Kiipu

I am told the color is gold. Some early swords did have a brass finish. However, I think there are two types of brass/gold scabbards. One is electroplated while the other is painted. See the link below for an early brass colored scabbard courtesy of IJASWORDS. Brass Scabbard NCO Copper Handle @Stegel

Zi, what color is the paint on the scabbard 鞘?

The sword was made by Kōbe under Kokura Arsenal supervision. There is a slight mismatch in the numbers though. I have seen this type of mismatch before and think it could have happened while still at the factory. Blade: 141089. Scabbard: 141039.

I'll just have to take your word on this one! Looks like chicken scratches to me.

That is one of the sword patterns that can be seen in the surrender pile at Sword Capture Pile - Japan 1945. @Jareth

Lets flesh out this translation a little bit more by adding some additional information that is not in the inscription. 伯耆国住吉幸 = Hōki no Kuni-jū Yoshiyuki = This sword was made by the swordsmith Yoshiyuki 吉幸, a resident 住 of Hōki Province 伯耆国. Hōki Province

I found a Japanese webpage that is titled 刀装具 Orthosis. https://yukodo.net/orthosis/ Google Translate gives the following for 装具 and vice versa for orthosis. 装具 = sōgu = orthosis. orthosis = ôrˈTHōsəs = 装具 = sōgu. Taken all together, I think Piers is correct.

Every once once in awhile, I run across tsuba while browsing the Internet. Not my area of study but sometimes they catch my eye. Below is one such example. Tsuba And from an older post. Japanese/Oriental items at the Christchurch NZ Museum

World War 2 Japanese Sword

It so happens I ran across this very same sword today. It does look like one side has characters on it. Japanese 2ww mounted Katana

盡忠 = Jinchū = Faithfulness Japanese World War 2 sword with combat cover

Late WW2 Japanese Officers Katana

Many thanks for the translation Mal. Morita sensei was the one that located the book in Japan. I never completely translated the text as portions were missing. I found the book's title by doing an Internet search on some of the text. @k morita FYI, one of the swords he polished, serial セ 一二五一, turned up on this forum! WWII Japanese Sword

That is the way the 名 stamp appears on some Nagoya made Type 95s. It is believed that they were stamped after hardening of the blade in oil. I have seen many just like this before. Furthermore, I stand behind Stegel's statement above. When I have a Type 95 hardware question, Stegel, and no one else, is the person that I ask. He has forgotten more than I will ever learn about these swords.

It looks good to me; however, Stegel will need to look at it to confirm the serial range and that the hardware is correct.

Good morning Matthew! It is indeed 1941 based upon the Japanese imperial year. 二六〇一 = 1941.

満州国政府公報 Manchukuo Government Gazette 1935-0213 宮内官職服制式 Imperial Household A good many of the dirks used by Manchukuo are single hangers and backstraps are common on them as well.

Plum blossom and thus Manchukuo. Note that the leaves have no indentation like a cherry blossom.

Guntō Tameshigiri 軍刀試斬 [Military Sword Test Cutting]. Kaigun guntō-jutsu 海軍軍刀術 [Naval Swordsmanship]. Guntō no teire-hō 軍刀の手入れ法 [How to care for a military sword]. Written 著 by Hon’ami Kōson 本阿弥光遜.

Everything you want to know and then some. The Evolution of IJA Canteens (1889-1945) Expanded Version

I read it now and thanks for the link. Usually the Boatswain's Mates (BM) does this sort of thing. Also called marlinspike seamanship back in the day.

Marlinspike or in some cases macramé.

I think so. It was obviously a large operation to still have old blade stock about as the Seki stamp had been dropped by then. This could imply the blades were inspected prior to the mei? The fittings are typical of those used in 1944 on donated blades and maybe this applies to commercial production as well. Seki dropped the metal scabbards and switched to wooden ones. However, some of the military contract Type 100s were still using steel until 1945. The Seki guild list only goes to about September 1944. So our mutual friend Daigō dates to sometime after that?

Definitely a Seki 関 stamp. Another Gifu Prefecture swordsmith update for Mal & Co., Ltd.

The alphanumeric Mantetsu, that is those with an A to V serial number prefix, have the markings in the following positions. There have been no exceptions so far. Obverse (Ura-mei 裏銘): Year & Season. Reverse (Omote-mei 表銘): SMR logo. Starting with the W-series, the Kōa Isshin 興亜一心 slogan takes the place of the SMR logo.