Mune Stamp

[vajo]

I was searching to identify this mune stamp, but i faild. I'm sure someone knows it.

 

 

The lower is "Department of chief navy inspector" Tokyo

 

Best

 

Chris

[Bruce Pennington]

I don't know why it's sideways, but its 2 poorly struck "Ko" stamps. You can see the "feet" of the top one, and faintly see it on the bottom one. Then you can see the "box" well on the bottom one, but neither are showing the "+" at the top.

[vajo]

That could make sense Bruce.

 

Fits to the lower stamp.

[lonely panet]

is there a NA (Nagoya) under the first character ??

[SteveM]

Top one is 福 (fuku)

Bottom one is 小 (ko) 

 

Maybe a clue on the thread here

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/

but after 3 pages I gave up looking. Perhaps the "ko" is an inspection stamp from Kokura arsenal? 

[vajo]

It's a Star Stamp Gendaito.

Maybe that could help

[vajo]

What we need is a Stamp Data Base 

[Bruce Pennington]

What we need is a Stamp Data Base 

Chris, I’ve been compiling one, from the various sources. I was wondering how to post it to make it available to anyone. It’s in the beginning stages, but growing.

[vajo]

Cool Bruce thats a very helpfull idea.

Whats about a pdf sheet?

[lonely panet]

David Flynn started a hole subject on stamps in this very section 

[Bruce Pennington]

David Flynn started a hole subject on stamps in this very section

 

Yeah, I love it! But it’s so many pages and most of them are filled with conversation. I have condensed the stamps from that thread and combined them with stamps from Fuller and Gregory and from Swordindex.com. I’ll need to contact the authors to get their permission to use their material of course, but I doubt that anyone will mind as long as I credit them with the applicable pieces.

[Stephen]

Good idea Bruce!!

I know i hate wading thu it all.

[Bruce Pennington]

Chris could you give us the smith name from this blade? The top kanji is “Fuku” which is either the first kanji of Fukuoka, Fukushima, or “good luck”. But since the Ko is there, I suspect it is one of the city names. The smith name may help us pin it down.

[vajo]

Hi Bruce it is this sword

 

(Fukuoka) Morimitsu 盛光

 

http://www.schmucker-info.net/morimitsu_nakago_mei.jpg

[vajo]

Ray has a katana from the same smith at the sale thread.

[BANGBANGSAN]

Vajo

I think this 福 maybe means 福岡（Fukuoka）or 福島（Fukushima) 。

Both福岡（Fukuoka）and 福島（Fukushima)city has few 陸軍受命刀匠(Rikugun Jumei Tosho) in WW2.

[Bruce Pennington]

Hi Bruce it is this sword

 

(Fukuoka) Morimitsu 盛光

 

http://www.schmucker-info.net/morimitsu_nakago_mei.jpg

Thanks Chris, does the mei state “Fukuoa”?

[Stephen]

maybe some help here 

 

any idea what Yamauchi 1 pertains to on mune

 

[vajo]

From Markus book it reads Morimitsu from Fukuoka.

 

Mei reads:

筑 後 住 盛 光 之 作

Chikugo jū Morimitsu kore saku

昭 和 二 十 年 三 月

March 1944

[Bruce Pennington]

Stephen,

 

Assuming the name is not the smith that made it, I haven't found anyone or any source that goes into the meanings of mune stamping. Most speculate that it was the polisher. A couple have guessed that it was the buyer who contracted the blade.

 

Maybe someone who knows more about smiths, polishers, and WWII can chime it, but I know nothing about these other than the ones that are clearly arsenal inspection stamps.

 

Interesting google find: Hiroshi Yamauchi, 3rd president of Nintendo, and wealthiest Japanese, "was put to work in a military factory" during WWII! Could it be???

[Bruce Pennington]

From Markus book it reads Morimitsu from Fukuoka.

 

Mei reads:

筑 後 住 盛 光 之 作

Chikugo jū Morimitsu kore saku

昭 和 二 十 年 三 月

March 1944

Thanks Chris. That pretty well pins it to Fukuoak then. Slight correction on the date though, Showa 20 is 1945 (have to subtract 1).

[vajo]

Ah thanks Bruce. I fix it on my website.

[vajo]

This smith’s given name was Tatsumi Kinzo, and he was born May 9th, 1898. Morimitsu was from Fukuoka and was a student of the famous gendai smith Suetsugu Shigemitsu, along with Oyama Nobumitsu. He also signed Chikugo Kuroki ju Morimitsu. (From Ray's description)

[Stephen]

Thank you Bruce...very interesting. Possibility of owner order more than one?

Good thinking.

[BANGBANGSAN]

maybe some help here 

 

any idea what Yamauchi 1 pertains to on mune

 

Yamauchi1.jpg

This 山(Yama) could be indcate city named 山口（Yamaguchi） or 山形（ Yamagata ）.

As my reply for the 福(Fuku) mark on #16 .

福岡（Fukuoka）, 福島（Fukushima), 山口（Yamaguchi） and 山形（ Yamagata ）,these cities all had few 陸軍受命刀匠(Rikugun Jumei Tosho) in WW2.

[Bruce Pennington]

We’re there known smith’s working in those cities? That would make sense in light of what we are discovering.

[Stephen]

See translation section. When i checked site again it came up Yamaho..which

Chris posted about almost a year ago. I linked it there.

[Stephen]

http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/27740-yamauchi-1/?do=findComment&comment=279980

[Bruce Pennington]

After what we are thinking now, Stephen, I’m leaning more to “city” “arsenal “ . But we’re way out in Speculation Land.

[BANGBANGSAN]

We’re there known smith’s working in those cities? That would make sense in light of what we are discovering.

http://ohmura-study.net/025.html

Quite a few