Kiipu

Paolo Bompard パオロ ボムパルド was part of the Italian PNF (Partito Nazionale Fascista) Mission that visited Japan and Manchukuo in March and April 1938. 4. BOMPARD, Paolo. (Bologna 1887) Doctor in Jurisprudence. Director, Bank of Rome. Commendatore, Order of the Crown of Italy. Representative: Fascist Confederation of Insurance and Credit Houses. Cross-Reference koa isshin with the South Manchurian Railway Company logo

Peter, did you by chance record the serial number on the nakago mune?

Cross-Reference Japanese Navy Officer Samurai Sword w/ Saya To give credit where credit is due, found it via a post by @Stephen back in January 2022. Just another golden oldie from Stephen! Kraft auctions in Indiana

The last name is pronounced as Komura or Omura 小村.

Sometimes the sexagenary cycle was used and below are the early Shōwa years. For more examples, Wikipedia has them for the years 1804 to 2043. Sexagenary cycle 1926 = 丙寅. 1927 = 丁卯. 1928 = 戊辰. 1929 = 己巳. 1930 = 庚午. 1931 = 辛未. 1932 = 壬申. 1933 = 癸酉. 1934 = 甲戌. 1935 = 乙亥. 1936 = 丙子. 1937 = 丁丑. 1938 = 戊寅. 1939 = 己卯. 1940 = 庚辰. 1941 = 辛巳. 1942 = 壬午. 1943 = 癸未. 1944 = 甲申. 1945 = 乙酉.

This should cover most dates found on gendaitō 現代刀. Everyone has permission to use so feel free to cut and paste. No acknowledgement is needed, desired, or required. Imperial Era = 皇紀 or 紀元 (see Japanese imperial year). Meiji = 明治 (1868-0908 to 1912-0730). Taishō = 大正 (1912-0730 to 1926-1225). Shōwa = 昭和 (1926-1225 to 1989-0107). Year = 年. Month = 月. Day = 日. Spring = 春. Summer = 夏. Autumn = 秋. Winter = 冬. The numbers are in the order of common to formal. ０ = 〇 零. １ = 一 壱 壹. １ｓｔ = 元. ２ = 二 弐 貮 貳. ３ = 三 参 參. ４ = 四 肆. ５ = 五 伍. ６ = 六 陸. ７ = 七 柒 漆. ８ = 八 捌. ９ = 九 玖. １０ = 十 拾. ２０ = 廾 廿. ３０ = 卅 丗. ４０ = 卌. １００ = 百 陌 佰. １０００ = 千 阡 仟. １００００ = 万 萬. Any comments, corrections, or criticism welcomed.

Looks like the katakana character KI キ to me.

I own the first edition. It is 8.5x11 inch paper stapled together with a softcover. The bayonet on the cover was found on Okinawa and is in a museum over there. It consists of a pole with a bayonet attached to the end. The Japanese soldiers called them idiot sticks for obvious reasons.

Kosher it is. @BANGBANGSAN

@vajo Photography help & tips?

Luca, thanks for the tang picture. Below is a link to another sword like yours, except it is assembly #499. Note the unknown character that follows the number on the bottom of the hilt. You may want to take a look at yours and see if it has a character as well. Two KaiGunto for review

Hi Luca and welcome to the "Military Swords" subforum. Your sword was made by Tenshōzan and inspected by the navy. Tenshōzan blades were signed & dated until late 1943 and then the practice was stopped. So your blade was made sometime after late 1943. I have a couple of questions for you about the tang. How long is the tang in millimeters? From the center of the tang hole (mekugi-ana) to the notches (machi), what is the length?

A minor correction in that the third character down is ヅ. Note the two tick marks in the upper right corner. Dakuten and handakuten

Hi Jared and welcome to the "Military Swords" subforum. These have been around for awhile and initially fooled me too. However, it is a reproduction as stated above. The giveaway for me is the inspection mark on the ferrule. Keep the faith and keep looking for the real McCoy.

濃州関住藤原孝雄 = Nōshū Seki jū Fujiwara Takao.

I found a similar signature that was translated as Sakō Kaneshige 酒向兼茂 via the link below. Two Signed Japanese Blades, Post #3

How about Sakō Kanesumi 酒向兼住 via Sesko's swordsmiths, page 273?

Besides the above, there is one another character that I have seen used in dates. It can be used for the day, month, or year. 元 = 1st. For example, 元年 first year (of an imperial era).

Yes, anything is possible when it comes to Japanese swords. English letters, Arabic numbers, geometric shapes, punches, file marks, you name it, it was used as a prefix or suffix.

In a flash of diminishing cards, I thought I would add the following to the list. The first link is to a NMB post while the second is to a webpage. Grey Doffin has a set relating to sword signatures. NMB Kanji Flashcards or Kanji Flashcards Ray Singer has knowledge cards available covering names, provinces, & time periods. Kanji flashcards - mei (names), nengo (time periods) and kuni (provinces) or Nihonto Knowledge Cards

Forgot the link that should follow. Iroha

The iroha order is more akin to our ABCs. In the case of swords, this is how they should be interpreted. Mantetsu (SMR) used a serialization system similar to what the Japanese army used. Thus, collectors refer to them by series as a form of shorthand. This shorthand is widely known amongst Japanese mlitaria collectors and readily understood by them. Below is a brief explanation taken from an unpublished article I wrote twenty years ago. X

濃州関住人源天秀謹而鍛之 = Nōshū Seki jūnin Minamoto Amahide kinshite kitau kore. 而 is offset to the right. The characters at the bottom of the tang are 金丸 Kanamaru. See the link below. Arsenal Stamps. @mecox

A late war Type 100 with a "岐 within a cherry blossom" inspection mark. 昭和二十年四月 1945 April. 勝正 = Katsumasa. Blue paint: 八二五〇チ = 8250 CHI. Note the チ katakana character that comes after the number. Introduction to the Type 94, Type 98, & Type 100 Gunto

北川勝則 Kitakawa Katsunori.