Kiipu

I do not recall running into that before. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. @Markus @SteveM @uwe

It is Hidetoshi as Bruce states. However, the characters appear reversed? Not sure how that happened. Hidetoshi???

I have not looked into that topic but you might want check with Jussi Ekholm first.

An unusual place to find a matchlock! He,p with Flintlock ID

Sorry, it is a Chinese reproduction. Probably made within the last thirty years.

Correct John, one needs to factor in the quantity of blades that were being made. The Mantetsu was a modernized Nihontō and was water quenched. I see three basic blade construction types for this time frame: 2 or more layers and water quenched, 2 or more layers and oil quenched, and finally one piece construction (such as a Type 95) and usually oil quenched. I see the whole Imperial Japanese era (1868-1952) as falling into the realm of Japanese militaria collecting and not Nihontō collecting. This is where the collecting market is at. Your gas mileage my differ though!

First time I have seen a complete assembly. Even in the West, it would sale for a pretty penny. I classify Mantetsu blades as traditional because of the water quenching. This is the benchmark I use for blades made from 1934 to 1945. @Stegel

NMB Cross-Reference Shinogi ji inscription Gunto

I do not recall running across 盡忠報國 being engraved on a blade before.

Nelson, Andrew N., and John H. Haig. The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary. Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1997. Page 352. 盡忠報國 or 尽忠報国 = jinchū-hōkoku = loyalty and patriotism.

Singer sensei knows his stuff and generously shares his knowledge with the rest of us.

Thanks Trystan, I agree. Chinese: 靖国為和平 = Jìng guó wèi hépíng = Yasukuni for Peace. If time permits, can you read the other 汉威 Yasukuni engraving?

I think the characters on both swords are Yasukuni 靖国. The third character on one looks like 為. Both swords also seem to have numbers etched at the bottom of the tang.

Of possible interest to some. Japanese Copy of a British M1855 Enfield Rifle

Never heard of a Hiroshima Arsenal; however, the army did have a supply depot in Hiroshima that used the symbol ㋪. 廣島陸軍兵器支廠