Kiipu

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].

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.

Stamp Alert @Bruce Pennington

Several noteworthly features on this old thread. Take a look at the habaki and mekugi.

Here is another one of those red stamps on the bottom of a hilt. Help with mei and where do i start?

Cross-Reference WRF: Translation of Mei(Gimei) on older Wakizashi

兵庫県 Hyōgo Prefecture. 井上安治 Inoue Yasuji.

☆ 武蔵国昭幸造之　☆ Musashi-no-kuni Akiyuki tsukuru kore. 昭和十九年一月吉日 A lucky day in January 1944. Musashi Province Found a second one in Japan. 表：昭和18年10月吉日 裏：武蔵国昭幸造之 https://aucview.com/yahoo/k173657682/

Gendaito Project YOSHIHIRO (慶広・慶廣), Saitō MOTOHIKO (元彦), Saitō KIYOMARU (清丸), Saitō KAZUFUSA (和房), Saitō MASANAKA (正中), Saitō

This would be Yamagata Prefecture prior to the serial number prefix of MA マ. 昭和十七年五月日 A day in May 1942. ☆　羽州山形住昭吉作　７４　"Star" Ushū Yamagata-jū Akiyoshi saku 74.

Jeff, you did real good. It is an early Type 100 with a "star" stamp and a serial number of 74.

Pictures posted of a barrel over at GBF. Teppo barrel marking translation

There are some blade drawings in the Toyosuke thread. The one I posted was for the navy's anti-rust blade. Who was ToyoSuke?

With the help of Mal & Sueko, below is the handwritten name on sword #2 in the OP. 山口･松四郎 Yamaguchi Matsushirō.

Mike, I do not recall seeing one of these with a date before. The below should get you started on researching it. Swordsmith: 正房 Masafusa. Date: 皇紀二千五百九十九年八月 = 1939 August. Hotstamp: 眞金入 = magane iri or shin-gane iri. Thanks for posting!

Matt, if by chance you still have pictures available, can I see the other side of the tang? 天照山鍛錬場鍛之 = Tenshōzan Tanrenjō kitaeru kore. Mal, is this an example of higaki-yasurime 桧垣鑢目?

The photograph above is coming from a Lakesidetrader listing. (Anchor) 天照山鍛錬場謹作 = Tenshōzan Tanrenjō kinsaku. Undated. SW-12763

Do you mean a fouled anchor? Foul (nautical)