Conway S

Hello Mike, It’s signed “Echigo no kuni Mitsuoki”. Mitsuoki is the following smith: “MITSUOKI (光起), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Niigata – “Echigo no Kuni Nuttari- jūnin Endō Mitsuoki” (越後国沼垂住人遠藤光起), “Echigo no Kuni Endō Mitsuoku” (越後国遠藤光起), real name Endō Jinsaku (遠藤仁作), born October 1st 1904, he was basically a self-taught smith but studied from 1935 in Tōkyō at the Nihontō Tanren Denshūjo(日本刀鍛錬伝習所) under Kurihara Hikosaburō Akihide (栗原彦三郎昭秀), he won several prices and made 1939 some blades for the 700th anniversary of the death of Emperor Gotoba (後鳥羽), he lived in Nishiumakoshi (西馬越) in Niigata Prefecture, in 1981 he became mukansa and died in 1997, kihin-jōi (Akihide), Special Honor Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941).” It’s dated 1944. It looks like a nice traditionally made sword. Not a factory made sword.

Found the above Spring 1939 posted by GiantMalamute on EBay here: Spring 1939 Mantetsu Note the shape of the nakago jiri and the hamon. Although, I can’t tell if the hamon’s appearance is the result of some post-war fiddling.

This style blade is based on the British Wilkinson Pattern 1845 blade. It appears on a lot of early Army type 19s and Navy dress swords.

The marking on the ricasso is not common, but also not rare. Suya Shoten was the premier supplier of uniforms and swords during the Meiji period and into the 1940s. They also produced swords for foreign export. I’m not an oil expert, but I use camellia oil, which is safe for use on Nihonto. I would think you can get away with any oil that would not cause staining to the plated finish of the blade. These blades are very thinly plated, so I would not try to do anything abrasive. Just gently wipe to keep any rust under control. I would also leave the patina on the brass guard, but that’s just me.

@BenT Does the sword have any mounts, and if so, could you post additional pictures? @BANGBANGSAN

My guess would be Taisho or maybe late Meiji given the SUYA TOKYO marking. Just my opinion and observations, but I think the European style blades were more prevalent pre-WW2.

Is that cloth material only at the end of the handle or is it applied the length of the handle? Maybe it was added as extra material to make the end cap fit more snug. The dirks are based on European designs. I wouldn’t lump dirk manufacturing techniques in with Nihonto.

Hello. It’s a Type 19 cavalry kyu gunto with a dress/ parade style blade. It’s marked on the ricasso by the manufacturer Suya Shoten.

There’s two Showa smiths listed in Sesko…. But I think he’s this smith from Saga: MASAKIYO (正清), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Shimane – “Masakiyo” (正清), real name Amatsu Tomita (天津富太), born 1884, he worked as rikugun-jumei-tōshō, kihin no retsu (Akihide), First Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941)

The picture is a little grainy, but it looks like Hizen ju Masakiyo

Here’s one that was previously posted on NMB. Might be the exact same sword, although the scabbard in the auction link looks more brown than green:

@nightkid I think the guard you posted is from the 1930s. At least, that’s when you see other naval anchor stamps appearing. The "anchor in sakura” stamp’s association is still unconfirmed, I believe. If you look in the pinned arsenal stamps thread, and Bruce’s stamp document in the downloads, you will see that stamp appears on Type 97 Kai Gunto fittings.

Hello Jerald, Does your sword have koshirae or is it just the blade? Can you post a photo of the full length of the nakago?

And finally, the harp logo on a General’s grade Type 19: I personally don’t see a correlation between the quality of the corporate logo and the overall quality of the sword, but that’s just my assessment as someone who primarily collects dress swords.

And another example on a Japanese Type 19 (from Sohei Swords listing): I would guess that the hanzi was used prior to the “harp” or “Suya Tokyo” logos.

Here’s another Kanji/Hanzi corporate logo on a Qing Dynasty Chinese sword (Note the inspector’s mark):

@Bruce Pennington Do you have any more photos of this one? Or a link?

Actually the stamps on the mune are arsenal inspection stamps - Top to bottom (名·-“Na" Nagoya Army Arsenal; ホ - “Ho” for Kokura Factory No. 1).

Are you sure it’s not dark green? Doesn’t really look black to me, but I don’t have it in hand… the vermillion color is just a base layer below the top coat.

Jens, The sword in the first photo is a Type 8, not a Type 19. That’s why the guard and handle backstrap are devoid of the floral motifs. Do you have a copy of Swords of Imperial Japan 1868-1945 Cyclopedia Edition by Jim Dawson? This book would be your best guide to identifying Meiji period Japanese military swords.

Yes, Ron you are correct. That is a police sword. The few I have seen have been late war.

The nakago shots of the date are a little blurry. Looks like it might be 1942. Does the FB post confirm the date?

The mounts are late-war/civilian. I did not capture a clear photo of the tsuba, but it is a non-military tsuba of lower quality.

USMC and was in Nagasaki in 1945. Here’s a picture of the blade. It has a 67.3cm nagasa.

@John C Thanks for the tip on the field grade ranks. That was the start of the writing on the tag. I found that Sasebo is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture. Nagasaki is where my neighbor’s father acquired the sword.