 金物商（metal/hardware business man）. No further information was found.

PM Sent

Maybe he got killed by the air raids.

The earliest Gifu stamp in my data is #10920 ,and the closest digit to this one is #17065.

@Tonyatm During World War II, many swordsmiths work for the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal 豐川海軍工廠 were not documented. It is estimated that these were either substitute names for known swordsmiths or their apprentices. In addition to Takeyasu武泰, there were also Toyosuke豐佐, Toyomich豐道, Kiyomich清道, Heishun平俊, and others.

@Bruce Pennington Did you notice the #40 XXXX?

Agree with Leen &Brain, it's not a Japanese sword. It looks like from a southeast Asia country.

The 久 is there ,just very light.

德顯（Noriaki)no date

I saw another early Nagoya that has Kissaki kind of like this one.

Legit and nice copper 95,congrats！

matching #

The number are matching

The kanji on the tang is Chinese "順“， not Indonesian。

靖憲 instead of 靖德，typo

I thought your Yasunori came with a lightweight wood saya from 尚兵館株式會社（Shoheikan Kabushiki Kaisha）， that's why I asked for the photo of the scabbard throat. 尚兵館（Shoheikan）has an excellent reputation for their wood saya. By the way, they are the exclusive distributor for the 23rd generation Kanefusa.

Paul Could you post some photos of the says(Scabbard throat and other metal parts etc)?Thanks

You can also post the photos to the translation section, the active members there will help you out as well.