CrossOfLorraine

Thank you Tom and Mal for all of your help, this is even more information than I was expecting! I'm not yet familiar with the Kurihara tosho list, so that is especially interesting. Is 7th level out of 7 the lowest rank or the highest?

Hello, Before I get to my question I would like to thank all the board members for sharing their knowledge. I recently inherited two Shin Gunto from my grandfather, one Type 95 and one Type 98, and have enjoyed learning more about them by reading related posts. Both swords were purchased at least 40 years ago, probably in Europe along with a variety of other swords I have received, but that is the extent of what I know about their provenance. On the Type 98 nakago there is a Showa stamp above the mekugi-ana but I haven't been able to identify the hot stamp or the mei, and can only decipher a few characters of the date. Any help in translating these would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mark