Mikemike88

Thanks for your insights. Really interesting stuff.

Thanks Grey. Useful link.

I collect WW2 items myself and have some basic knowledge of swords having just acquired my first WW2 officers sword. totally agreement with all the comments.

Here is footage of this sword being presented to the town.

I’m making contact with the person who provided the photos so will certainly pass that message on. I think he lives in the town so he may be able to examine the sword again.

John Thats really interesting. So it appears that this may be a family blade? Unfortunately it wasn’t myself who had the opportunity to examine the sword, it was someone else who was visiting the town hall where the sword is kept. What advice would you have for the owners (I’m assuming it’s the town council) in relation to how they should now treat this sword? I’m thinking both in terms of preservation and security. Depending upon the state of I've blade I’m assuming that given the province of both the blade and how it came to be in the town’s possession, this may be quite a valuable item. Before you ask I haven’t seen any pictures of the blade itself and know nothing further other than a mention of it was still very sharp (how that is known I do not know). Cheers Michael

Hi I've been asked if I can find out about the origins of this sword. The sword itself was presented to the town of Romsey in the South of England by Lord Mountbatten. Hopefully the photos are OK as they are all that been provided to me. I think this is most likely the first time the handle has been off since it was presented to the town. Thanks for your assistance as always.

Thanks for your assistance @GeorgeLuucas Sam.

Cheers @Bruce Pennington. Thanks for that additional snippet of info.

@GeorgeLuucas Thanks for the prompt response. I had looked at the various stamps before putting up the post but didn’t recognise this as matching the design of the Seki stamp which is why I reached out. However, now that you also specifically mention Seki, I’ve had another look and I think what has confused me is that the stamp has been applied incorrectly I.e. it’s only the top half of the stamp. Would you concur?

I had the handle off again and saw some additional markings above the signature on the tang which I didn’t see when I was first shown the tang. What do these mean please?

I’ve attached more photos of the blade etc.

Looking back on previous posts didn’t you have a sword with a similar/same name on the tang?

Steve Many thanks for such a prompt reply and for your insights. Very much appreciated. All the best. Michael

Steve More pics added. Interested to hear your thoughts. Cheers Michael

Re the tassel it is actually brown and blue, it’s just not obvious from the photo. Re the format/wording of the tag, I had the same initial thought re it seemed more like a postal address and I queried it on the site I got the translation from. I was told that this was a format used for surrender tags so it’s still quite possibly a surrender tag.

Steve You are correct. There is no intention of repatriating. I have my own views on this but I won’t get into discussion here as it can run on a bit (from previous experience) but in this particular instance the seller would not sell me the sword if he thought that was my intent. His father fought in Burma and I’ll leave it there as I don’t think this is the forum to recount some of the first hand experiences his father had which left a life long impression.

Steve Thanks for taking the time to comment. Totally accept all the points you make, in particular with regard to the tang markings. Absolutely, more pics required. I’ll keep an eye out for any numbers as advised. Cheers Michael

Hi Hi I’m a WW2 collector. I collect both Axis and Allied items and from all theatres of the conflict. In relation to Japanese items primarily I’ve been focused on Hinomaru Yosegaki flags and have acquired about 8 or so. For a while now I’ve intended to add a WW2 era Japanese officers sword to the collection. For me this would represent a sizeable investment as I’m not a big budget collector, which is why it’s taken some time for me to come across a realistic opportunity for acquiring a good condition sword. This sword currently belongs to an older collector who has been collecting for over 45 years. He primarily collected Allied and Japanese Far East items as that’s where his father served in the British Army. He is currently looking to downsize his collection. as such I am considering purchasing this sword along with a leather officers sword belt for around £1150. I appreciate that there are only a few photos but I initially took them as I wanted to get a translation of what was written in the wooden ‘tag’ rather than the finer points of the sword. I am visiting the collector again later this week so will get better photos then. I can say that the sword had been owned by one other collector before it came to him. It was sourced from the US. The blade is in good condition with no rusting, pitting etc. There is a clear hamon on the blade. I have no tang information at this point. The wooden tag has been translated and reads as Front side: Yamagata Prefecture, Higashi-Okitama county, Wada village, Moto-wada To: Abe Shuichirō Back side: Sent by: Army Lieutenant Abe Shuichiro For now I’m just putting it out there for general comments, good or bad. as a complete newbie I’m just happy to learn. As I said I expect more photos will be wanted and I shall get them later in the week and update the post. Cheers Michael