Arsenal Stamps.

[Bruce Pennington]

Peculiar.

 

And possibly another shop label on the saya?

[Shuriken]

[Shuriken]

Pics of katana

[Shuriken]

One more for you @Bruce Pennington

[Bruce Pennington]

5 hours ago, Shuriken said:

One more

Thanks David!

 

Yoshinao, No date, Showa

[Bruce Pennington]

On 9/26/2021 at 1:00 AM, Stegel said:

Here's a different encircled anchor which i don't think is here. It is found on training bayonets.

I don't think the other anchor is the Toyokawa stamp

This was posted back in Sept '21, and I don't know why I thought it wasn't in Fuller's chart - it definitely is; but he was uncertain of it's exact meaning/pupose:

"(xiii) Probably a naval inspection and/or acceptance stamp. Found on naval parade sabres and dagger guards. Possibly associated with the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal."

[Bruce Pennington]

Another update on the Circled Anchor vs Anchor with no circle - Re-reading my Stamps of the Japanese Sword doc, pg 21, I realized one of the stamped blades had an anchor with no circle - @Kiipu = and an unknown stamp below.  As far as I know (for now) it is the only example I have on file:

 

 

[Kiipu]

Bruce, that is the only one I have recorded and it was reported by @Stephen back in 2006.  I think this is an earlier Type 97 versus a later Type 97?  The blade actually has two naval type markings on it.

Obverse: Plain Anchor + mustache? logo + 筑紫末次繁光 [Tsukushi Suetsugu Shigemitsu].

Reverse: 海 = kai = maybe a shortened form of kaigun 海軍 [navy or naval]? Plus two more characters in an oval.

Shigemitsu

 

Thank goodness the moderator does not delete old posts!  Just look at all the fun or trouble we have with them.

[BANGBANGSAN]

36 minutes ago, Kiipu said:

mustache?

Or hair of George Washington?

[ChrisW]

13 minutes ago, BANGBANGSAN said:

Or hair of George Washington?

I was thinking Yosemite Sam's beard!

[Kiipu]

Yep, that's him!  I sure hope the Japanese designer is getting royalties.

Yosemite Sam

[Kiipu]

In regards to the oval stamp on the Shigemitsu blade, I have found another blade that seems to have this as part of the inscription.  Now I am wondering what this is all about.

signature on broken sword

 

Plus another oval stamp that is duplicated below via @george trotter.

Naval sword translation

Smith Mei

[Bruce Pennington]

42 minutes ago, Kiipu said:

Naval sword translation

That thread has the same kao for Shigemitsu as this one.  This one is just way more clear!

[Bruce Pennington]

As to the anchor without circle @Kiipu, what are your thoughts?  Do you think the uncircled one is actually Toyokawa's and the circled ones are Navy acceptance?

[Kiipu]

As of 1937, Shigemitsu live in Fukuoka City 福岡市, Fukuoka Prefecture 福岡県.  His full name is Suetsugu Shigemitsu 末次･繁光 and he and his 7 apprentices could turn out five blades per month.  The use of Tsukushi 筑紫 above his signature can mean one of two things.

• 筑紫国 Tsukushi Province was an ancient province now located within Fukuoka Prefecture 福岡県.
• Tsukushi-no-shima 筑紫島 "Island of Tsukushi" is another name used in the past for Kyūshū 九州.

 I am inclined to think Tsukushi 筑紫 in this context is referring to the old province and not the island.  Does anyone have any thoughts that differ from this interpretation?

 

A link to one of his blades made in August 1945.

福岡住末次繁光作 昭和二十年八月日

 

@mecox Another one for the naval swords monograph.  Looks like number 264?

博多刀匠　末次繁光

[Bruce Pennington]

2 hours ago, Kiipu said:

Suetsugu Shigemitsu 末次･繁光

Thomas, or Mal - @mecox - Japaneseswordindex lists a Hirose Shigemitsu as an RJT smith, but the oshgata only shows Suetsugu Shigemitsu.  Any chance they are the same guy?  Or different smiths?  The massive majority of the blades in my survey with stamped numbers were RJT.  Only 3 or 4 are not on the RJT list.  This would be a another one.  I have one other Shigestugu blade in the survey, number 316, and it's from Suetsugu, but I've probably mistakenly listed it as RJT.

 

Also, Thomas, I'm going with 234 on this new one.  Here's a comparison of the 315 with this one and I think what looks like a "6" is really a "3".

 

Edit: Disregard, after flipping and enlarging, it's a "6", so 264 like you said.

[mecox]

Bruce, these two Shigemitsu are different people.  Suetsugu Shigemitsu is in Fukuoka and was quite productive, plus had a number of deshi.   Hirose Shigemitsu was in Asuke in central Aichi, he was  an RJT and seems to be linked to one of the Aichi arsenals.  Not much available about him.  He signed Chounsai Shigemitsu.  After the war he made knives etc, but he did make a Kowa Kinen To in 1952.   I am trying to write up Showa era Aichi at the moment.  A very diverse lot.

