Kiipu

It relates to the Battle of Tsushima. The link below is courtesy of SteveM, who cited it in a previous Mikasa thread. Z flag

I am selling the final two books in the "trilogy" of Imperial Japanese economic history. The first one, since sold, was Military Industries of Japan. Barnhart, Michael A. Japan Prepares for Total War: The Search for Economic Security, 1919–1941. Cornell University Press, 1987. Dust jacket, hardcover, 6.25 x 9.5 inches, 296 pages, tables, maps. Weight 1 lb 6 oz, printed in USA. US$55. This is a fascinating book about Japanese preparations for total war. One thing that I found interesting was that Japan was already in a hopeless situation in China even before the war with the West. Cohen, Jerome B. Japan’s Economy in War and Reconstruction. Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota Press, 1949; issued under the auspices of the International Secretariat, Institute of Pacific Relations. Green hardcover, 7 x 10.25 inches, xx/548 pages, tables, charts. Ex-library book. Weight 3 lb 1 oz, printed in USA. This is a reading copy as it is ex-library that came out of a U. S. military base in Japan. US$40.

That is the swordsmith Isshin. 一心 = Isshin. ICHI (一)

While doing my usual grave digging, ran across a Katsumasa 勝正 with a number of 264. Not sure if this one is already recorded or not. Help with a stamping

After consulting with some of the translators, I am going to use the following translation. 昭和五年五月二十七日念之 = 1930-0527 kore o omou/omotte = in remembrance/commemoration/memory of 27 May 1930.

Another otsu dirk 乙種短剣 but with a chiseled name instead? Mikasa tanto translation

Updated link below via Wayback Machine. Star Stamped Japanese Sword ☆　隠岐国住沖光作　☆ Oki no kuni-jū Okimitsu saku. 昭和十八年七月 July 1943.

The date inscription under discussion is coming from page 87 of Modern Japanese Swords. The picture below shows the ura 裏 side of the katana-mei 刀銘. It also has a horimono of 皇國興廃在此一戦. For more information about the book, see the link below. New Book Out. Modern Japanese Swords: The Beginning Of The Gendaito Era Some corrections for the book can be found below. Mistranslation On The Book [Modern Japanese Swords: The Beginning Of The Gendaito Era].

Ammunition United States. Departments of the Army and the Air Force. Japanese Explosive Ordnance: Bombs, Bomb Fuzes, Land Mines, Grenades, Firing Devices, and Sabatage Devices. Army TM 9-1985-4. Air Force TO 39B-1A-11. March 1953. Beige softcover, 7.75 x 10.25 inches, pages 1–264, grayscale illustrations. Weight 1 lb 3 oz, printed in USA. Condition is excellent except the cover has separated from the text. The glue hardened with age and I have l left it as is. No writing or highlighting, no tears or missing pages. Not a reprint. US$125. Isomura Teruaki. Early Made Japanese Military Small Arms Ammunition. 1984. Softcover, 7.25 x 10.5 inches, 24 pages, color illustrations. US$30. Elks, Ken. Chinese Ammunition: 1870 to the Present Day. Solo Publications, 2012. Softcover, Wire C-bound, 8.25 x 11.75, 142 pages, color illustrations. No missing pages, no tears, no writing or highlighting. US$120.

United States. War Department. Ordnance Office. Annual Report of the Chief of Ordnance to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1892. Government Printing Office, 1892. This report includes appendix 9: "Report of the Board of Officers Constituted by General Order No. 136, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant-General’s Office, November 24, 1890, to Select Magazine Arms for the U. S. Military Service." Pages 110–308. The Murata rifle was one of the rifles tested by the board. 17 sheets of microfiche, two pages on each frame, over 1,000 pages long. I just figured somebody would have a microfiche reader at home. US$12 or free with any book purchase.

On Windows, I guess one needs the Chinese language pack installed to see this character. In MS Office, the font used is "MingLiU-ExtB." The character that comes before 之 can be seen over at Wiktionary.org. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/𫝹 The key to understanding the meaning is the relationship of the battleship Mikasa 三笠, the steel used 砲鋼, and the Battle of Tsushima 日本海海戦. Thanks to Mal & Sueko for their help with the translation.

It is a Chinese character and I will post a link tomorrow. The reason for the character is that May 27th was the start of the Battle of Tsushima 日本海海戦.

18 Akihisa 昭久 19 Akinobu 昭信 20 Masatsugu 正次 21 Miyairi Akihira 宮入昭平 22 Hideaki 秀明 23 Hideaki 秀明 24 Yasutsugu 安次 25 Yasumitsu 靖光 26 Yasuhiro 靖廣 27 Yasuhiro 靖廣 28 Toshihiro 壽廣 29 Kunimori 國護 30 Yasuoki 靖興 31 Yasunobu 靖延 32 Yasunori 靖憲 33 Tsukamoto Okimasa 塚本起正 34 Kanenobu 兼延

Below are the kanji characters for the 51 swordsmiths in Modern Japanese Swords by K&M. 01 Gassan Sadayoshi 月山貞吉 02 Gassan Sadakazu 月山貞一 03 Miyamoto Kanenori 宮本包則 04 Gassan Sadakatsu 月山貞勝 05 Gassan Sadakatsu 月山貞勝 06 Gassan Sadakatsu 月山貞勝 07 Gassan Sadakatsu 月山貞勝 08 Yoriyoshi 頼吉 09 Minamoto Sadayoshi 源貞吉 10 Minamoto Katsumasa 源勝正 11 Mumei 無銘 12 Naohiro 直弘 13 Kurihara Akihide 栗原昭秀 14 Yoshihara Kuniie 吉原國家 15 Kasama Shigetsugu 笠間繁継 16 Akimitsu 昭光 17 Akihisa 昭久

I have not run into this ending on a date before. What would the Japanese pronunciation and English translation of 𫝹之? 表 omote: 以軍艦三笠砲鋼　秀明 motte gunkan Mikasa hō hagane　Hideaki. 裏 ura: 昭和五年五月二十七日𫝹之. 拵え Koshirae: 白鞘 shirasaya. 𫝹 = 念. Kapp, Leon, Hiroko Kapp, and Leo Monson. Modern Japanese Swords: The Beginning of the Gendaito Era. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015. Page 87.