Kiipu

Hi Tony, nice gendaito! Does your blade by chance have any markings on the top of the tang (nakago mune) by the habaki? These are the three ク I have so far. Bruce may have more though. I think this was a numbering system used by Tōkyō 1st Army Arsenal for "Star" stamped blades made during the 1943 to 1944 timeframe. ク0122 = See above. ク0306 = Obverse 昭和十九年一月吉日; Reverse ☆　上州住今井兼継作 [Kanetsugu]. Source: Slough, page 71. ク0705 = Obverse ☆　継延作 [Tsugunobu]; Reverse 昭和十九年七月日. Source: Ohmura, both his book and website. He has the number incorrectly listed though as 70-5. "Mumei", "Tsugunobu" & "Ikeda Kunitada"

The クprefix is thought to be for Gunma Prefecture 群馬縣. This is the earliest KU prefix recorded so far. Obverse: 昭和十八年八月日 = A day in August 1943. Reverse: ☆　継義作　ク122 = ☆　Tsuguyoshi saku　KU122. @Bruce Pennington

This is one of only a handful of swordsmiths that stamped their signature rather than carve it. His name is Naohiro 直弘. There are several references to him but below is a link to just one of them. Read on for few posts as the discussion goes on for a bit. Thanks for the additional pictures. Arsenal Stamps., Page 14

Cross-reference to the same sword but a different forum. Navy Officers Sword Thanks Mal for the help.

I do not recall running into a 東 & M combination on a nakago before.

As previously indicated, a very common inspection mark. I have seen the M (yamagata) stamped multiple times on the same part. To illustrate what I am talking about, see the picture 5b linked to below. This component part is stamped four times with the yamagata M partial inspection mark. REMOVED;Japanese Type 2 Grenade Launcher

See post #5 for a picture of Vice Admiral Yamaguchi's 山口多聞 naval dirk along with the box that goes with it. The blade for it can be seen in post #11. Summer Trip to Japan: Yasukuni Shrine --- Dai Tō-A Sensō (The Great East Asia War) Exibition Wikipedia English: Tamon Yamaguchi Japanese: 山口多聞 Chinese: 山口多聞

Cross-Reference Chinese Cannon - Pictures Added I thought others might enjoy looking at this GBF thread.

I think both wartime and postwar blades were used. Another possibility is that wartime swords were scrapped and the blades reused? One thing I have noticed is the cutoff tangs on these. Is this a sign of a postwar made blade? Do any wartime blades have this feature? With all that said, I have not really looked at these swords from a manufacturing point of view.

It appears to be a 造兵刀 sword. The white painted characters on the tang are 七八 [78] and match the fittings. To rule out a Type 95 blade, the habaki would have to come off. A Type 95 has offset mune-machi and ha-machi, these are the notches that the habaki butt up against. I would like @BANGBANGSAN to take a look at this sword as he collects them. In the meantime, below is a link for you to look at. 造兵刀 Army Arsenal blade Edit: I forgot to mention that the tang also has a 東 inspection mark. The 東 inspection mark was used by Tōkyō Arsenal from 1932 to 1945.

@Ian B3HR2UH, there are a few more indexes available at The Japanese Sword Guide. GENDAI SWORDSMITHS AND OTHER SWORDSMITH INDEXES

Below are the two terms that were in use during the 1930s and 1940s. As stated already, they mean the same thing as far as the date is concerned. Japanese imperial year 皇紀 = kōki = Imperial era. 紀元 = kigen = era.

@brannow While these tassels are not boxed, they still have the wrapping paper that goes around the tassel. Generals Tassels The column on the left reads 軍刀用刀緒 while the two columns on the right could be patent information. 軍刀用刀緒 = Tassels for military sword use.

Found you another box to look at. Notice the label that is on the side. 准銀臺モール製/将官/刀緒/木箱入り/アンティーク・骨董品 ?號 = ?号 准銀臺 = 准銀台

東京 = Tōkyō. 中野商店 = Nakano Shōten. I could be wrong on the second character so @BANGBANGSAN or @SteveM will need to double check it.

The reason for wanting to see both sides of the handle can be seen at the link below. Compare yours to the "1st Pattern GIFU." Short Development History of Type 95 Gunto, Post #41

I would like to see pictures of the blade serial number with inspection mark and an overall view of the other side of the handle if possible. @Stegel may want additional pictures as well as this is an early Nagoya made Type 95. I see a small gap between the habaki and front seppa and hopefully someone can comment upon the looseness for you.

Just the yearly production records for fiscal years 1931 to 1940. The fiscal year began on April 01 so I would guess your sword was made in about mid 1939. Short Development History of Type 95 Gunto, Post #205

Thanks for the additional information. Your sword dates to circa 1939 and was assembled by Iijima, a well known Japanese sword company.

Sorry Trystan, I edited the post after the fact. The pictures posted by @cplnorton above are upside down and need to be rotated 180 degrees so as to see the company logo correctly. Thank you for transcribing the kanji characters on the tsuka.

@BANGBANGSAN Tsuka markings. @Bruce Pennington 山本 company logo. Edit: Turn the pictures upside down to see the characters properly.

Is there more than one Mitsunobu 光信? A Mitsunobu registered with the Seki guild on 1943-02-22. Below is the actual text. 刀匠名: 光信. 氏名: 岸･光弘. 受付年月日: S18.02.22 [S = 昭和]. Attention: @mecox

Now I am second guessing the first kanji! So I think you are correct, it is just too blurred to really know. As always, thanks for all your assistance.

@Putu The arrow in your picture is pointing to the kanji character 伊. This is not unusual for this swordsmith. 伊奈波 = Inaba. Stamp Alert! @Bruce Pennington

Is the scabbard painted black or is it some other color? Is the scabbard serial number matching to the blade serial number?