Bruce Pennington

Ah! It's the "year" kanji. I thought so, but I'm not used to seeing that on a Mantetsu. But there's not much "normal" about this nakago anyway!

Which makes the 1945 list: い 28 mumei (Steeve) MRS fittings い 67 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 90 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 142 mumei (Richard Fuller collection) MRS fittings い 213 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 289 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 449 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 622 Konan Essei (Beng Shua Collection) Type 98 fittings い 1170 mumei (NGF Collection) MRS fittings

Bingo! Richard's mumei blade in MRS fittings is a Mantetsu! Serial number い 142. Odd that it fits in the middle of other numbers that were marked with the Konan Essei slogan.

Your guess is as good as any Erwin. We've been learning a little more about the vast number of private swords shops operating during the war, so it's also possible a shop owner obtained this blade and fitted it out like this. I see it's Showa-stamped. The date puzzles me, though. The first two kanji aren't what I'm used to seeing. Does anyone understand these? Why are they called 'showa'. The numbers fit for a 1941 date, but I don't get those first kanji at all.

I cannot recognize the last kanji on the date, which is normally a season. Any ideas @k morita, @Kiipu, or @BANGBANGSAN?

Nice 95, Thomas. Get a nice uchiko kit and some 90% alcohol and that blade will start looking better.

You've got some fun software there @Stegel! So the stamping guy had the whole gunto upside down when he did the stamps, like you said in the right order, but when righted, upside down and flipped from normal.

The stamps are correct, the order is reversed from the norm.

And an ARMY Company grade tassel. Hmm

Stainless steel blades have been found in army fittings. I've never read how the stainless blades were made.

Mario, Have you heard of online translators? Here's one I like: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=dutch+to+english&atb=v275-1&ia=web I am posting on a Russian sword forum, and I use it a lot. I don't expect the Russians to read my English, I translate first.

Well shoot. Nothing discernible. Thanks for posting, though.

It’s a replica/fake. Good gut feeling you had.

@Stegel or @Shamsy will know. But I've seen enough human error on gunto that I suspect the stamper-guy was suffering from too much sake the night before! Mario, is the fuchi loose or does it fit tightly?

Chris, It is certainly possible. I have a variety of Nagamitsu mune with numbers and kana (1), so it's possible this is just another one. But after zooming in on Steeve's, it's clear the yasurime is the same as Mantetsu 1945 Yasurime (Steeve's in the middle) Nagamitsu

Very nice example. You see many group photos of navy crews with the officers carrying these.

Gareth, The one on "top" is the Suya Shoten Company. Great write-up on them by Nick Komiay - The Untold Story of Suya Shoten. The bottom stamp - we used to say it was of the Toyokawa Navy Arsenal. Recent work by @Kiipu may be pointing toward a Naval Acceptance Stamp, similar to the Showa stamp for the Army. Your photo clearly eliminates any doubt as to it being a shop logo, as I have another guard with this anchor in sakura with another shop stamp. And on a seppa

Thomas, Thank you! I wonder why I missed that one in my scouring of the forums for Mantetsu? Maybe at the time I was thrown off by the fact that it was mumei and didn't understand the significance of the serial number. At any rate, as I posted on his thread, here are our updated known 1945 serial numbers: い 28 mumei (Steeve) い 67 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 90 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 213 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 289 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 449 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 622 Konan Essei (Beng Shua Collection) い 1170 mumei (NGF Collection) There is one on page 82 of Richard Fuller's Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks book, that I'm sure is a '45. I just wrote to him in hopes that he still has the gunto and can send a serial number to confirm.

@steeve - if you are still receiving NMB emails, we have recently discovered that these blades were made in 1945 by Mantetsu. The serial number "い 28" is the 1945 series. We have 8 of these on record and yours makes 9, and the earliest number in the series. 6 of them have the "Konan Essei" slogan, but 2 are mumei like yours. い 28 mumei (Steeve) い 67 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 90 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 213 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 289 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 449 Konan Essei (from a book with a Diary citation) い 622 Konan Essei (Beng Shua Collection) い 1170 mumei (NGF Collection)

Quite gorgeous Geoff! Hope you get it!

Interesting with the screw up top as well as, I assume, below.

So, Dai-ei 1521 + 6 - 1 = 1526 August Once you have the date kanji, Thanks Trystan!, you can go to Japaneseswordindex.com Date Translation page for the era, then do the math to get the year.

Can you copy and paste the web link? Also, with the new NMB software, sometimes you can simply right-click on the photo and copy, then paste on your post. Sometimes that works, sometimes not.

Type 98 Japanese Officers Gunto. Looks like the saya is aluminum? Not rare, but not standard either. The thick seppa like yours are usually found on gunto of a high quality than the average. Your guy probably spent a little extra on this.

Nihonto Club has a Yoshinaga, but he used a different mei and was from Hoki prefecture, where this one is from Seki. Doesn't surprise me though, as I've come across several smiths in my files not listed there. https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/YOS570 There were over 300 smiths working the Seki area during the war. We simply don't have official records of them all.