John C

Thank you very much, Jussi. I could not find any character for Minamoto that matched the first kanji. And indeed, the only Minamoto Sadamori I could find were five hundred years ago and I do not think the sword could be that old. I very much appreciate your efforts. I will do more research into Taira Sadamori. John C.

Hello everyone: I am having doubts about the translation of the mei on the registration card of this wakazashi. The card reads Minamoto Sadamori as the mei translation. After looking at numerous kanji (I do not speak Japanese), I think the last two kanji do say Sada - Mori, however I cannot see Minamoto in the first kanji. Indeed, what is written on the registration card vaguely represents what is on the nakago. Does anyone recognize the first kanji on the nakago? I have more pictures posted on another thread of the sword Thank you very much. I appreciate any assistance you can provide. Regards, John C.

Thank you Steve. I had the same thoughts. Could be any number of reasons there for a gimei; student signature, presentation piece, or just attempted fraud. That's why I was focusing on this being a Showa era sword with those mune marks. I guess another explanation would be a civilian donated sword during WWII. Either way, I wasn't convinced by the signature, however I thought the blade looked like it was hand forged - possibly a gendaito? There is a blob on the uru side of the nakago that could have once been some sort of stamp...or maybe I'm just seeing things. Thank you again, John C.

Steve: I have 2 more pics for you...the nakago and the registration card. Much appreciated. John C.

Thank you Bruce and Steve for the input. As for other marks, the tsuka, saya, and other fittings were not military and I could not find any other marks on them. I found one reference that suggested the Dai (or O, or Tai, or Y as in Yamato) was used at the Tokyo Arsenal 2nd factory in Kokura at least on the Nambu pistol. Additionally, I found another reference that listed the second mark as a principal inspection mark at the same factory (that may have been from a page posted by you, Bruce). Here are some further pictures of the sword, which may help in identifying it. Its overall length is 57.5cm with a 44.1cm cutting edge. The registration card indicated it was registered in Okayama Prefecture in 1965. And thank you all again for the assistance.

Hello everyone: I am new to this site and, as you may have guessed, this is my first post. So please let me know if this post should be part of some other topic. I have a question about a Dai mark on the mune of what I believe to be a Showa era Wakazashi. The mark is just above what I think is the kanji for the number 7. There is a space then 4 diagonal tick marks. The research I have done suggests that both marks were used as inspection marks at one point by the Kokura arsenal. What I can't figure out is 1) why both marks would be on the same sword; 2) what the tick marks mean; 3) the time frame; and 4) were wakazashis even made there? There is a mei on the sword that may not be genuine (Minamoto Sadamori kami(?). There are no other marks or stamps that I can find. Any assistance you all could provide would be greatly appreciated. Regards, John C. .