Bruce Pennington

That's exactly what I was looking for, thank you Morita-san!!!

I think I've mentioned this already but too tired to find the post. But I've added another pre-RJT blade to the files with a stamped number from a smith that later bacame RJT: 1941, Jul Munetoshi (pre-RJT) 106 Slough 1941, Dec Tomomaru (pre-RJT) 535 tsuba matching 1941, Dec Tomomaru (pre-RJT) 631 Ray Singer website RS For WWII blades, this is the earliest, so far, I've seen stamped numbers and all of them are on smiths that later became part of the RJT system. I think they are Army numbers, not fitter shop numbers. Additionally, expanding on a few scattered discussions, I think the numbering began without katakana, as evidenced above and seen in the example below of 3 Kanetsugu blades. The '42 blade was numbered as all previous blades, without katakana. But in 1943 (from other blades) the katakana system started and ran through 1944. In 1945, the katakana were dropped for some reason. These Kanetsugu blades are representative of what I am seeing across the board with all the blades from all the RJT smiths. 1942, Mar Kanetsugu (RJT) – Gunma 1220 George Trotter, RS 1944, Jan Kanetsugu (RJT) -- Gunma ク306 Star Edward Mahle, NMB 1945, Feb Kanetsugu (RJT) – Gunma 938 Antiqueimperialarts

Thanks John, that makes sense. Smith mei often include things like that. I'm trying to pin down this smith's wartime prefecture for my files. So, would you think it's Nagasaki?

Thanks Ricky! That's pretty much inline with what I've read about these costs. I appreciate the update.

Ammad, That's a tough question. It's going to depend a lot on the market you are in, or trying to sell it to. I just saw someone trying to sell a Kuniie (same guy) for $6,500. That's his asking price, anyway. Rinji seishiki, in general, with standard smiths, tend to sell for $1,400 plus-or-minus. I don't follow nihoto/gendaito prices, but they can be higher in the $2,400-6,500 range depending upon the smith and the blade. So, tough question to answer from my WWII gunto view. Maybe the nihonto buyers/sellers can help you more on that.

Bingo! Thanks Ray! Any thoughts on my question about the "Hizen" prefecture? Doesn't look like there was a Hizen in WWII.

Seller says this is Yoshitada but I'm unable to find some good oshigata to confirm it. Thanks for the help! Another question - Looking at prefecture maps, it looks like the "Hizen" prefecture was really Nagasaki during WWII. Any idea why the smith would have used Hizen?

No, I don't let go of my gunto! I just curious if the black-painted gunto were in a particular serial number range. Mine is 10506, but with Gifu and Nagoya stamps. But even though different contractors, ours were made within a similar time-frame. We'll have to take a look at the others. Maybe this practice can be narrowed down to a specific time or year of the war. Edit: after a scan of the serial numbers posted already, they are all over the place, with even late-war versions painted black. Suya, Iijima, Seki contractors. So, that idea was a dead-end.

Andy, The stamped number is "18". It's read with the cutting edge of the opening at the bottom, number at top. Cleaning - I treat all my gunto as if they were my own equipment. "Take care of your equipment, and it will take care of you." Right!? So yes, I clean mine. You have to be a bit careful as you don't want to remove the original coloration, and even the patination of years. Warm soapy water is a good start. An oiled rag next. I've used a hard plastic sprinkler tool (it has a standard screwdriver tip) to scrape hard to remove grime.

Thanks Austin, good run-down on the history and explanation. I admit I scanned the Wiki a bit quickly, but I couldn't find the reference to the dragon with Ken.

What's the serial number on that? Contractor?

Thanks Geoff, looks eerily similar to my late 95 before I stripped it. I really regret doing that. Here are some pics. The auction ones will expire in the future: Compare to mine:

Here are more pics from the owner. Seems to have wear and age appropriate to WWII paint work! Hmmmm......

Dave, Do you have a date on the blade in that?

Michael, Could we see a good clear close-up of that leather same'?

Everyone was lucky they were fake, decorative swords!

That's cool, Neil, thanks! My mind has been expanded a wee bit! Thanks to all.

Personally, I wouldn't remove the ashi. While it is true, the Rinji model was designed to use one, the piece looks to be period authentic and as an expensive gunto, who knows, maybe the original owner decided he wanted one and put it there. It is simply good to know that it wasn't designed to use one.

Amad, Here is some really interesting information about "Nobutake" who was really Kuniie, a swordsmith instructor at the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal, and inspector for the RJT program there: "Submitted by Yoshii on Mon, 2009-09-07 11:45. Information about Kuniiye Born 26 juli 1894 in Ibaraki prefectuur Passed away in 1970 Familyname: Yoshihara, Surname : Katsuichi In 1933 he became the first official student at the Nippontō Tanren Denshujo Student of Kasama Shigetsugu (shi 907) Signed : Akihiro Akihiro saku oite Tokiwamatsu Yoshihara Akihiro saku kore After 1943 Nobutake Yoshihara Nobutake Tokyo Dai ichi Rikugun Zoheisho Yoshihara Nobutake Yoshihara Kuniiye Yoshihara Kuniite saku Yoshihara Kuniiye kitau kore Musashi kuni jū Yoshihara Kuniiye seitan kore Kōto jū Yoshihara Kuniiye seitan kore In 1937 he became teacher at the Kyushu University Kingakubu Nihonto Kenkyujo. In 1938 he started his own smithy in Nihon So Tanrenjo, in Setagaya, Tokyo He was appointed by Kurihara Akihide as smith at the Nihonto Gakuin, (Japanese Sword Institute) in Sagamihara-cho, Zama (Sobudai), Kanagawa Prefecture. He also beacme instructor at the Tokiwamatsu Tanren Kenkyu Jo in Shibuya, Tokyo on the estate of Toyama Mitsuru, afterna Shigetsugu had left Hij works in Bizen and Sōshū den, he also makes utushi mono of Kiyomaro. He was appointed Rikugun Jumei Tosho during the war. In 1943 Kuniie was appointed as the smith instructor of the Japanese Imperial Army in the Tokyo Dai Ichi Rikugun Zoheisho, the militairy arsenal in Akabane, Tokyo. From 1945 till 1953 he was not actice as a swordsmith. In 1953 Kuniie he started again as a swordsmith and got a licent as swordsmith, from that time on he began to teach his students the making of the Nihonto' This is from The Nihontoclub 'Kuniie' page. Star-stamped blades are made by RJT qualified smiths and are made with army-supplied tamahagane and locally supplied charcoal, and made in the traditional way, therefore true nihonto, or gendaito. No one knows for sure the meaning of the stamped numbers. They are found almost exclusively on RJT blades, so I personally feel it has something to do with their accounting or inspection system.

Ah, just as we suscpected! A nice Star-stamped blade from an RJT smith (meaning the blade was made traditionally and is gendaito) made in June 1943. Someone else will help with the mei.

Great, thanks guys! I googled the name and got a variety of descriptions of the Buddhist god. But it sounds like the imagery on the blade might be to represent his fierceness, wrathfulness? One description says he "guards the Law of Buddhism. He is equipped to guide the spiritual traveler past temptation on the path to enlightenment."

Forgive my utter ignorance, but I've been wondering what is the significance of the arrow-like image found on many horimono:

Here's how: Zook's Guranteed Cosmoline Removal Process.

Here's the discussion: Last Ditch Navy Reg Change, by Nick Komiya

The single hanger was a modification authorized in the last year of the war to simplify production and reduce demands of essential supplies. When I can get to my computer I will post the link showing the order changing the mil specs.