Kiipu

John & Trystan, another sword that was fitted out by Yamamoto Military Sword Shop 山本軍刀店 Yamamoto Guntō-Ten. Wwii Japanese Sword With A Tachi Blade From Kamakura Period?

Agree, a filing mark that is common on SMR tangs.

I think Gifu 岐 started at serial number 10,001 and the lowest observed is serial 名10136. Thus your sword could be the 920th one made by Gifu. As already indicated by Shamsy, the hilt pattern is asymmetrical. When time permits, can you post a picture of the scabbard mouth showing the serial number? @Stegel I think Bruce is referring to the thread below in regards to the name of the maker. Original Japanese Type 95 Gunto NCO Sword?

The source of those last three pictures can be found below. 七生 刀鍛錬道場 正永

七生刀鍛鍊道場 Thanks for the hint and I found the text at the link below. For your information, these 七生 swords are serialized on the nakago mune. Katana - Masanaga (Ito Masakiyo) @BANGBANGSAN

An Internet search engine is your friend! The illustration can be seen via the link below. Back in the day, this book was mandatory reading. Those were better days! Shots Fired in Anger

The following spoiler reflects the views of a serving U. S. infantry officer from 1947 and you are hereby forewarned that the language reflects the times. George, John B. Shots Fired in Anger. Plantersville, South Carolina: Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, 1947. Page 229.

Sandahl Bergman

Rotate the picture 90 degrees clockwise and one will see an Ōsaka 阪 final inspection mark.

Thanks Bruce. Below is a link to the earliest Nagamitsu that I am aware of. It lacks the 阪 final inspection mark before the serial number like the later blades have. Help with inherited Sword

The nakago mune markings of 阪 イ143 are the Ōsaka Army Arsenal final inspection mark followed by the arsenal assigned serial number. In this case, it a 1st イ series and not that of the proceeding 0 (zero) series. These markings are common on Ōsaka swords but are rarely mentioned or photographed. I am unaware of anyone seriously studying these swords like the Mantetsu swords are. I briefly touched upon this subject in the thread below. Stamp Survey

Looks similar to your (イ)一六四四 including the markings. Have you tried comparing the two?

Trystan, these Mantetsu swords appear to be identical. It was initially reported as a 29th series ヤ八七八; but, the pictures posted later on show a 28th series, ク八七八. Can you confirm that the origin is one and the same for both posts? Attention Mantetsu Owners: A Survey, 2019-10-26 Attention Mantetsu Owners: A Survey, 2021-02-17

It has taken a long time but I finally located the pictures of V18. In case others would like to see them, below is the link. This is the highest confirmed Mantetsu that has the SMR logo. Tang Translation And Possible Arsenal Stamp

Was the spine serial number ワ三三 [WA-33] by chance on the sword you pictured above? For your information, there is a second Mantetsu wakizashi in the same series. Attention Mantetsu Owners: A Survey, Page 21

Possibly a stylized kanji character such as 示?

Some prefer visual aids so below is a link to Tim's Type 95 tang video. Paul, thanks for sharing pictures of your Type 95. WW2 Japanese Type 95 tang, please read description

Thanks Trystan for the assist. Seems so obvious now that you point it out! For the Japanese pronunciation, you get what is below! 練習生 = = renshūsei = student, trainee, apprentice. 修了 = shūryō = completion. 記念 = kinen = commemoration.

The earliest prefix I have recorded is dated May 1943 and the highest is July 1944. @Bruce Pennington might expand on these dates though as I am not always up-to-date. Lowest ホ84　☆ 竹下宏國作之 Takeshita Hirokuni saku kore　皇紀二千六百三年五月日 May 1943. Highest ク705　☆ 継延作 Tsugunobu saku　昭和十九年七月日 July 1944.

It appears 東京第一陸軍造兵廠 Tōkyō 1st Army Arsenal did not use a katakana prefix in the beginning for the prefectures and instead started with just a sequential number for each. At some point, they realized that this was confusing having so many sequential numbers and started adding a katakana prefix to them. I have noted this so far for 秋田縣 Akita Prefecture and 山形縣 Yamagata Prefecture. Yamagata Prefecture　山形縣 166　羽州天童住兵良直次作　Ushū Tendō jū Heiryō Naotsugu saku. マ431　☆　出羽国住月山宗光　Dewa kuni jū Gassan Munemitsu. マ554　☆　羽州住兵良直政作　Ushū jū Heiryō Naomasa saku. マ894　☆　羽州山形住和合貞友作　Ushū Yamagata jū Wagō Sadatomo saku.

The following are the characters that come before the date. I am missing one, denoted by a X, and will need @BANGBANGSAN to take a look at it. A good many of these characters are old style and one will need to convert them to the new style so as to translate or research online. Old Japanese Kanji to New Japanese Kanji Converter 第一四九囘警察官部乙科練習生修X記念. Thanks Victor for your translation help and for tracking down that Mantetsu in Russia.

Shamsy, when you have a few spare Yen, can you order one for my birthday! I always wanted a real Type 95 from Japan. レプリカ 九五式軍刀 日本軍 下士官 サバゲー昭五式 九八式

And judging by the facial expression to the right, they must have lost a game or two too many!

Your new toy is using the prefecture code for Niigata Prefecture 新潟県. The serial number range so far for Niigata is タ1244 (July 1943) to タ2383 (February 1944). Yours is dated a month ahead but with a slightly lower serial number. It just took longer to get caught up in the system. Note the one hole in the tang indicating the fitting shop would drill the second one if needed. When in hand and time permits, can you check the nakago mune for any inspection marks? Do not worry if they are not there though. ☆　昭久 = ☆ Akihisa. 昭和十九年三月　タ2353 = March 1944　TA2374.

The same logo you depict above can also be seen on a sword that was auctioned recently down in Australia. Lot: 729