ID WWII-era gunto?

[Deborah Nakamoto]

My late father acquired this gunto while serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was stationed in both Korea and Japan. He went to the PX for cigarettes, saw a pile of these in the back, and asked the guy if he could have one. I removed the handle and found these characters and numbers. Can the year and maker be identified from these? 

[Brian]

https://www.japanese...rdindex.com/naga.htm

[John C]

@Bruce Pennington FYI Number stamped on the mune.

 

John C.

[Bruce Pennington]

  On 3/24/2024 at 3:33 PM, John C said:

Number stamped

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And the faintest Saka stamp just before!

 

Hello Deborah!

This Nagamitsu (there were a couple of them during the war) made quality blades.  He was qualified by the RJT program and many of his blades were traditionally made.  Can we get full-length photos of the nakago (tang), both sides?  There may be a faint "star" stamp above the name, too.

 

Also, many of us live vicariously through other peoples swords and would love to see the fittings as well.

[Ooitame]

I like Nagamitsu RJT, signature looks legit, same with yasurime, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more photos if possible.

 

@Bruce Pennington can you point out the faint saka stamp?

[Deborah Nakamoto]

Thank you all for your feedback. I'll take additional photos next weekend. I can't do it now because I've suddenly been drafted to lead a 4WD camping trip starting Tuesday, so I need to formulate a route and map some coordinates.

[vajo]

Textbook nagamitsu mei.

[Bruce Pennington]

  On 3/24/2024 at 11:17 PM, Ooitame said:

I like Nagamitsu RJT, signature looks legit, same with yasurime, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more photos if possible.

 

@Bruce Pennington can you point out the faint saka stamp?

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Eric,

After cropping and flipping and comparing to another Saka stamp, I may have been premature about that.  If it's a Saka, it's smaller than normal and a bit out of place.  Probably just a random mark.

 

[Deborah Nakamoto]

I'll have to upload photos one at a time due to size limitations.

[Deborah Nakamoto]

[Deborah Nakamoto]

[Deborah Nakamoto]

[Deborah Nakamoto]

[Deborah Nakamoto]

[Deborah Nakamoto]

[Deborah Nakamoto]

[Deborah Nakamoto]

[Michaelr]

Deborah, looks like a very nice sword. Great pictures. If it were mine I would be proud to own it. You came to the right place for information as this forum is full of great, knowledgeable people always willing to share that knowledge. Thank you for sharing.

  MikeR

[vajo]

A perfect Nagamitsu in beautifull Type3 mounts with burlap same. I have a similar one and i love it. 

[John C]

  On 3/30/2024 at 5:58 PM, vajo said:

burlap same

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Ah. Thanks, Chris. I have the exact same set up on my type 3 gendaito and was wondering what the same' was made out of.

 

John C.

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks for the added photos, Deborah!  

 

Now there's my Saka stamp.  Looks like someone tried to grind or chisel it off.  

 

You can read all about this style sword, commonly called a Type 3, Rinji seishiki, Type 100, etc, here:

 

True Significance of the Type 3 Sword

 

and 

 

Unveiling the Rinjiseishiki in 1940

[Deborah Nakamoto]

Thanks for all this info.

Why would someone want to obliterate the saka stamp?

[David Flynn]

Probably, badly struck.

[Bruce Pennington]

I've seen it done a few times over the years, usually with the Showa stamp.  We don't know who actually does it, whether the original owner, or an arsenal worker, or one of the post-war owners.  

[Deborah Nakamoto]

What is a saka stamp? A tiny bit of it is visible on the upper right. Is it possible to tell which stamp this was?

 

[Bruce Pennington]

Thanks to @Beater (I hadn't noticed it before), you can see the stamp on the neck of the haikan (belt hangar loop assembly) also!

 

Deborah,

Each arsenal, both army and navy, had their own quality inspectors who used approval stamps.  The "Saka" stamp is the inspector stamp of the Osaka Army Arsenal.  They are simply approval/acceptance stamps.  You'll find them on other weapons as well.  An intact Saka stamp would look like this:

[Deborah Nakamoto]

Wow, I did not notice that little mark! Thank you!

I'd known since I was a kid that my Dad had this sword, but never gave it a thought. Only after my Dad passed away, and then my Mom gave me the sword before she passed away, did I take a closer look at it. This has been quite a learning experience!