[Bruce Pennington]

17 hours ago, Kiipu said:

Shigemitsu

I just have to post the whole nakago of this Shigemitsu @Stephen posted on the thread you linked.  It is a "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" to badly misuse a Churchill quote.
 

All on one blade, the only known non-circled Toyokawa anchor, a moustache (or 2 birds kissing), a "Kai?", and a kokuin.  A Stamp Guy's wet dream!  Wish I had a complete nakago on it.  I pieced this together from the linked thread.

 

[cisco-san]

Hello,

I recently aqiured here on NMB (from a very nice member) a Noshu ju Kanehisa (dated March 1943) gendaito with star stamp (even somebody tried to hide them) and a Nagoya stamp.

Additionaly it has a stamp (slightly above the Nagoya stamp), but here I am completely lost what is is...

Any advise would be great.

Many thanks in advance

Klaus

 

 

[Kiipu]

19 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

As to the anchor without circle, what are your thoughts?  Do you think the uncircled one is actually Toyokawa's and the circled ones are Navy acceptance?

 

Shigemitsu 繁光 delivered his blades to the Sasebo Naval District 佐世保鎮守府 so I doubt it relates to your statement above.  This information is coming from the webpage that depicts his August 1945 dated blade that I linked to above.

[Kiipu]

7 minutes ago, cisco-san said:

Additionally it has a stamp (slightly above the Nagoya stamp), but here I am completely lost what is is...

 

Klaus, the nakago mune just has two 名 inspection marks, one is just larger than the other.  Nothing to fret about.

[cisco-san]

4 hours ago, Kiipu said:

 

Klaus, the nakago mune just has two 名 inspection marks, one is just larger than the other.  Nothing to fret about.

Many thanks Thomas, highly apprecitated!!!

[Kiipu]

I found this Type 97 sword made by 伊奈波 interesting as it has a sideways facing anchor stamp and small 伊.  Yet both are facing in different directions!

Type 97 Naval Kai-gunto

[Bruce Pennington]

20 hours ago, Kiipu said:

Yet both are facing in different directions!

Thanks Thomas!  The mei is a bit sloppier than the other Kaneyoshi mei I have on these, too.  Might have been a rush-job?

[Stegel]

On 1/7/2022 at 6:05 AM, Bruce Pennington said:

and an unknown stamp below.  As far as I know (for now) it is the only example I have on file:

 

 

Bruce, i think that's your moustache from a few years back!! Hehe

[Bruce Pennington]

Wanted to post an update to 2 stamps previously in the 'unknown' category in the Stamps Doc.  Thanks to @mecox's newest tome - Showa Swordsmiths of Aichi Prefecture, I can now tie them to specific smiths.

 

The "diamond" stamp is found on the work of Kuniyasu:

 

Mal uncovered 5 blades with this stamp, all Kuniyasu.  One even has 2 diamond stamps:

 

Of course, we still don't know the meaning or significance of them, but they seem to be specific to this smith, unless they show up someplace else in the future.

 

 

The other is the "delta" stamp, or triangle.  It's seen on Masayasu blades.  Mal shows blades with 1, 2, 3, and 4 of them:

I've been working on an update for the Stamps Doc and I'll be sure to include this new information.

 

Thanks again to Mal Cox for the great work!

 

 

 

[BANGBANGSAN]

8 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Wanted to post an update to 2 stamps previously in the 'unknown' category in the Stamps Doc.  Thanks to @mecox's newest tome - Showa Swordsmiths of Aichi Prefecture, I can now tie them to specific smiths.

 

The "diamond" stamp is found on the work of Kuniyasu:

 

Mal uncovered 5 blades with this stamp, all Kuniyasu.  One even has 2 diamond stamps:

 

I've been working on an update for the Stamps Doc and I'll be sure to include this new information.

 

Thanks again to Mal Cox for the great work!

 

 

 

This Kanji should be 國泰 instead of 國奏

[BANGBANGSAN]

@Kiipu

Thomas

Do you think the mark on the blade is  the same mark as the 大 Mark？It says on Fullers Page 226, Dai(or Tai) stamp. Significance unknown.Has only been found on blades dated 1945. Very rare.

 

[Kiipu]

Trystan, I only have one on file and it was reported by @Brian.  Below is the link so that you can compare it to the one above.  If possible, have the owner look for a 江 on the nakago mune.  Keep us informed of the results of your investigation.

隠岐國住沖光 = Oki kuni jū Okimitsu.

昭和二十年六月 = June 1945.

 

Links

Iwami Yoshikoyo Gendaito

and

Arsenal Stamps., Page #15

[Bruce Pennington]

5 hours ago, Kiipu said:

Iwami Yoshikoyo Gendaito

Yoshikiyo (for future smith name searches!

 

@BANGBANGSAN

 

I've also noted this Tai stamp in the Stamps of the Japanese Sword doc.  I have 4 smiths listed now: Okimitsu, Masakiyo, Masayoshi, and Yoshikiyo.  I don't know my source for the 2 "Masa" smiths, but the 2 plus the Yoshikiyo looks like a mashup of names.  Wondering now about the 2 Masa names.