Kiipu

Not sure if this helps but I did locate a YouTube video about this sword. No images of the tang though. WW2 Japanese Type 3 Shin Gunto made by Hiragawa Akimitsu, 1943

@Jiro49 Matt, if still at hand, are there any numbers on the tang toward the bottom?

Professor BangBangSan, thank you for the additional 東京第一陸軍造兵廠 nakago pictures. There was a NMB post from 2013 that pictured the Tōkyō 1st Army Arsenal swordsmiths from the 1943 exhibition. Notice anything interesting???, Post #7

Just a quick link to Tōkyō 1st Army Arsenal sword, serial 283. A rather interesting looking Type 100. Hi all its ammad again . I bought a new sword . Plz let me knw if ita real or fake .

Hot stamp alert! Help with a gendaito mei

There are four swords of interest in Modern Japanese Swords by Leon & Hiroko Kapp, and Leo Monson. One is an early serialized Type 100; two are unserialized, star stamped 98s; and one is a prefecture marked Type 100. The last one has been mentioned already and the details are at the link below. Arsenal Mark on RJT sword Fittings, Post #12 Early Type 100, Serial Number 798 Pages 76-77. Obverse: 昭久 = Akihisa. Reverse: 昭和十七年一月　798 = January 1942　798. The serial number 798 is upside down. See post #136 above for additional examples. Nakago mune: Unknown. Tang holes 目釘孔: 2. Masatsugu Star Stamped Type 98, Unserialized Pages 82-83. Obverse: ☆　肥前國正次 = Hizen kuni Masatsugu. Reverse: 皇紀二千六百二年八月吉日 = A lucky day in August 1942. Nakago mune: Unknown. Tang holes: = 1. Hiromitsu Star Stamped Type 98, Unserialized Pages 136-137. Obverse: ☆　筑前住梶原廣光作 = Chikuzen jū Kajiwara Hiromitsu saku. Reverse: 昭和十八年八月吉祥日 = An auspicious day in August 1943. Nakago mune: Unknown. Tang holes: = 1.

Below are the characters for those that do not have access to the book. Obverse: ☆　継延作 = ☆ Tsugunobu saku. Reverse: 昭和十九年七月日　ク705 = A day in July 1944　KU 705. Nakago mune: markings unknown. Tang holes 目釘孔: = 2. Edit: It can also be seen over at Ohmura's website. 無銘・「継延」(群水刀)・池田國忠

The following is coming from pages 114-115 of Military Swords of Japan, 1868-1945, by Fuller & Gregory. It has a serial number of 383 which might be unique to the star-stamped blades made by the Tōkyō 1st Army Arsenal. Obverse: ☆　東京第一陸軍造兵廠　勝信 = Tōkyō 1st Army Arsenal　Katsunobu. Reverse: 昭和十八年八月吉日　383 = A lucky day in August 1943　383. Nakago mune: unknown.

Cross Reference 昭和十八年癸未年辰鬼宿月

I'll let Bruce figure it out!

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@Bruce Pennington Looks like 二二二二 = 2222. Not sure if the numbers are stamped or painted. I can see no star stamp or inspection marks.

I think this is the company website. https://www.eagleone.com/ Search terms so that others may find the thread in the future. Eagle one, original nevr-dull wadding polish

I was referring to post #4 above. I asked as the earliest star material stamp date in the Fuller data is August 1942. Yet Ganko gives dates that are earlier. Informations About The Rjt, Post #17

@Ganko So far, this is the earliest Type 100 I have seen and it is dated July 1941. Judging by the serial number, production may have only recently begun. Arsenal Mark on RJT sword Fittings, Post #97 Bruce has recorded three Type 100s that are dated December 1941 with serial numbers ranging from 535 to 621. Arsenal Mark on RJT sword Fittings, Post #136 Do you by chance remember who the swordsmiths were that made the star-stamped blades made in February and March 1942 that you mentioned above?

1. The katakana character ミ is the 41st character in the iroha poem. 2. The most recent Mantetsu write up can be found via the following link. Attention Mantetsu Owners: A Survey, Post #428

A commercial Mantetsu from the 41st (ミ) series, serial number ミ 二八八. Yours is the third one reported from this series. ミ = katakana character mi or in uppercase MI. Nakago mune:ミ 二八八 = MI 288 Obverse: 昭和癸未春 = Spring 1943. Reverse: 興亜一心　満鐵作 = Kōa Isshin　Mantetsu saku.

More likely an example of an early Type 100 serial number. Note that the serial number is stamped upside down compared to the early serial numbers that appear on star stamped blades. For an example of another one, see @Windy illustrations. Timeline Type 3 Gunto, Post #9

Although faded toward the top, it looks like 887. 八八七 = 887

I found that other "Horikawa Ji’emon Kunitake saku" that you replied to back in 2019. Interesting that yours is 490 and the other is 487, albeit 487 not pictured though. mei translation help please. Attention @Bruce Pennington

Thank you! This is what I have recorded. Reverse: ☆　堀川治右衛門國威作　490 Obverse: 昭和十八年一月吉日 = A lucky day in January 1943. Nakago mune: No markings.

Thank you @shibeni. When time permits, I would like to see a picture of the date side of the tang if possible. I am interested in what month it was made in. They changed the serialization method sometime in early 1943 and every little bit of information helps in narrowing the change down.

Thanks Big Feet! I was missing some of the kanji characters for that side and the photograph above filled in the blanks. The only followup is to ask if there are any inspection marks on the nakago or nakago mune. So far, the answer seems to be no on the early star-stamped blades?

Bojan, are there any inspection marks on the nakago or nakago mune?

That katakana character before the serial number is オ O. This is the alphabet letter O and not the number 0. This is thought to be a prefix for Aomori Prefecture 秋田縣. Edit: This seems to be the same sword that @george trotter depicts in the post below. It is also mentioned in several posts by him. Shinshinto Okachiyama Nagasada Tanto, Maybe?, Post #2